Rvp~1875

Rvp~1875 I've always believed that to make furniture from a certain era, you have to use the same tools, dyes and finishes as they had in that time.

Power tools are faster and easier (sometimes), but give off a completely different look. Our dyes and finishes are historical recipes of boiled ingredients such as walnut hulls, berries, linseed, and beeswax.

Day 10 - DoorsSorry it took a few extra days for this post, but the four doors took a minute! The door frames started wi...
05/07/2026

Day 10 - Doors

Sorry it took a few extra days for this post, but the four doors took a minute!

The door frames started with prepping: straight edge, rip, cut to length, flatten and smooth. Next, the tops and bottoms (rails) get those big through tenons. It’s alot of extra work making mortise and tenon joints 4 inches long, but again, with the hundreds of years, size and weight, this will get the strongest joints at RVP~1875.

Next, drilling and chiseling the matching holes, (mortises). Then we custom plane the tenons till they sit square and have the right fit. We then put 60 feet of interior grooves on these boards to get ready for the panels.

The walnut panels are the most labor intensive part of the whole thing. Robby said on day 8 he stopped counting at 5000 strokes with a plane. You’ll see in the pics the raised panels are a 4 step process. Then the panels go in the frames, get pegged forever and fit. Hinges, k***s and a little final cleanup, and these cabinets are ready for dye and finish!!!

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Day 7 - Drawers go to their homesWe took the dovetailed drawers out of clamps and employed our trade secret secondary lo...
05/01/2026

Day 7 - Drawers go to their homes

We took the dovetailed drawers out of clamps and employed our trade secret secondary locks before planing the corners flush, (see video in the comments), a final smooth planing and then the step it really takes years to get good at- finding and planing every little high spot in the drawers, (and their homes), until they glide straight and easy.

* Note how the backs of the drawers are taller than the rest. This is one of the extinct techniques you would find 150 years ago on the really good furniture. The tall backs run along the bottom of the shelf above it, keeping it from tipping and also catching the back of the face so it can’t fall out easily.

We also started prepping boards for door frames today. The next two days will be all about those big frame and panel doors.

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Day 6 - DrawersThis morning we prepped the 16 boards for these 4 huge drawers. The customer asked for walnut fronts, so ...
04/30/2026

Day 6 - Drawers

This morning we prepped the 16 boards for these 4 huge drawers. The customer asked for walnut fronts, so that takes three times the saw and plane strokes as the rest of them.

Next we tongue and grooved drawer bottoms and got them in clamps so as to be ready for assembly in a few hours.

Then we’re ready to dovetail the drawers- pins on the front and tails on the sides. See video for explanation.

Once all 32 corners fit with their mates, (54 ft of grooves on the drawer pieces, and 54 ft of rabbets on the drawer bottoms), then we assemble. They will sit in clamps overnight then get custom fit into their spots and prettied up.

Tomorrow- we fit drawers and start door frames.

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Day 5 - cutouts, battens & mouldingOK, so we took a couple of days to catch up the second cabinet and have them both at ...
04/29/2026

Day 5 - cutouts, battens & moulding

OK, so we took a couple of days to catch up the second cabinet and have them both at the same step.

Today we cut out the feet, added battens, with the grain running the opposite direction to reinforce those feet for the hundreds of pounds they will be holding for the next thousand years or so. We also shaped and added 32 feet of moulding to break the line, make it pretty, and naturally keep the eyes focused on the piece. This is Robby‘s signature shape, which is a reverse ogee with a bead. See the video in the comments to see how that’s done. Tomorrow is drawer day!

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Day 4 - Back and faceSo now that the carcass is together, we can put the back in. The backboard‘s rabbet and groove into...
04/25/2026

Day 4 - Back and face

So now that the carcass is together, we can put the back in. The backboard‘s rabbet and groove into the sides and the top and then tongue and groove to each other. There was 200 feet of groove work on these two backs. The back holds the piece square and adds stiffness to the shelves so they can’t warp with time. We also dovetailed the step backs and mortise & tenoned the face today.

Check out the video in the comments and be sure to like and share!

Day 3 – AssemblyToday is a big day, and also the third 12-hr day in a row. Whew! Now that we are dovetailed and grooved,...
04/23/2026

Day 3 – Assembly

Today is a big day, and also the third 12-hr day in a row. Whew! Now that we are dovetailed and grooved, we can do the prep and rabbeting for the shelves and dividers. If all goes well, assembly!

Check out the video in the comments below!

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Day 2 – Main JoineryAs the carcass boards come out of clamps, we size and surface plane them. The goal here is to flatte...
04/22/2026

Day 2 – Main Joinery

As the carcass boards come out of clamps, we size and surface plane them. The goal here is to flatten to about 80%, (ask me why 80% sometime), and of course to make them smooth and pretty.

Dovetails are next. Without going into the complexities of dovetailing, Sara saws and chisels the shapes, pins first, then custom tails which gives our primary locks at our dominant carcass corners.

Next up is Dado’s. These are grooves that happen across the grain. Today we’ll also do dado’s to hold the shelves and grooves for the back of the carcass. Robby sawed and planed 100 ft of dado’s today, a new shop record in hardwood. He’s a beast! We will see tomorrow how badly his arms and shoulders are wrecked! Be sure to check out the video in the comments.

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RVP~1875, the World’s Leading Historical Furniture Shop, is currently building a pair of Double Stepback Fireplace cabin...
04/22/2026

RVP~1875, the World’s Leading Historical Furniture Shop, is currently building a pair of Double Stepback Fireplace cabinets, which are like wardrobes, but with more interior shelving and dividers. They are 8ft tall, 5ft wide and 2ft deep, (HUGE).

We thought it might be fun to bring you along for the ride!

We will do an intense build over the next week or so on one of the cabinets, showing the steps and a few of the techniques as we go. As always, we will be the only shop in the world triple joining, (securing the piece together in all directions with locking wooden joints), which is the only way a piece of furniture can last hundreds of years.

Day 1 – Prepping the Carcass

These cabinets are made of Butternut, so the main body (carcass) is first. We join or make the edges straight in 8ft sections, and then match them up, and tongue and groove them together. With those in clamps, we do the same with our interior shelving and dividers. Robby and Sara joined & tongue and grooved 400 ft today. Imagine a tongue and groove joint longer than a football field!

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Look at this fantastic butternut and walnut bed stand! Complete with hidden compartments!
04/07/2026

Look at this fantastic butternut and walnut bed stand! Complete with hidden compartments!

This gorgeous oak set went home to California!
04/07/2026

This gorgeous oak set went home to California!

Address

115 S Wilson Avenue
Jefferson, IA
50129

Opening Hours

Tuesday 9am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 5pm
Saturday 9am - 5pm

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+15159753083

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