I grew up with, and inherited, a bunch of Chinese furniture, primairy in
rosewood, some with carved cedar panels. Until I got into woodworking,
these pieces were just furniture - nice furniture for sure - but not
anything I'd really examined - or
studied.

Eventually, I got beyond Norm and plywood. That's when I started
studying a
few of the pieces I really like. I began to see that despite their
apparent delicate
look, when you examine the inside you see that you're seeing an illusion
of
delicacey - the parts you don't normally see being a lot beefier than
one would
think - and what appears to be several delicate pieces - applied molding
in
"western furniture" is actually an integral part of a structural member,
visually
broken up into more delicate looking parts.

What was most surprising was that almost all of the joinery can't be
seen -
it's all internal - out of sigth, out of mind - nothing to distract from
the
illusion. Naturally I had to find out what they did that I COULDN"'T
see. A
bit of web searching, visits with a woodworker who does a lot of chinese
and japanese joinery, a book or two - and I was hooked. There are a
thousand
and one - or more -ways to stick to pieces of wood together - and keep
them
there. Though "western" furniture makers have come up with some pretty
tricky joinery, they pale in comparison to those done by 10th generation
furniture makers with emperors as patrons and climate changes that can
be so extreme - requiring special joinery to accomodate them.

So here's the first of three examples of Chinese Joinery - the familiar
Frame and Panel - done in a slightly unfamilair way.

charlie b

"charlieb" wrote in message
...
So here's the first of three examples of Chinese Joinery - the familiar
Frame and Panel - done in a slightly unfamilair way.

charlie b


Charlie,

Some of these joints look more like puzzle maker challenges that functional
joints - as if the woodworker was trying to come up with cute way to join
things just to be creative. Of course, I have not studies these at all. In
your studies, did ascertain that some of these rather complicated looking
joints actually performed in a superior way or overcame some particular
problem that more conventional joinery could not?

Bob

On Fri, 22 Jun 2007 21:51:57 -0500, "Bob" wrote:

Some of these joints look more like puzzle maker challenges that functional
joints - as if the woodworker was trying to come up with cute way to join
things just to be creative. Of course, I have not studies these at all. In
your studies, did ascertain that some of these rather complicated looking
joints actually performed in a superior way or overcame some particular
problem that more conventional joinery could not?

A lot of traditional Chinese joinery was glue-less, because
traditional glues didn't always survive their climate. So joints
became more complex.

John

charlieb wrote:
I grew up with, and inherited, a bunch of Chinese furniture, primairy in
rosewood, some with carved cedar panels. Until I got into woodworking,
these pieces were just furniture - nice furniture for sure - but not
anything I'd really examined - or
studied.

Eventually, I got beyond Norm and plywood. That's when I started
studying a
few of the pieces I really like. I began to see that despite their
apparent delicate
look, when you examine the inside you see that you're seeing an illusion
of
delicacey - the parts you don't normally see being a lot beefier than
one would
think - and what appears to be several delicate pieces - applied molding
in
"western furniture" is actually an integral part of a structural member,
visually
broken up into more delicate looking parts.

What was most surprising was that almost all of the joinery can't be
seen -
it's all internal - out of sigth, out of mind - nothing to distract from
the
illusion. Naturally I had to find out what they did that I COULDN"'T
see. A
bit of web searching, visits with a woodworker who does a lot of chinese
and japanese joinery, a book or two - and I was hooked. There are a
thousand
and one - or more -ways to stick to pieces of wood together - and keep
them
there. Though "western" furniture makers have come up with some pretty
tricky joinery, they pale in comparison to those done by 10th generation
furniture makers with emperors as patrons and climate changes that can
be so extreme - requiring special joinery to accomodate them.

So here's the first of three examples of Chinese Joinery - the familiar
Frame and Panel - done in a slightly unfamilair way.

charlie b


------------------------------------------------------------------------


Thanks for sharing these. I am intrigued as to why they would try and
deliberately hide these beautiful joints. I suppose that is the ultimate
art, to create something that would spark different
interpretations/opinions. I have just got the bug, I am going to try and
cut the mitre/tenon joint. do you recommend any good books on these. I
would appreciate it.

al

"charlieb" wrote in message
...

So here's the first of three examples of Chinese Joinery - the familiar
Frame and Panel - done in a slightly unfamilair way.

charlie b


Thanks for sharing. Are there any books or websites that you could
recommend on this type of joinery? I've been looking for more details of
Japanese furniture, but most of what I've found is more of a historical
account than anything with detail shots or joint assemblies.

-MJ

"Mark Johnson" wrote in message
...

"charlieb" wrote in message
...

So here's the first of three examples of Chinese Joinery - the familiar
Frame and Panel - done in a slightly unfamilair way.

charlie b


Thanks for sharing. Are there any books or websites that you could
recommend on this type of joinery? I've been looking for more details of
Japanese furniture, but most of what I've found is more of a historical
account than anything with detail shots or joint assemblies.

-MJ
Mark -- You may find some of what you want in "Chinese Domestic Furniture -
in Photographs and Measured Drawings" by Gustav Ecke (Dover 0-486-25171-3).
I found a copy at Woodcraft. The liner notes state that this is an
unabridged republication of the portfolio "Chinese Domestic Furniture"
originally published in Peking in 1944. It is published by Dover
Publications, Inc., 31 East 2nd Street, Mineola, NY 11501.

Somewhere in the stack of stuff that I put into storage boxes during our
home renovation I also have a book I picked up at a bookstore in central
China which has great detail on building furniture -- but it's all in
Chinese. The drawings are very informative. If you're near a big city with
a Chinese neighborhood (NYC, Mott Street, San Francisco Chinatown, Honolulu,
Coral Springs near Ft. Lauderdale) you can probably find a Chinese language
bookstore for a comparable volume, with a clerk who can help you find it.
Regards -- JimR

Thanks, I'll look into that. I don't remember there being a real bookstore
at the Chicago Chinatown, but I'll check again. Or maybe Mitsuwa could
order something, now that you mention it.

-MJ

"JimR" wrote in message
nk.net...

"Mark Johnson" wrote in message
...

"charlieb" wrote in message
...

So here's the first of three examples of Chinese Joinery - the familiar
Frame and Panel - done in a slightly unfamilair way.

charlie b


Thanks for sharing. Are there any books or websites that you could
recommend on this type of joinery? I've been looking for more details of
Japanese furniture, but most of what I've found is more of a historical
account than anything with detail shots or joint assemblies.

-MJ
Mark -- You may find some of what you want in "Chinese Domestic
Furniture - in Photographs and Measured Drawings" by Gustav Ecke (Dover
0-486-25171-3). I found a copy at Woodcraft. The liner notes state that
this is an unabridged republication of the portfolio "Chinese Domestic
Furniture" originally published in Peking in 1944. It is published by
Dover Publications, Inc., 31 East 2nd Street, Mineola, NY 11501.

Somewhere in the stack of stuff that I put into storage boxes during our
home renovation I also have a book I picked up at a bookstore in central
China which has great detail on building furniture -- but it's all in
Chinese. The drawings are very informative. If you're near a big city
with a Chinese neighborhood (NYC, Mott Street, San Francisco Chinatown,
Honolulu, Coral Springs near Ft. Lauderdale) you can probably find a
Chinese language bookstore for a comparable volume, with a clerk who can
help you find it. Regards -- JimR