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I’m thrilled to be a part of the Society of American Period Furniture Makers’s (SAPFM) event at the Detroit Institute of Arts. It is this weekend, March 16th and 17th. Hours are 10 a.m.-4 p.m. on Saturday; 12-4 p.m. on Sunday. I will be there demonstrating how to cut dovetails by hand, both through- and half-blind (you might be able to shame me into doing a secret dovetail if I have time). You’ll be able to get a sneak-peak at my spice chest before it hits Popular Woodworking Magazine in August. And I’ll have a small sample of my 18th-century tool collection for you to examine, including a number of planes made by the famous Christopher Gabriel (of Seaton Tool Chest fame).
Along with my demo, we will also have a number of other period furniture makers demonstrating their skills and knowledge. George Walker, Steve Lash, Jim Crammond and Ed Stuckey are all going to be in attendance, along with several other very talented members of SAPFM. These guys will also be leading tours of the DIA’s superb American furniture collection. It’s a great opportunity to learn a little more about the history of our craft and the techniques used to build the masterpieces of the past.
For those of you who can’t make it, I will be live-Tweeting the event. Follow along on Twitter, user name @zdillinger. I will be using the hashtag #sapfmdia to make it easy to find the right tweets. While you’re at it, make sure to follow Popular Woodworking Magazine @pweditors.
I hope to meet as many of you as possible in a couple of weeks. For those of you who can’t make it to Detroit, I’ll also be exhibiting my spice chest with SAPFM at the Lie-Nielsen tool show in Cincinnati in April. More details on that to come.
— Zach Dillinger
Editor’s note: We’re inviting our contributing editors and authors to write blog entries for us on all things woodworking. The post above is from Zachary Dillinger, a talented woodworker who works only with hand tools as he makes bespoke furniture in his Michigan shop. You can find out more about his work (and read his blog) at Eaton County Joinery.
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