Furniture by John Miller

I built this cherry highboy about 25 years ago along with some other pieces of early American style furniture.  I modeled it after an 18th century piece pictured in Wallace Nutting's Furniture Treasury.  His picture had no scale so I assumed that the smallest dimension of the cabriole legs was 1 inch.  Using that as the basis for my scale, I scaled and drew a plan from his photo and built it.   Years later, I saw that same highboy featured in Antiques Magazine along with actual dimensions which I compared to mine.  I was 1/2 inch off in height!  I made the legs from a timber that had been cut in the 1940s from the area now flooded by Lake Dardanelle.  Its got 244 hand cut dovetails and has served as my dresser since I built it.  The cherry has aged to a beautiful deep reddish brown.   

Copy and photography supplied by John Miller.

San Jacinto Bowie Knife and Sheath by John Miller

 

The inspiration for this knife came from one made by Graveley and Wreaks and is pictured in A Sure Defense: The Bowie Knife In America by Worthen and Zalesky.  The second photo shows pictures of the front and back of the original knife as well as my full size paper pattern and my rough forged blade (1084 steel).  The original knife is etched but I can't make out the pattern so I sketched one of my own and etched the blade with salt water and a battery charger.  The original handle is ivory, I carved mine from a piece of cherry and painted it in an attempt to mimic the original.  The sheath is leather and is partially lined with wood.

Copy and photos supplied by John Miller.

Painted Paddle Replicas by John Miller

 

I carved these from 2x6 spruce/fir studs and painted them in the style of the indigenous Northwest Coast cultures.  

Copy and photos supplied by John Miller.

Small Tomahawk, Big Knife by John Miller

 

I didn't intend to make these as a matching pair but I noticed I used a similar inlay on both handles so I photoed them together.  

Copy and photography supplied by John Millet.

English Style Trade Gun by John Miller

 

This project started life as a slightly modified trade gun kit from Clay Smith. I modeled the serpentine butt plate and thumb piece after parts of an English trade gun found at a site in central Alabama. I also made an uncoiled version of the serpent side plate. The stock is beech painted with acrylics.  

Copy and photos supplied by John Miller.

Knife and Sheath by John Miller

 

I forged the blade from 1084, the handle is walnut with brass wraps, an iron guard and ferrule, and silver escutcheons.  The sheath is pine and sheet steel with a leather belt loop.  I put two opposing Osage orange springs in the sheath to firmly grab the blade.  Engraving on the pommel wrap mimics the holly inlays sometimes found on Federal era furniture.  The painting on the sheath is also inspired by Federal era painted furniture.  

Copy and photos supplied by John Miller.

A Couple of Brass Handled Bowie Knives by John Miller

These are forged from 1084 and I made the handles and sheath hardware out of an old brass tray.   The sheath is wood overlaid with thin leather dyed black with vinegar and iron.   I etched one side of the large blade with a battery charger.  The larger knife was inspired by the work of the 1830s era knife maker Samuel Bell of Tennessee.  

Copy and photos by John Miller.

New Work by John Miller

A couple of months ago I got a copy of William Ivey's book on North Carolina schools of gun making and it resulted in the rifle pictured below.  Its not an exact copy of any one gun as as I have mixed elements that I liked from several different “schools” of similar guns made in North Carolina during the later part of the 18th century, and added a few elements of my own.  

Copy and photographs supplied by John Miller.