50 Australian Wood Review
the stock, machining it up, reveneering
it.’ A few test pieces and prototypes
later it was a matter of ‘giving it a crack
with the real stuff and hoping it panned
out – and luckily it did’.A considerable amount of handwork
was involved. ‘The dovetails were
handcut throughout and there’s no
other way to do muntins on barred
doors other than sit there with a nice
sharp block plane and a shooting
board to cut all those angles for the
patterned bars’, said Simeon.One of the most challenging parts
was the cockbeading on the doors
and drawers. ‘A lot of furniture of
those times had pretty outrageous
veneer on the front and they
tended to protect the edges with
cockbeading. I did it the traditional
way where you piston fit the drawers,
then rebate the fronts, then add the
cockbeading over the top.’The crown moulding also presented
some difficulties. ‘In theory it
shouldn’t be that hard but whenyou’re doing a stacked moulding
and applying layers there’s plenty
of margin for error. If one is out a
little bit, as soon as you try to mitre
it with the next part there will be a
lot of fiddly work to correct those
minor issues.’It was however the challenge of
processes and fine detailing that led
Simeon into cabinet and furniture
making after 13 years of building,
carpentry and joinery. ‘Dad was a
builder and never said no to a job, so
if they also wanted a coffee table or
some windows repaired we did that
too. I found that I enjoyed the finer
things like fitting doors and hinges.’
After building his own house Simeon
went on to make his own furniture.
Soon after he decided ‘it was probably
best to go and get some lessons’.Learning from Alastair Boell at
the Melbourne Guild of Fine
Woodworking (where he now teaches)
took his furniture making skills to the
next level. Was he a dream student?
‘Well, not quite’, laughed Simeon.Above: The turned columns add some
grandeur to the piece and visually support
its weight.
Above right: Detail of crown moulding
composed of four layers and crossbanding
which also frames the doors.
Below: American poplar drawer sides
allowed the handcut dovetails to pop.FEATURE