The Scale Cabinetmaker
Print Back Issues of The Scale Cabinetmaker
(Or what happens when you finally get around to cleaning out the storage rooms)
We have spent nearly two years debating what to do with boxes of back issues found stored in the back of one of the storage closets in the depot (Dorsett Publications is located in a 149 year old train station). We looked at internet sales listings, some of which elicited a “you’ve got to be kidding” response. Now granted, the sale of the back issues is going to the ongoing maintenance of Helen’s depot (she is the reason we are located in said train station and she was the driving force that saved the building from a wrecking ball 34 years ago), but even we recognized that some of the listed prices were beyond breathtaking and probably would have elicited some rather choice responses from both Jim and Helen.
We listed a few on ebay just to see what the range of bids would be. Neither of us are fans of ebay, and the time spent dealing with ebay was time I was not spending in the workshop or in front of the computer writing the one book we probably should have written 50 years ago when this all started…a beginner’s guide and reference to modeling. The prices do not include shipping and handling.
Condition. All of the issues are in near mint condition. When we found them initially, we packaged each in a plastic sleeve, and did a rough inventory. Since then, we have found a few more of the earlier issues, which we haven’t had a chance to inventory. As we find them, we’ll add them to the “available” list below.
The Issue of Rarity. Be aware, however, that the number of copies of each issue are limited and will be sold on a “first come” basis. We have an entire case of (50 or so copies) of some issues, others we only have fewer than a dozen, and with a few, the numbers dwindle to a couple. We decided on a set price for the majority of them, but there are a few very rare issues that are priced a bit higher. Technically, I suppose, all of the issues are relatively rare–our largest run for TSC was 3,600. The very early editions (Volume 1) and the final year (Volume 20) had far smaller initial runs (1,500 or less). The last issue is the rarest…we printed just enough to fulfill the company’s obligations to our subscribers and the retail outlets that stocked TSC every quarter. A couple of issues are rare because of problems with the printer, most notably volumes 13:3 and 8:2 (guard these with your life, we barely had enough to meet the number required for our subscribers and the miniature shops that carried TSC).
Copies with Helen’s Cover Roomboxes. Although we do have a few extras of the issues prior to volume 15, we only have one issue (with multiple copies), TSC 12:3, that features one of Helen’s roomboxes on the cover.
Quantities. As noted above. For some of the issues, we have a very limited quantity (less that 6). They will be noted in each listing. We will remove a listing when we sell out. If we find more of them while we are digging through some of the odd boxes, we’ll add them back in. We do have a few issues, especially in the earlier volumes, where we have 1 to 2 single issues. If you are looking for a specific issue that is not listed below, check with us. We may have an extra copy we are willing to send off.
Shipping and Handling. There is a $1.50 shipping and handling charge for each copy to help offset the rising costs of postage. For international and Canadian orders, we will calculate the actual shipping and handling charges and send you a Paypal bill for the difference (if there is one). We ship first class for small packages and domestic and international priority flat rate for larger packages and to international destinations.
The Scale Cabinetmaker Back Issues:
 The Scale CabinetmakerVolume 12, No 3 (Fall, 1988)The cover featured one of Helen Dorsett’s last roombox: a Kansas kitchen, c. 1914, her Mom, and the Wart (her cat and fairly constant workshop companion). Quantities are limited.The issue includes:
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 The Scale Cabinetmaker,Volume 15:2 (Summer, 1991) The issue featured the 2nd installment in two series: Pete Westcott’s roombox series “The Bishop’s Livingroom” and Tom Steiger’s Wooten Desk (the project my father used to say was the single most complicated project TSC ever published). The issue also includes:
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Price: $15.95
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 The Scale Cabinetmaker,Volume 16:1 (Spring, 1992)(Very limited quantity) Wheeled vehicles appeared in the early TSCs, with the articles on a child’s doll buggy and the 1913 Butler Brothers Speedster. Ruth Armstrong’s JJ Deal Buggy represented a departure because it dealt with an actual vehicle rather than a household object. The first installment in the 3-part series appeared in 16:1 and concluded in 16:3.The issue also includes:
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Price: $15.95 |
 The Scale Cabinetmaker,Volume 16:4 (Winter, 1992)In 16:4, for the first time, the issue featured not only a roombox by Pete Westcott, but also furniture. Pete, who lives in Arizona, was interested in Southwestern and “Old Spanish” architecture and interior design. Both articles point to his attention to historical detail and his craftsmanship. The issue also includes:
