cstruc
Under construction!

J. Tom Kempton (Baltimore, MD)

  • Dollhouse Hinge: 18:4 (3)
  • The Melbourne Chair (A Contemporary Original): 20:1 (40-43)

Donna Korb & Marie Friedman (Owners: Mini-Magic Carpet, Columbus Ohio)

  • Sultan’s Garden: A Scale Silk Oriental Rug: 2:4 (44-49)

It has been said that one of the characteristics of a true craftsman is his willingness to share his creative ideas and techniques in an effort to help others reach their highest levels of creativity. This characteristic of sharing is nowhere better exemplifie than in the joint efforts of Marie Friedman and Donna Korb in doing the silk rug article for TSC.

It was through the innovative and artistic talents of Marie Friedman that needlepunch rugs, done with a fine hypodermic needle and silk threads began to develop. With some technical assists from TSC editors Kathy and Bill Sevebeck, the ideas and methods were perfected. Donna Korb compiled information on the types and availability of supplies, wrote and photographed the article, and arranged for the printing of the heat transfers.

Marie Friedman attributes some of her ability to do a variety of miniature crafts to her training as a computer programmer. She feels that if you can decipher the instructions in an IBM manual, you can learn how to do almost anything from a book. In addition toher ability to teach herself to do many crafts, she has found necessity to be the mother of invention. Wanting some thin, in-scale dinnerware as well as some flower pots (when none were available), she decided it would be necessary to create her own. Armed with plaster and clay, a stack of books, some creative ideas, and a desire to learn she set out to make 1/12th scale ceramics. It was a similar desire for good quality electircal fixtures and chandeliers that led her to develop a fine electrical candle which is actually a tiny pin-socket. The use of the hypodermic needle for punch needle embroidery was an outgrowth of her desire for a detailed miniature fug that was also thin. Using her experience with decorative folk embroidery and a Russian punch needle, she modifie the hypodermic so that it was fine enough for use with silk thread. The result is a miniature rug so detailed that comparable effects could only be achieved by needlepointing on extremely fine silk gauze.

It is not only the desire and ability to teach herself that makes Marie a miniaturist extraordinaire. She willingly shares the knowledge and techniques she has laboriously acquired. She is eager to please all who purchase her work and thinks nothing of trowing out an entire week’s work if the results are less than her standards. Her efforts, howver, have not been overlooked by others. Recently she was informed that she has been accepted into International Miniature Artists as a “creative artist of miniatures.”

Donna Korb operated the Mini-Magic Carpet in Columbus, Ohio. Correspondence with Marie Friedman relating to the difficulties of silk-screening, led to the assumption of Ms. Friedman’s silk punch needle rug business by Mini-Magic. Neither Marie nor Donna knows exactly how the transfer happene, but their collaboration has brought to the miniatures world a new set of techniques and materials. Marie still designs rugs for MMC, including the special oriental rug for TSC.

Wayne & Sally Lasch (NAME Academy of Honor)

  • Fern Stand (Beginner’s Workbench): 14:2 (21-24) 

  • Mission Telephone Stand & Stool (Beginner’s Workbench): 15:1 (46-48)
  • 
Shaker Chair Rail & Candleholder: 16:1 (36) 

  • Shaker Herb Drying Rack (Beginner’s Workbench): 14:1 (40-42) 

  • Shaker Step Stool (Beginner’s Workbench): 17:1 (47) 

  • Shaker-Style Utility Bench: 16:3 (16)

The other “cat” people.  You could spot one of their ads at 10 paces because they featured a rather large tortoise shell. Wayne and Sally Lasch owned Shaker Miniatures, in Cleveland, Ohio,  and were long-time members of N.A.M.E.

John Leonard

  • Turned Platform Rocker (c. 1880’s): 20:2 (37-41)

Harold Lovelady

  • A Working Desk Lock: 7:3 (11-14)

Jim Marcus (NAME Academy of Honor)

  • Painless Balustrades: 3:1 (11-14)

Jim Marcus (Marin County, California) is known for his structures, for his imagination and the authenticity of his work, and for his attention to detail. In an interview years ago, Marcus said “if lone is inventive, one can be completely happy doing this. Fitting tiny pieces of wood into inlaid floors. Coffering ceilings. Using painted lace to simulate elaborate friezes. Planning the exteriors to capture the essence of a real building.

