Period Replications

Figure A Figure B Figure C

Field reporter Joe Zanger visits cabinet maker Alfred Sharp to watch as he demonstrates the process of making reproductions of classic wooden chairs by hand.

Sharp uses around 20 carving tools to make his reproductions of period furniture pieces (figure A). He says his job is not to make a chair that's merely similar to the original, but to copy the work of the original craftsman as closely as possible. Sharp's reproductions are so sought after that customers wait a year and a half for delivery.

The compound curves and mahogany veneer inlays in the backs of these American Federal side chairs posed a difficult challenge for Sharp (figure B). He says he may spend a day just looking over a chair before starting work on a reproduction.

This mahogany veneer comes from a special part of the tree, where a branch forks off from the trunk, and Sharp says it has an almost gem-like quality (figure C).

Guests
Alfred Sharp
Cabinet Maker
3130 Doolittle Rd.
Woodbury, TN 37190
Phone: 615-563-2831
Email: asharp@hotcom.net
Also in this Episode

Our Place : Episode OPL-120
•	Refurbished Furniture
•	Period Replications
•	Handprinted Fabrics
•	Trade Secrets