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Price $15.95
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 The Scale Cabinetmaker,Volume 17:1 (Spring, 1993)In TSC 3:4, Jim Dorsett first published the plans for his 1880 Eastlake Rolltop Desk, a desk that took up a significant amount of the floor space in his study. A year later, the plans were reprinted in Fine Woodworking to teach folks how to build a fullsized desk from the plans for a miniature. It remains the only miniature to ever appear on the front cover of Fine Woodworking. At the time (1979), he promised to make a model of the chair (same style and period), but somehow the chair stayed on a back burner for more than 12 years. The chair for the desk was finally published in TSC 17:2.This issue also includes:
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Price: $15.95
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 The Scale Cabinetmaker,Volume 17, No. 2 (Summer, 1993)In addition to Jim’s Eastlake Swivel Office Chair, the issue also featured Tam Brooks Berbice Chair and one of the few, non-machine articles by Jim Jedlicka (the TSC Tool Editor) who provided the instructions to create working draw drapes.The issue also includes:
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Price: $15.95 |
 The Scale Cabinetmaker,Volume 17, No. 3 (Fall, 1993)Ruth Armstrong’s Swell Bodied Cutter provided readers with a great crash course in how to bend and how to upholster and was one of Jim’s favorite projects from Ruth. Ruth brought inventiveness to the pages of TSC, especially in the final five years of the journal.The issue also includes:
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Price: $15.95
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 The Scale Cabinetmaker,Volume 17, No. 4 (Winter, 1993)Like many of their models, the bedroom suite in this issue came from actual pieces. In this case, furniture included in the Victorian Cottage Bedroom came from Jim and Helen’s actual bedroom suite–furniture Helen had inherited from her mother in Peabody, Kansas. The issue also includes:
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Price: $15.95
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 The Scale Cabinetmaker,Volume 18, No.1 (Spring, 1994)Normally, The Scale Cabinetmaker dealt with the items found in display cabinets rather than the display cabinets themselves, so Don and Marie Heuer’s Wall-Hung Miniatures Display Case was a departure and for many a welcome departure since it did not take up either floor space or shelf space.The issue also includes:
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Price: $15.95
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 The Scale Cabinetmaker,Volume 18, No. 3 (Fall, 1994)(Limited Quantity). With 18:3, Tom Steiger (of Wooten desk fame) returned to the pages of TSC with an article on applied carvings, including an excellent set of instructions for tackling crests, shells, and other intricate patterns. The issue also includes:
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Price: $15.95
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 The Scale Cabinetmaker,Volume 18, No. 4 (Winter, 1994)The cover of 18:4 was set in Helen’s 1890’s Kansas store building (and antique shop)–an appropriate setting for the odd and miscellaneous pieces of furniture. In this case, Jim returned to writing an individual essay (something he hadn’t done in a few years) was showing off two far different chairs from two completely different periods featured in the issue: the Victorian folding yacht chair and the Chippendale comb-back corner chair). The issue also includes:
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Price: $15.95
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 The Scale Cabinetmaker,Volume 19, No. 1 (Spring, 1995)Ruth Armstrong’s series on building in one- and two-point perspective was a rather dramatic departure from the “realism” that had so marked The Scale Cabinetmaker for the previous 18 years. Her models were reminiscent of the Helen’s inventiveness and a welcome departure from the journal’s standard fare.The issue also includes:
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Price: 15.95
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 The Scale Cabinetmaker,Volume 19, No. 4 (February, 1996) Volume 19:4 included the third part in James Johnston’s excellent series on finishes and finishing, as well as one of the last of Jim Dorsett’s complex models–a late 18th Century Connecticut Chest-on Chest. The issue also includes:
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Price $15.95 |
 The Scale Cabinetmaker,Volume 20, No 1 (May, 1996)(Limited Quantity). As the 20th year started, Jim knew that it would be the last year of TSC. As such, he stopped taking new subscriptions and lowered the print run to meet the current obligations. As a result there were far fewer copies of TSC 20:1 and 20:2 printed than in previous years. The intent was to do four issues, but it was clear half way through putting together 20:1, that Jim’s energy was at an end, so the final issue of TSC ended up being the August issue of 1996) featuring the last installment in Pete Westcott’s Inglenook Room.The issue includes:
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Price: $15.95
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