Don Massie

  • Photographing a TSC Cover: 6:3 (36-40)

Don Massie was the TSC photographer during TSC’s “color” period  (1976 to 1990). 

David McWhirter

  • Dado Routing Fixture: 10:2 (37-38)

William S. Miller

  • 19th Century Accessory Table: 15:3 (27-28)
  • 1940’s Telephone Bench Stand: 14:1 (37-39)
  • 3 Variations on a Piano Theme: 10:2 (5-11)
  • Billiard Tables in Half Inch (Pocket and Pocketless): 17:1 (41-46)
  • Building a Weiman Desk: 9:3 (35-38)
  • Chicago Chair: 13:4 (39-42)
  • Colonial Bedside Step Tables: 19:1 (43-47)
  • Conservatory Tables: 14:3 (45-48)
  • Contemporary Colonail Cracker Barrel: 19:4 (44-48)
  • Drawing To an Inside Straight: Octagonal Card Table: 16:3 (41-44)
  • A Duncan Phyfe Window Bench: 7:1 (13-15)
  • Early American Tavern & Curio Hanging Shelves: 19:2 (43-46)
  • The Essential Bedside Cabinet: 11:4 (33-36)
  • Four Variations on a Theme: The Canterbury (c. 1800-1825): 7:4 (14-20)
  • Foyer & Console Tables With Benches: 14:2 (43-48)
  • Game Room Dart Board & Cabinet: 17:2 (37-39)
  • Georgian Book Table: 12:2 (20-22)
  • Georgian Lowboy: 14:4 (38-42)
  • Hepplewhite & Shaker Washstands: 20:1 (44-48)
  • Kitbashing a Settee from Some Queen Anne Chairs: 6:3 (27-28)
  • A Kneehole Chest of Drawers: 10:1 (24-28)
  • Lyre Back Italian Settee: 9:1 (47-50)
  • Lyre Table: 10:4 (17-19)
  • Nursery Furniture (Baby’s Crib, Play Pen, and High Chair): 18:1 (11-20)
  • Outdoor/Indoor Corner Chair: 15:1 (44-45)
  • A Paris Hall Chair: 13:1 (36-39)
  • A Pembroke Table (c. 1790): 12:1 (20-24)
  • Queen Anne Fixed Head Day Bed: 6:2 (17-20)
  • Queen Anne Spice Chest: 8:4 (4-8)
  • Queen Anne Style Coffee Tables: 12:4 (36-38)
  • Roman Curule Chairs (c. 1810-1840): 7:2 (4-8)
  • A Shaker Writing Desk: 18:2 (17-20)
  • Sheraton Style Lady’s Writing Desk: 13:3 (35-39)
  • Slant Top Desk on Frame: 16:1 (41-46)
  • Small Hepplewhite-Style Sideboard: 12:3 (13-16)
  • A Sofa Table, c. 1800-1810: 13:2 (19-22)
  • Step-Top Highboy: 10:2 (15-19)
  • Tables for the Rec Room…Backgammon and Tennis Tables: 17:3 (33-38)
  • Three Early American Cradles (Shaker, New England Hooded, New Jersey Hooded): 18:3 (29-34)
  • Three Utilitarian Furniture Pieces: 15:4 (34-37)
  • Time On Your Hands: Two Case Clocks: 11:3 (29-34)
  • Two Canterbury Tables & a Backdoor Valet: 19:3 (19-24)
  • Two Eighteenth Century Cellarettes: 8:3 (19-25)
  • Two Silver Chests: 9:4 (33-36)
  • Useful Tables with Interesting Names (Porringer Table and Cricket Tables): 17:4 (37-43)
  • The Valet Chair: 8:2 (20-22)
  • A Voysey Table: 9:2 (45-47)
  • Welsh Cupboard, Huntboard and Table: 18:4 (18-24)

John H. Murphy

  • From Can Opener to Disc Sander. 4:3 (41-43)
  • Hand Turning Tools: 5:4 (46-49)
  • Primer for Plastic: 5:3 (48-51)

John Ottewill (Warkworth, Ontario)

  • Plastic Jigs and Fixtures: (Part 1) 8:2 (37-42); (Part 2) Acrylic Power Tool Jigs: 8:3 (39-44)

John Ottewill is a Canadian woodworker and an amazing carver, which goes a long way in explaining his fondness for jigs and fixtures.  We are still using his jigs on the TSC workbench. If you would like to see some of John’s more recent work, check out his article, “Fine Woodworking” in the April/May 2015 issue of Canadian Woodworking and Home Improvement.

