Irion Company’s staff cabinetmaker Brad Ramsay, shows us the final finishing steps in carving decorative twist finials — those stately carved spiral flourishes often found on elaborate grandfather clocks, highboys, and other top-grade period furniture. This is the third segment in my three-part video series focusing on how to carve twists and spirals. In this segment, Brad, shows us the end-game where we see the big payoff — an impressive decorative element sure to inspire wonder. Join me as we learn the core skills for finishing any rough carving using a simple gouge (or sweep) including how to carve a cove or relief-cut to final depth, how to smooth the facets, how to read & work with the grain, and how to precisely carve to delicate layout lines.

And there is a bigger story here too. Brad, who is Irion’s carving specialist, told me during filming why he thinks carving has made him a better woodworker. It’s taught him to work “with the wood” not against it and to focus on the details in things. — Keith (10.5 Minute Woodworking Video) For more in this series watch: Secrets Revealed: How to Rough Carve Twists and Spirals (Part 2 of 3)

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The Irion Company specializes in the restoration, conservation, and hand-made reproduction of American antique furniture from the 18th and 19th century. Brad Ramsay is a cabinetmaker and he specializes in period correct carvings.

In this video, we join proprietor Todd Felpel as he takes his ritual end-of-day tour through the highly acclaimed, 60-year old, Irion Company cabinet shop. During our tour, Todd hints at how cabinetshops of the past were run and how custom furniture was ordered and created. And it all starts with the patterns.

Irion’s pattern room is reminiscent of many early American cabinet shops that dotted the east coast of the United States 200 years ago. In this room, countless sample-parts dangle from the rafters, each group memorializing a specific antique masterpiece. Irion has relationships with some of America’s most prestigious museums (the Yale, the Metropolitan, and Winterthur) allowing them “back door” access to measure and document some of the most significant examples of Early American decorative arts. Based on these visits, where photographs and copious notes are taken, Todd describes how sample patterns are then carefully made. Each documented piece must include key reference points, i.e. the sweep of a table leg ankle, key carving points, the subtle dimensions of the foot’s ball & claw, and precise molding details. All are carefully defined and then detailed in measured drawings. In the end, the entire collection of drawings, sample patterns, and photos, are stored for future reference — guideposts for the next the generation of cabinetmakers.

This nightly walk is how Todd monitors the hand-crafted work of Irion’s skilled artisans. As we tour with him, Todd reflects on 250 years of furniture making tradition. It’s a calling he clearly relishes as he says, “it’s better than diamonds”. I can’t tell you how much fun I had on this trek. Come join me. (4.5 Minute Woodworking Video)

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The Irion Company specializes in the restoration, conservation, and hand-made reproduction of American antique furniture from the 18th and 19th century. Irion is based in Christiana, Pennsylvania.