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Joint stool. The title of this furnishings kind offers us clues that it was constructed by a joiner, not a turner – regardless of the turned legs. This is one in every of my reproductions of a 17th-century joint stool, in walnut.
Period woodworking trades in London had been strictly regulated.
I’ve quickly put down my 5⁄16” joiner’s mortising chisel in favor of a 2″ chisel for chopping carpenter’s mortises. I’m timber framing a workshop, and whereas whomping away on 2″-wide mortises, I’ve time to assume.
My principal work has at all times been as a “joiner” within the interval sense, what we’d now name a “furniture maker.” But the trades of joiner and carpenter are fairly related, so it’s not too far-fetched for me to swap out for bigger instruments, bigger joints and a bigger undertaking throughout. A drawbored mortise and tenon is similar, no matter scale.
I dwell in a time and place wherein I can sort out no matter type of woodworking I want, and no one’s nostril will get out of joint. This wasn’t at all times the case. Seventeenth-century London was a bustling place, crammed with craftsmen of all flavors – however with these massive numbers of individuals got here massive numbers of laws.
Joyners’ Work
A matter of scale. In the 17th century, the big mortise I’m chopping right here for a timber-framed store would correctly be the work of a carpenter, not a joiner.
In 1631, Robert Stone, a London joiner, was accused of “intermeddling” in carpenters’ work. This led to a dispute between the Carpenters’ Company and that of the Joyners’ Company that resulted in a prolonged doc drawn up by the town aldermen. To settle issues, the aldermen wrote out a piece-by-piece determination itemizing what work every commerce may tackle.
Among the numerous works they deemed the joyners’ realm had been:
“All sorts of Bedsteads whatsoever (onlie except Boarded Bedsteads and nayled together)…all sorts of Chayres and stooles which are made with mortesses or tennants…all tables of Wainscoate Wallnutt or other Stuffe glewed with frames mortesses or tennants…all sorts of formes framed made of boards with the sides pinned or glewed…all sorts of Chests being framed duftalled pynned or Glued…all sorts of Cabinetts or Boxes duftalled pynned glued or Joyned…all Sorte of Cupboards framed duftalled pynned or glued…all Sorte of presses for wearinge apparell Mercers Silkmen Haberdashers Gouldsmiths Millenors or Napkin presses being pannelled duftalled pynned or Glued”
‘Joyned’ kind. Shown here’s a interval instance of a 17th-century joined “form” (a bench) within the church at Haddon Hall, Derbyshire.
In the case of the tables “of Wainscote,” this use of the time period refers to oak timber, usually that imported into London from the Baltic. The varieties are lengthy benches, constructed similar to a joint stool normally, solely 4′-6′ lengthy. The presses are massive cupboard-like items, with doorways on the entrance and shelving inside.
Interior Woodwork
Interiors. Joyners had the license to not solely make joined furnishings, but in addition waintscoting and different inside trim. The pulpit and desk within the chapel at Haddon Hall (above), and at St. John the Baptist church in Inglesham, Wiltshire (proper), are typical examples of early 17th-century joiners’ work.
All these things fall underneath the heading that we as we speak would name “furniture,” however joyners additionally cornered the market on “all Sorts of Wainscott and sealing of Howses and setling made by the use of Two Iages.”
“Sealing” is making frame-and-panel wainscoting. Another interval time period for a joiner is a “ceiler.” The two “Iages” are considered gauges of some kind; I’m nonetheless puzzled in any case these years as to what that precisely means. It comes up once more, simply to maintain me awake at evening.
The wainscot was not the one inside woodwork they claimed, their works included “shopp windows,” “doores framed pannelled or Glued” and “all pewes pulpitts and seates with the Deskes belonging to them framed pannelled or Glued.”
Just in case the carpenters had any concepts, the aldermen gave the joyners declare to: “All worke whatsoever already invented or that hereafter shall bee invented being made by one or two iages with the use of all manner of nayles”
And the joyners/ceilers had been additionally the carvers: “All carved workes either raised or Cutt through or sunck in with the grounde taken out being wrought and cutt with carving Tooles without the use of Plaines.”
Turners’ Work
Turned work. Jan Joris van Vliet’s 1635 etching of a turner illustrates what is supposed by “whatsoever is done with the foot as have treddle or wheele for turning of wood.”
There are different minor varieties assigned to the joyners, however what of the carpenters? I’ll have a look at them within the subsequent subject. Meanwhile, simply to maintain issues hopping, the joyners had been feeling the pinch from one other path only a few months later, when the Company of Turners filed a grievance towards them, citing that:
“The Compy of Joyners assume unto themselves the artwork of turning to the fallacious of the Turners. It appeareth to us that the humanities of turning & joyning are two a number of & distinct trades and we conceive it very inconvenient that both of those trades ought to encroach upon the opposite and we discover that the Turners have continuously for probably the most half turned mattress posts & ft of joyned stools for the Joyners and of late some Joyners who by no means used to show their very own bedposts and stool ft have set on work of their homes some poor decayed Turners & of them have discovered the feate & artwork of turning which they may not do earlier than.
“And it appeareth unto us by custom that the turning of Bedposts Feet of tables joyned stools do properly belong to the trade of a Turner and not to the art of a Joyner and whatsoever is done with the foot as have treddle or wheele for turning of any wood we are of the opinion and do find that it properly belongs to the Turner’s and we find that the Turners ought not to use the gage or gages, grouffe plaine or plough plaine and mortising chisells or any of them for that the same do belong to the Joyners trade.”
From the sounds of issues, the turners weren’t absolutely with out blame. Imagine turners utilizing the plow airplane!
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