Saw a beautiful old bar in a pub in Savannah and it got me thinking about joinery

I was on a trip to Savannah last week and stopped in this old pub downtown. The bar itself was this huge, dark wood piece that must have been a hundred years old. What really caught my eye was the corner joint where the bar top met the back bar. It was a massive, perfect miter with these tiny, almost invisible keys. I stood there for a good five minutes just looking at it, trying to figure out how they kept it from opening up over all that time. The grain matching was so tight you could barely see the line. Has anyone else seen a piece like that and have a guess on what kind of wood it was? It looked like mahogany but had a deeper red color.

3 comments

3 Comments

alicemurphy1mo ago

Reminds me of a friend who restored an old library. He found a hidden panel with a mitered frame so perfect he thought it was one piece of wood. Turned out to be quarter-sawn white oak with walnut splines, and like @emery290 said, the magic was all in a hidden steel bracket system from the 1920s. He said just staring at it taught him more about patience than any book. That Savannah bar sounds like the same level of forgotten skill.

emery2902mo ago

Bet that was Spanish cedar. It ages to a deep red and holds a miter like a dream. The real trick is the backing structure, right? A joint that size needs serious support behind the scenes. Makes you wonder about the craftsman who did it. Pure skill.

angelarivera2mo ago

My uncle tried a Spanish cedar miter once, and let's just say his "backing structure" was three tubes of wood glue and a prayer. @emery290, you're right, the real craftsmen make it look easy when it's anything but.