Hepplewhite was the tallboy king; though this was a feeble Edwardian copy, nicely aged. You separate the two sets. The top set consists of three single drawers plus the top level of two matching smaller drawers. We had a table top spare—the Wittwoode vannies had used it to off-load the smaller items Luna had bought. We would cut it, then use it as a top for the lower stack of drawers, making a luscious early Victorian chest of drawers. The surface finish would be a problem, but that's always so with the faker. We'd get round that somehow. Showing her how to use the spindle lathe, I was astonished at her proficiency. In half an hour she'd learned to keep the foot treadle going while balancing herself to keep the pressure even on the chuck. "Do you know prices have gone up two hundred percent this year?" I groused, measuring a derelict piece to see if it could be turned into a bachelor chest. It was nice walnut, the right wood, but the bachelor is usually shallow—not more than ten inches, back to front, and only two feet nine inches wide.