Don Peck

  • Bending Hardwood For Miniatures: 12:2 (39-42)
  • Bending Hardwood: Vienna Dining Chair: 12:3 (29-32)
  • A Butler Table: 14:2 (23-24)
  • Contemporary Walnut Veneered Liquor Cabinet: 13:4 (25-29)
  • Continuous Arm Windsor Chair: 12:4 (18-20)
  • Tenons and the Trestle Table: 13:2 (45-48)
  • Thonet Style Bentwood Rocker: 13:1 (21-24)

In the 1980s, if you wanted a bentwood piece, you went looking for Don Peck. He was a master at creating a wide variety of bentwood pieces, including the Vienna Dining Chair, and developing some of the most innovative bending jigs.

Norene Postman

 

William R. “Bill” Postman, Jr. & Norene Postman (Hasbrouck Heights, New Jersey)

  • Baking Day: 6:2 (22-25)
  • Building a 1937 Cord: 5:1 (5-9) 

  • Finishing Plastic Furniture: 5:3 (41-43)
  • Hand Decorated Furniture: Two Alternatives: 8:4 (9-12)
  • Shaker Commode Chair: 8:5 (25-28)
  • Shaker Wood Box From Pleasant Hill: 8:6 (14-17)
  • The Used Look : A Distressed Finish for a Kit Settle: 8:2 (10-11)

You can thank Bill and Norene Postman for the re-introduction of The Scale Cabinetmaker in digital format. In 2000, Bill and Norene had The Scale Cabinetmaker scanned by a company in New York City. While the original scans proved to be problematic (mostly because Jim Dorsett had an allergic reaction to all things computer related–the result of dropping his box of data cards for his dissertation in the hallway outside of his office and having to spend the better part of a month putting the things back in order), without Bill’s prompting, Jim and The Scale Cabinetmaker may never have taken the first step into contemporary publishing. Bill was also the first modeler to propose and submit an article on something other than scale model miniatures –most notably his piece on the 1937 Cord. Jim was something of a purist, preferring wood and brass to plastic, so Bill’s articles on plastic were a real departure and proved to be very popular. 

Robert R. Radcliffe

  • A Miniature Chess Set: 5:2 (51-52) 
Miniature Chess and Checker Boards: 6:4 (38-40)

Alex & Judy Rankine

  • Charlton House Kitbash: (Part 1) 4:3 (19-26); (Part 2) 4:4 (41-46); (Part 2): 5:2 (45-48)

Kirk Ratajesak (Seattle, Washington)

  • Fretwork Miniatures: 6:2 (42-45)

Kirk was one of a number of master carvers who wrote for TSC over the years. Although he has moved on to other forms, his article on fretwork remains one of the more interesting “carving” articles we published over out 20 year span.

Dolores Rawding

  • Getting the Job Done: Lady’s Cylinder Desk (c. 1790): 9:2 (23-28)

Dolores V. Rawdings was best known for her “period” furniture, of which the Lady’s Cylinder Desk is one example.

Jack Reifel

  • Special Techniques in Miniatures: 6:2 (8-13)

John C. Reppert

  • An Eastlake Secretary from Basic Tools: (Part 1) 5:3 (28-37); (Part 2) 5:4 (16-26)

