Raised in Milwaukee, Paul Litchy has been interested in woodworking since he was a young boy. Paul’s career as a structural engineer provided him opportunities to work on projects in China, Sri Lanka, as well as in Nashville including the Nashville Airport and The East Bank Stadium (now Nissan Stadium). He taught at Nashville Tech as well as MTSU before retiring. In addition to building his Franklin home, Paul built most of the interior furniture including the bedroom set, multiple tables and end tables, and even a custom kitchen table/island with built-in drawers. Twice published in Fine Woodworking, widely considered the finest woodworking magazine in print, Paul’s attention to detail and the quality of his craftsmanship are outstanding. One of his greatest woodworking accomplishments is a recreation of the block front knee-hole desk. The original is on display in The New York Metropolitan Museum.
Using plans he found in Construction of American Furniture Treasures, Paul’s re-creation is built from Honduras mahogany with every surface of the desk finished including the shallow secret drawer visible from the front. The hardware is reproduction solid brass and was made using the exact hardware templates used on the original desk dating back to 1750-90. While many details were challenging, the construction of the block front drawers from a single piece of mahogany proved most difficult. Dogged determination, patience, perseverance, and 350 - 400 labor hours later, Paul has created what Morrison Heckscher, Metropolitan Museum of Art curator emeritus and specialist on colonial furniture, called “very nice work indeed.”
States Paul, “I’ve got a list of stuff I want to do,” and with his attention to detail and master-level woodworking skills, it is just a matter of time before Paul is featured once again in Fine Woodworking.