Paul Unger

Meet a craftsman who specializes in building and repairing pieces from the past.

With skilled hands, great patience, and a broad and comprehensive knowledge of past processes, Paul Unger fashions wood into pieces that rival beautiful furniture from centuries past. His work is accomplished with tools like those used in the period (some purchased, some replicas, and some made with his own hands). He is a master craftsman in several fields, but he especially loves working with wood.

Paul attended the Texas Institute of Jewelry Technology in Paris, Texas, and earned a bench jeweler’s certificate. This training familiarized him with metal work and setting stones. After graduating, he found most businesses were looking for someone with at least ten years of experience, so finding a job was difficult. At the time, he had friends who were returning from military duty, so was inspired to “do his part.” Paul said, “I enlisted in the army infantry in January 2009 and was on my way to Iraq on September 11, 2009. In 2012, I joined the 1st Battalion (Airborne), 143rd Infantry Regiment (that is now in Huntsville) and went to jump school at Ft. Benning, graduating on September 11. After eleven jumps, I fractured my back, but being in such great physical shape, I was jumping again three or four months later. I volunteered to deploy to Africa with a different unit. While in Somalia, I was injured again, but this incident left me barely able to walk after surgery. I then started on the path to medical retirement.”

To supplement his VA income, Paul decided to put his artistic skills to use and began fashioning leather belts and gun holsters. “I love to decorate my work, so I learned tooling techniques and turned my works into pieces of wearable art. With the income from these items, I started purchasing woodworking tools. Working with wood is cheaper than working in precious metals and more fun than leather, and I found the larger motor skills were less stressful on my former injuries.” He began to concentrate solely on wood projects, and coupling this skill with his love for history, began focusing his efforts on pieces from antiquity. His resources include a collection of reprinted historical books covering the late Medieval period to the early 20th century, including one specializing in Texas-made furniture of the 19th century. “Sometimes, I must decipher the meanings of the terms they use. I research the methods, the materials, and the tools available at specific times so I can do reproductions.”

Paul has assembled an impressive collection of tools for his work. From saws, planes, chisels, and lathes, his tools are a mixture of old and newly handmade replicas. “I made a turning saw out of a pecan tree trunk (which took me three hours to hand saw through). After letting it dry, I split it and fashioned a piece of it into the frame for the saw. The tree had been under stress from wind which made the grain quite unique and exquisite.” Paul also has a handmade T-square of cherry wood with a beautiful inlaid design of black walnut, combining his love of functionality and artistic decor.

Watching him plane a board during a demonstration at the Sam Houston Memorial Museum grounds was fascinating. He glides the plane across the board in record time to create an almost glassy finish. Using a hand plane retains the integrity of the wood without crushing or tearing the fibers which a modern electrical planer can do. “When planing a board, you don’t want to leave drag marks or dig into the grain, so I use planes with chamfered corners and different blade angles for certain projects.” Paul also built a treadle lathe which he plans to use to make tops and other toys for The Christmas Village this year. (The Christmas Village is a theme park south of Huntsville which is open during the holiday season.) “I plan to make small wooden toys on site that will be sold in the gift shop. Having this lathe will aid in making each of these toys a quick and simple task. They are part of the history I love when lives were slower paced and simple gifts were prized.”

Restoration work is one of Paul’s specialties. He is frequently asked to either restore furniture pieces or create period replicas for the Sam Houston Memorial Museum and Presidential Library in Huntsville, Texas, Washington-on-the-Brazos State Historic Site in Washington, Texas, and Mission Dolores State Historic Site in San Augustine, Texas. From bookshelves to beds (and many other projects in between), his knowledge of period furniture is crucial to retaining historical accuracy at these sites. “Cabinet shelves, drawers, and other furniture pieces, to be authentic, must display processes used during specific periods such as dovetail, dado, or mortise and tenon joints. Identifying joints is crucial in making proper repair decisions. Also, decor is factored into recreating period pieces such as the beds to be used as Mission Dolores. This mission was established by the Spaniards in 1721 for the monks, soldiers, and families who would be residing there. The furniture would be plain with very little decor.” Paul built four beds for the mission, chopping the wood joints by hand, gluing and clamping, and using the cabinet maker’s triangle so each bed can be put together again after moving it to its final location. Each bed took more than 30 hours to build. Paul cuts no corners, but patiently applies his skilled workmanship to each piece, creating work that will stand against the scrutiny of those knowledgeable of the period.

Two other components that must be mastered for working with wood are the types of wood to be used and the gluing process. When asked about the characteristics of various woods, Paul shared, “I have a formula chart for how each type of wood reacts and moves. Wood is always moving, expanding and contracting, with the humidity changes, and I must understand this characteristic and allow for the movement. Glue is another component in furniture building, and there is a proper glue to use. This is hide glue, which is made from cattle and horse sinew, hooves, and hide.” According to Paul, this type of glue was the predominant glue used from ancient Egyptian times up to just after World War I. It is in granule form and requires reconstituting with water and heat. It will hold stronger in open grain woods than modern standard wood glue. The advantage of this type of glue is the glue can be rehydrated and heated, and the wood pieces taken apart without damage. Modern glues like yellow glue or Gorilla glue go into the wood and cannot be softened, therefore the furniture cannot be taken apart without damage occurring. Paul recently repaired a Late Victorian bed from circa the 1880s or 1890s. “Fortunately, the furniture maker had used hide glue, so I was able to repair the piece without causing damage.” Paul also loved the fact that when repairing the bed, he found a bird feather nestled among the pieces which would have been from a bird of that period! He kept the feather, a gift from history itself!

You can meet Paul and ask questions you may have about the history and building of period furniture. On the fourth Friday of the summer and spring months, you can find him putting on a demonstration at Washington-on-the-Brazos, and on the fourth Saturday of each month, he is at the Sam Houston Memorial Museum grounds doing the same. His demonstration bench is of his own making, complete with a beautiful pattern of carved scrollwork. Be sure to check the museum calendar before you go.