William T. (Ted) Roubal, PhD

  • Casablanca Ceiling Fan with a Built-In Motor: 8:1 (18-23)
  • Direct Current Power Supply: 8:3 (45-46)
  • Dollhouse Power Supplies: 9:4 (41-42)
  • Enhancing the Realism of a Miniature Grandfather Clock: Adding Pendulum Motion & A Tic-Toc Circuit: 8:4 (36-43)
  • Fashioning Items in Glass for Miniature Settings (Shaping Glass, Forming Glass with Heat, Coloring Glass) 14:2 (5-12)
  • A Kitbashed Flourescent Light: 15:4 (45-48)
  • The Lathe Spindle Indexer: (Part 1) 12:3 (44-48); (Part 2) 12:4 (41-42)
  • Lighting Fixtures: 10:3 (17-20)
  • Lighted Working Doorbell: (Part 1) 11:4 (25-28); (Part 2) 12:1 (43-47)
  • A Review of Small Lathes for Miniaturists: 13:1 (25-35)
  • Screen Printing for Miniature Settings: (Part 1) 13:3 (25-28); (Part 2) 13:4 (45-47)
  • Some Topics on Dollhouse Lighting: Using Voltage Dropping Resistors & Light Emitting Diodes: 9:1 (43-46)
  • Small Metal Lathe: (Part 1) 10:3 (45-50); (Part 2) 10:4 (20-24); (Part 3) 11:1 (51-56); (Part 4) 11:2 (43-48); (Part 5) 11:3 (28-44)

Suzanne Russo

  • Artwork for Two-Sided Photoetching: 7:4 (52-55)
  • Basic Carving with an X-Acto Knife: 6:1 (4-9) 

  • For the Fun of It: A Serpentine Table: 6:2 (4-7)
  • Hardware Drawings for Profile Photoetching: 7:2 (41-45)
  • Ornamental Golden Oak Table: 16:1 (37-40)

Bill Sevebeck

  • The All-Purpose Shaper/Saw Table: (Part 1) 2:4 (37-42); (Part 2) 3:2 (18-21); (Part 3) 3:3 (29)

  • Lamp-Mounted Adjustable Work Clamp: 3:1 (45-47)

  • Modeling From Prototype: A 17th Century Gateleg Table: 1:3 (2-15)
  • 
Practice in Rushing and Turning: A Shaker ladderback: 1:3 (53-54)
  • 
Woodturning in the Metalworking Lathe: (Part 1) 1:4 (49-55); (Part 2): 2:1 (26-31); (Part 3) 2:2 (48-53)

  • Working with the Dremel Moto-Lathe: 7:1 (19-22)

Kathy Sevebeck

  • A Conversation with Harry Whalon: 2:3 (22-25) 

  • A Geometric Rug: 2:2 (31-33) 

  • A Needle in My Hand (essay): 2:1 (15) 

  • Butterflies for Stitching: 4:2 (20-22)

  • Candlewick Spread: Ancestor of Modern Day Chenille: 3:3 (53-54)

  • Cozy, Comfortable, and Early American: Wing Back Sofa, Matching Chair, and Ottoman: 3:3 (6-12)
  • 
Embroidery on Fabric: Three Techniques for Rugs: 2:2 (29-30) 

  • Introduction to Embroidery on Canvas: 2:1 (16-21)

  • Miniature Quilts in Cross-Stitch: 3:2 (16-17)

  • Miniature Rooms: A Different Point of View. 1:2 (20-22) 

  • Miniatures in Flame: Bargello: 1:3 (46-48) 

  • Model in a Minute: Chenille Rug: 3:2 (15)

J. Sharp

  • Jig for Cutting Perfect Circles: 6:4 (28)

S. Bernard Shaw

  • A Cobbler’s Bench: 13:3 (44-46)
  • Peg Legs: 15:2 (23-24)
  • Sanding Finger Saver: 14:2 (19-20)

Judy Shellhaas

  • Carved Fireplace (c. 1900): 10:3 (36-44)
  • Carved Frame Mirror: 10:1 (29-33)
  • Carved Pier Table: 10:1 (47-51)

June Simpson (IGMA Fellow)

  • 19th Century Blanket Box: 17:1 (32-37)
  • 19th Century Wardrobe: 17:3 (39-46)
  • Bedside Breakfast Table: 20:1 (20-24)
  • Carved 20th Century Panel Bed: 19:2 (34-42)
  • 1920’s Chippendale Bedroom Suite: Lady’s Vanity Dresser and Dresser Bench: 19:4 (33-43)
  • Chippendale Gentleman’s Dresser: 18:4 (30-37)
  • Colonial Four Post Bed with Trundle: 18:2 (40-48)
  • French Restauration Lamp Table: 17:2 (20-23)
  • Gentlemen’s Dressing Mirror: 19:1 (16-21)
  • A Hang of Shelves (What-Not and Bow Front Cabinet): 17:4 (44-46)
  • Kitchen Clock Shelf (Beginner’s Workbench): 17:3 (47-49)
  • Late Victorian Washstand: 16:4 (31-38)
  • Regency Library Chair/Steps: 18:1 (36-43)

