Fred Walker conducted the initial workshop planning meeting on Wednesday, June 22, 2011 in his workshop in Woodbine, MD. Eight Chesapeake SAPFM Chapter members have signed up to be participants and include: Bert Bleckwenn, Bob Elser, Dan Brown, David Diaman, Doug Moran, Kevin Foley, Mark Maleski, and Pete Owen with Fred conducting the workshop.
Fred walked us through an introduction to the side chair, and then highlighted the construction sequence, provided carving and shaping guidance, discussed the traditional shellac finishing techniques, offered other chair building references, and discussed material selection. Fred provided us with full scale drawings of the construction elements along with a DVD of photos of the original that he and Eugene Landon had taken at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
Our next steps are for each participant to create templates from the full scale drawing and practice carving the ball & claw using some practice walnut blanks that he provided. As Fred pointed out, we will be instructed in the "Gene Landon" method of carving which is a very methodical process and yields consistency. Fred will be sourcing the mahogany for most of us in the next couple of weeks and we will reconvene once he has it in hand. We plan to initially meet on Saturday evenings, but will adjust over time as we get deep into it.
As an added treat, before we departed, Fred gave us a tour of his many completed projects that he has done over the past thirty years. While he is modest and critical of his early work, they are all great accomplishments and a testimony to Fred as a true protege of Eugene Landon. His mentor would be proud and we are honored that Fred is passing on techniques that he learned from Gene.