Miniature Highboy: A Jewelry Chest with Jeff Headley & Steve Hamilton April 14-19, 2020 (Tues-Sun)

A journey of a thousand miles starts with one step. On this journey students will discover what period furniture construction is all about. During this weeklong class, students will combine the use of both hand tools and power tools while investigating a traditional miniature highboy. This piece is not dollhouse furniture but roughly quarter scale of the real chest. This project will offer true period construction, exceptional design while at the same time not requiring much wood. But be warned there are many small pieces, just as many as a full-size highboy, but just smaller. Students will learn how a full-size highboy is made including the assembly process. Each highboy will require participants to hand-cut dovetails and design the leg type from a selection of different traditional designs: trifed, turned, sculpted pad, or claw and ball. There will also be a shell carving on the bottom center drawer and a multitude of design elements of traditional period construction techniques. This will be an extremely intensive study of this piece. Because this is such an intensive piece, students probably will not be able to complete their cabinet in the time allotted but will know the aspects of all the construction techniques to be able to complete it at home.