Doreen Sinnett

  • Punch Needle Embroidery Rugs: 2:2 (34-37)

Kay C. Sobers

  • A Tomorrow Rug: 2:1 (22-25)

Bill Stalters

  • Mastic Brick: 10:2 (24-28)

Tom Steiger

  • Cheating at the Shell Game: 13:2 (5-9)
  • More Realistic Applied Carvings: 18:2 (25-28)
  • Molding and Machining a Bombe Cabinet Base: 17:1 (18-24)
  • O Wondrous Wooton!: (Part 1) 15:1 (25-33); (Part 2) 15:2 (25-35); (Part 3) 15:3 (42-49)
  • Of Fiberglass & Dental Burrs: 16:3 (49)
  • Shortcut Parquetry: 14:4 (25-30)

Fred Stephenson

  • Basic Brickwork: 9:3 (14-17)
  • Brickwork Bonds and Patterns: 9:4 (4-9)
  • Casting: 10:2 (10-14)
  • Decorative Roof Trim: 11:1 (29-35)
  • Introducing a New House Plan Series: The Green Window House: 8:1 (24-33)
  • An Italianate Victorian House in 1/4″ Scale: 8:4 (24-30)
  • Stairs: 12:3 (25-28)
  • Victorian Porch Details: 10:4 (5-11)
  • Windows: 12:1 (25-29)

Mitzi Van Horn (NAME Academy of Honor)

  • Oriental Rug Knotting: 1:1 (14-15)

Doris Victor

  • Simple Lathe Techniques: A Victorian Pedestal Table: 4:2 (41-45)

Ralph Wanner

  • Copy Reduction: 10:2 (41)

Peter F. Westcott

  • A Bishop’s Livingroom: (Part 1) 15:1 (5-12); (Part 2) 15:2 (12-18); (Part 3) 15:3 (17-24); (Part 4) 15:4 (38-44)
  • Cornice Design, c. 1796: 14:2 (16-18) 

  • Furniture for the Southwestern Room: (Part 1: Trestle Dining Table and Dining Side Chair): 16:4 (25-30); (Part 2: Bench and Wall Shelf) 17:1 (38-40)

  • Graeme House Cornice: 17:4 (48) 

  • The Inglenook Room: (Part 1) 20:1 (5-12); (Part 2): 20:2 (25-36) 

  • A Late Georgian Room: (Part 1) 3:2 (28-41); (Part 2) 3:3 (32-42); (Part 3) 3:4 (8-16); (Part 4) 4:1 (15-18)

  • Millwork for Miniatures: Chair Rail: 4:3 (29-32)

  • Millwork for Miniatures: Dental Cornice Molding: 4:4 (51-52)

  • Mitering Techniques with Hand Tools (Beginner’s Workbench, w/ J. Dorsett): 15:2 (36-41)
  • Southwestern Room Box (Part 1) 16:2 (7-11) ; (Part 2, Ceiling & Woodwork) 16:3 (25-32); (Part 3) 16:4 (43-47)
  • A Williamsburg Interior: (Part 1) 5:1 (16-21); (Part 2) 5:2 (21-27), (Part 3) 5:3 (12-17)

Harry Whalon

  • A Conversation with Harry Whalon: 2:3 (23-25)

Judee Williamson (NAME Academy of Honor)

  • A Feast Made for Laughter…The Christmas Cover Kitchen: 5:1 (4)

Kenneth A. Wolfe

  • Jigs & Fixtures: Adjustable Fence-Jedlicka Thicknessing Sander: 6:2 (46)

Pam Wright

  • Toddler’s Toys From Montgomery Ward (c. 1929): 8:1 (10)
  • Swirling Boy & Girl Toy (c. 1904): 8:2 (9)