> There have been complaints levelled at me for the vast number of 
> close-up shots of
> joinery and carvings, as well as jeering from the audience

Not this audience!

> in regards to my methods.  Apparently lying on the floor to take photos 
> of the underside
> of tables and cabinets is a source of ridicule.

How else to see them?  Honestly!  I've enjoyed all the photos.

> Here's a simple one, layout lines on dovetails.  This was on a short
> cabinet, maybe 5 ft tall, and it had a crown molding across the top,
> but not down the sides.  I suspect it was made to fit into a niche
> someplace.

'Spect you're right.  Although, I restored a front molding on a whale
tail press that was flat on the sides and contoured across the front.
There was no question of it having been built into anything.
d
> It gets more interesting.  Here's a shot of the top side, where you
> can see the pegs used to pin the crown in place.  The bit that
> intrigues me here is the cutout on the end of the stile.

Curious.  I've replaced crown moldinges on 18th Century cupboards,
but they were all nailed in place.  No idea about the cut-outs in
the stiles.

> And here's some more layout lines, this time across the top of a
> set of flutes (or is that reeds?)

Flutes.  I love finding layout lines.

> You can feel it, not sure it you can see it.

Yep, I see it.


> Check this one out, looks like it has been to the repair shop a few 
> times:

And once to a shop that didn't concern itself with matching woods.

> I find this kind of thing fascinating.  I could spend hours 
> interpreting
> the life of battered old furniture.  Actually I did.  :^)

Lots to learn!  I've learned some very interesting and useful things 
from
repairing old work.

> I'm thinking it was the carver who made a mistake,
> and left some evidence to confound me.

Be my guess, too.

> One more thing I noticed about the carvings is that some of them
> appear to have been done after assembling the piece.  Here's
> one that has the carvings outside the boundaries of the panels.

I've seen this technique before.  Years ago in a museum in Boston,
there was a new exhibit.  They had carefully disassembled a 16th or
early 17th Century pub.  The walls and ceiling were fully wainscotted
oak.  The rails and stiles had beaded edges.  Looking closely, it was
apparent the rails had been beaded and then cut to receive the stiles.
The stiles were beaded but where they butted into the rails, the beading
had been cut by hand, just like your photo.

> ​ So now there is one more person who might have begun to
> appreciate subtle aspects of the furniture in her care, who
> might look deeper than just "that's pretty" and see someone's
> hand at work, creating something amazing.

That's a real thrill, isn't it?

> And speaking of pretty, I think my 'stache is nicer ;^)

Well, they're both pretty impressive...

Mike in Sacto