Creating a perfect fit

The top edge of selected five–ply panels is often routed and fitted with
lengths of complementary veneer. This banding is applied by hand,
and is available in a wide variety of combination. For example, a panel
with a crotch–mahogany or olive burl field might be teamed with
mahogany veneer banding for the surface of a dining table or desk.
No two panels are alike. The color, pattern and texture of each makes
it particularly suited for a certain piece. Such nuance does not escape
Kittinger artisans. Panels are selected for their appropriateness to a
given furniture style – from Hepplewhite to Chippendale.

The Shape of Things to Come
When matches have been made, it is time to cut. The mill is the only place in the
Kittinger plant where quantity work is performed. Cutting orders may be placed for as
few as six or as many as 100 sets
of parts.

Technology has found
a welcome place at The
Kittinger Furniture Company.
Rather than replacing
hand–crafting, it augments
it, allowing craftsmen to
focus more on the fine art of
woodworking. In the mill, a
computer–controlled router

eliminates imprecision and heightens efficiency by performing several cutting and boring
operations at once. Carefully following the draftsman’s detail drawings, it shapes the
layered panels into table tops, desk sides, and other furniture components.
After the machine’s work is done, each newly shaped piece of wood is transferred to the
skilled hands of Kittinger craftsmen. Their mastery in cabinetmaking and finishing will
create a product without equal.

Shaping pieces by hand
But not all furniture components are flat panels. Look at the graceful curve of a cabriole
leg or the delicate shell carving of a chair back. Kittinger artisans craft such parts out of
solid wood. In fact, a single component of a piece of furniture can require several stages
or lathing and carving.