Ever peered into the miniature world of a dollhouse and pondered how on earth anyone can make anything so small? Renowned miniature furniture maker Stuart King talks us through how he was drawn into the fine art of miniature furniture making. He also shares some of his techniques and details about how to make beautiful dollhouse furniture.
Who is Stuart King?
Growing up in a time when it was usual for children to make things, Stuart King busied himself with making toys typical of childhoods of the time: model planes, boats, and items that would fit perfectly in his sister’s dollhouse. Most children growing up then were experienced with carving balsa wood and fret-sawing thin plywood into decorative objects and working models. He recalls that if you were really fortunate, you might own a treadle fretsaw made by Hobbies of Dereham – a company also supplied weekly plans of things to make.
Stuart’s childhood woodworking days were spent at a sunlit bench in his father’s workshop. In winter, Stuart spent his time woodworking at the kitchen table, often sharing space with his mother while she prepared the next family meal. He recalls: “in retrospect, this seems such a simple, but privileged situation, yet in the 50s, it was quite the norm”. He fondly reflects on rivalries between his schoolmates and himself in making the most intricate pieces. Pieces from plans or from their own designs, or just seeing whose simple balsa plane would fly the furthest.
Training
Stuart King left school aged 15. Taking his interest in wood-working with him, he trained as a marquetry cutter – a craft that requires dexterity, good hand-eye coordination and an eye for a straight edge. He says: “although I hate being in a harsh [furniture] factory environment, what I learnt there was very useful throughout my working life.” Living close to the furniture town of High Wycombe, Stuart became interested in the history of its furniture manufacturing heritage. While still a teenager, Stuart gave talks to local groups such as the Women’s Institute on the history of furniture. To illustrate his talks on Windsor chairs, Stuart made and used a set of miniature chairs that he took to venues in a suitcase. It was this foray into miniature furniture making that seeded the humble beginnings of a lifetime of making things in wood.
The history of the dollhouse
The origin of the dollhouse, or miniature homes, can be traced back 5000 years ago. The earliest known examples were found in the Egyptian tombs of the Old Kingdom, dating back nearly 5000 years. Small dollhouses with more modest exteriors appeared in Europe in the 18th century. Initially these were handmade. However, following the industrial revolution and World War two, assembly lines were streamlined, and they became mass-produced. This increased affordability that drove popularity. The earliest known European dollhouse was the baby house of the 18th century. These were cabinet display cases made up of individual rooms. Smaller dollhouses, such as the Tate house, were also popular in 18th century Europe.
Dollhouses were common features of royal courts, ducal palaces, and manors of the aristocracy in Germany, France, Italy and England. Possibly the most famous dollhouse is a model of Queen Mary’s house. It took four years to complete, and contained meticulously crafted copies of real furniture, carpets, silver dishes and ivory decorations.
What were dollhouses for?
Although dollhouses are now known for being children’s toys, this was not how they were initially regarded. They were miniature pieces of art, performing various functions; first and foremost to be decorative and representative of full-scale properties. As impressive as the construction itself, the furniture within a dollhouse is minute and detailed – the truest of testaments to the skill and precision afforded by only the finest craftsperson.
Stuart talks us through the tools he uses for creating these miniature pieces of furniture.
Tools and processes for making dollhouse furniture
With the tools and templates that have served his trade well through the years, Stuart is going to share some of his techniques with the magazine. For every chair back, except Windsor chairs, he cuts a template from formica, or 1/32 plywood. Mostly 18th century designs, mahogany (Khaya ivorensis) is the material of choice, often reclaimed from broken antique furniture. Stuart cuts the material to about 6mm thick, with the grain of the back running from top to bottom. A horizontal slip is glued to the area where the cresting rail will be at the top of the chair – this provides maximum strength. With the chair backs pierced, Stuart is taken back to his fretwork days.
Stuart often used a marquetry cutters ‘donkey’, but a handheld fretsaw or a scroll saw will also work. The curve (rake) of the chair is sanded on the end of a belt sander. The seat of an upholstered chair is cut from 3mm thick mahogany and butt jointed using PVA glue – this is the same with the front legs, cut in one piece. Stuart notes: “unless the front legs are to be cabriole, these are glued separately underneath.” These legs, after being marked out via a template, are fret cut out on two sides of a square, then rounded with needle files and sanded.
Decorative mouldings
Decorative mouldings are a lovely detail for any furniture, large or small, and Stuarts’ solution to this age-old feature is to miniaturise a traditional chair makers tool – the scratchstock. Consisting of a two-part wooden stock, or handle held together with two screws to hold the blade, Stuart makes the blades from old chair making scrapers. Needle files are used to create the required profile, but in reverse. Stuart uses a ‘dummy run’ on a spare piece of wood, running the integral fence against the wood to ensure a straight line is followed.
Stuart finds the scratch stock most useful, especially for shaping the rounded surfaces of cabriole legs. There is also a two-part stock or handle. As Stuart explains: “with this tool, it is a small scraper blade that is contained firmly between the central section. The thin blade is sharpened with a burr on a single edge, just like its full-size chairmaking counterpart.”
Profiling the great Stuart King has been a pleasure. We hope this article has given you an insight into the fascinating world of miniature furniture making, including some of the materials, customised tools and techniques used in this neat corner of woodcraft. With such inventiveness called forth by the sheer minutia and precision needed, we have little doubt that any foray into miniature woodworking will be a fitting use for a winter evening or summer afternoon.