In essence, most furniture is 'handmade', even if all the components have been produced using machines. Providing the components are assembled by hand, anyone can call it 'handmade'

.........and plenty do !!!

We think this is misleading.

So how is our Oak Furniture and Architectural Joinery made?

Basically, we produce in two different ways and for this purpose we will call them
'Hand-Finished Reproduction' and 'HandMade Replica'.

HAND-FINISHED REPRODUCTION

Material Preparation:

English/European character grade oak cut and prepared using modern machines and then hand-planed, spoke shaved or hand-scraped. Table tops are usually spoke shaved and hand scraped straight from sawn oak.
Mouldings:

Cut using spindle moulder or router.
Carving:

By-hand.
Assembly:

By hand, of course!
Ageing and Finishing:

Possibly the most important aspect that needs time and finesse to get right. We put the same amount of work in here as our handmade replica pieces described below. The ageing is very carefully and thoughtfully administered so as to accurately reflect centuries of genuine wear and tear. The colouring is hand applied using techniques and formulae developed over decades and unknown to anyone else. Final finishing is also hand applied using traditional beeswax and carnauba wax.

We most definitely don't thrash our furniture 'willy nilly' with chains, nor do we spray finish our pieces, or use modern lacquers or inappropriate French Polish.

Modern machining significantly cuts down on production time and, combined with our skills in hand-carving, hand-finishing, ageing and colouring, enables us to produce some of the world's most finest bespoke early oak reproduction furniture and architectural joinery, at just a little more than other 'top-end' manufacturers standard-range oak furniture. Lead times are normally between 8-20 weeks.

If we don't say 'handmade' then the product has been produced along these lines.



HANDMADE REPLICA

Material Preparation:

Mainly using reclaimed old oak (usually 150 to 500 years old) which requires time and great care in selecting. Cut mainly using hand-held tools, so no two pieces are identical, perfectly straight or of uniform dimensions. Finished 'by eye' using hand-tools. Wherever possible we retain the original pit sawn surfaces or reproduce them in the most convincing way.
Mouldings:

Cut by-hand, using workshop made scratch stocks and moulding planes, in exactly the same way as the craftsmen of the Medieval, Tudor and Elizabethan periods would have done. (Bulk material is initially removed by machine, to sensibly minimize unnecessary costs)
Carving:

By-hand.
Assembly:

Individually fitted mortise and tenon joints using the drawer bored and pegged method, with hand-made tapered oak pegs, just as it was done centuries ago. Because of their inherent irregularities, panels are also individually hand fitted. Where they are used, we hand-cut dovetail joints.
Ageing and Finishing:

By-hand as described above. We probably spend more time on this aspect (whether hand-finished or handmade) than anyone else and is reflected in the quality of colour, clarity and patination achieved.

Overall, a much more labour intensive way of doing things and, with higher material costs as well, we normally work on two to three times the manufacturing costs of a 'hand-finished reproduction'. However, the rarity of this level of oak furniture making today today, produces an end product which is not really reproduction at all. More appropriately, it is regarded by our clients who demand this depth of authenticity, to be the very best alternative to a none existent, unsuitable or financially 'out-of-reach' original. Lead times are normally between 20-50 weeks.

When we make furniture and architectural joinery this way it will be clearly and, we feel, more honestly described as 'handmade'.