Woodworker: John Burton
Best Apprentice

For 13 years, the Texas Furniture Makers Show has been promoting the talents of the state’s woodworkers with an annual exhibit in Kerrville. The show last November featured the work of 42 furniture makers. Here is one of the award winners.

The Homestead Heritage School in Elm Mott, Texas, offers a class on building a blanket chest. Although Burton didn’t attend the class, he admired the chest and adapted the design, adjusting the base and the dimensions. The chest (18 in. deep by 36 in. wide by 20 in. tall) is made of cherry with a curly maple panel in the top. Burton has been woodworking for less than three years, which qualified this piece for the apprentice award. He finished the chest with an oil-varnish mix on the outside and shellac inside.