Lionel Jefcoate —woodcrafter

Press, 13 November 1985, Page 23

Lionel Jefcoate —woodcrafter

Lionel Jefcoate, the Governor’s Bay boatbuilder, could almost mount a show of his own with the wide variety of woodcraft which he has contributed to this year’s exhibition of the Canterbury Guild of Woodworkers which opens tomorrow at the C.S.A. Gallery. Putting aside work on the 12m kauri ketch he is making in his boatshed, he has turned his hand to a range of fine cabinetry which shows his extraordinary versatility. Very old kauri salvaged in 30cm by 7.5 cm beams from a grainstore in Ashburton have been resawn and transformed into a beautiful oval pedestal dining table. “This is real old-man kauri, about 100 years old,” says Mr Jefcoate. “It had a few nailholes, and I’ve managed to hide most of them underneath, but a couple on the top I’ve inlaid with small pieces of wood.” The ends of the curved legs are capped with brass “toes” which he has made himself. Hand-fashioned brassware is a feature of Lionel Jefcoate’s work, and is shown to great advantage on a large mahogany seachest made specially for this exhibition. All of the metal on the brass-bound chest is handbeaten out of sheet brass. He has also made the double-locking mechanism and the large brass key which locks two hasps simultaneously.

Lionel Jefcoate describes the one metre long chest as an officer’s sea-chest, not a seaman’s chest, which would be a simple rough box with rope handles. “I always think of these chests as Captain Kidd’s or Captain Morgan’s, with all the gleaming pirate treasure spilling over,” he said.

Non-pirates could use the

chest as a show-piece, or to store blankets, clothing or jewellery. It has a slatted door under the lid for storing • charts of treasure islands, and a sliding tray inside lined with green baize for jewellery. Completely air-tight, the sea-chest is feather-jointed to exclude all dust, and the lie shuts with a soft “whoosh” as excess air is expelled. An unusual piece of furniture from Lionel Jefcoate’s workshop this year is a child’s high chair which adjusts, to four different positions, beginning at tableheight for feeding, then down to two other levels at which it can be wheeled around, and finally converting to a low rocker.

He copied the principle from a 100-year-old Victorian chair, but made his one out of heart walnut from Akaroa and vastly improved upon the design and workmanship. He devised his own brass locking mechanism, the workings of which are concealed inside

a wooden rail. The rocker took 100 hours to make, and will not be for sale. He has made templates of all the components, however, in case anyone else wants to make one.

Also in this year’s exhibition will be a number of Lionel Jefcoate’s intricately inlaid wooden bowls and platters. Two of them are big enough to be used as tables, so he has made legs to hold them.

He is also showing three of his walnut lamps, whose shades are made of densely resinous radiata pine which allows the light through in a rich orange-red glow. For the first time, Lionel Jefcoate will also be exhibiting wooden pictures — sawn panels of selected burr walnut and spalted ash with swirling figuring that suggests moody seas and skies. Two of these pictures are a book-matched set. The exhibition, which shows the best work of the guild’s 180 members, continues until November 24. — By Garry Arthur