Taking cues from several Nakashima pieces, my final design features a half-dovetailed case over a rectilinear base joined with half-laps. The flexible design can be scaled to fit larger TVs or serve as a low bookcase under a window. The case is joined with halfblind dovetails at the upper corners and dadoes at the bottom, with a vertical divider dadoed into place at the center. While the two shelves could be fixed in dadoes, I chose to use adjustable pins so the owner can add more shelves at a later date, if desired. I used wide, vertical-grain fir for the case, which prevented me from having to glue up panels. To carry the straight grain figure around to the front and back of the console, I applied shop made banding to the edges.

Starting with Dovetails

Begin by cutting the top and sides to final width, then plow a 3/8″-wide rabbet 1/4″ deep on each end of the bottom face of the top. The rabbets’ shoulders make it easier to mark the dovetail pins and also strengthen the case against racking. Once the rabbets are cut, mark tails on the ends of the top panel.

For the 12″-deep case here, I used three 2-1/2″-wide tails spaced 1-1/4″ apart and set back 1″ from the front and back edges, but this spacing can vary based on your personal preference and the depth of your case. Remove the waste between the tails using your preferred method.

The wide spacing between my tails allowed me to remove most of the waste on the band saw before paring to my layout lines with a sharp chisel. To finish the dovetails, position each end of the top panel over its mating side panel, and mark the locations of the tails with a sharp knife before cutting the sockets.

There are various ways to cut dovetail sockets, ranging from routing the bulk of the waste away before cleaning the joint with a chisel, or carefully paring the joint.

I cut a series of kerfs in the waste area, sawing close to my layout lines, then chop out the waste with a chisel. Once the bulk of the waste is clear, I pare to my layout lines with a chisel and test fit until I have a neat joint.

Adding Dadoes and Rabbets

To plow the stopped dadoes for the case bottom and vertical divider, I used a 1/2″ straight bit in a router guided by a simple jig composed of two rails joined by parallel fences.

A cut in the fence aligns the jig with layout lines on the workpiece, and the parallel rails guide the router precisely.

Position the jig, clamp it in place and plow each 3/8″-deep dado in a couple of passes. It’s easy to forget that these are stopped dadoes, but start each joint with a plunge cut, and stop routing before you reach the end of the board.

A 3/8″ rabbeting bit set 1/8″ deep makes quick work of forming the tongues on the ends of the case bottom and center divider — rabbet both faces of these panel ends.

Then trim the shoulders of the tongues so their overall length matches the dado lengths.

Prefinishing Before Assembly

When possible, I like to pre-finish parts before assembling them. For this console, that meant finishing the case’s interior surfaces before putting it together and then finishing the outside of the case after it came out of the clamps. I started by sanding the case parts, working up through the grits to 220, then applied blue painter’s tape to the joinery to keep those surfaces bare. I wiped a few coats of garnet shellac on both sides of the divider and the inside faces of the case. After the shellac cured, I wet-sanded by hand using denatured alcohol and 320-grit wet-dry paper to smooth the finished surfaces further.

At this stage, you can remove the painter’s tape to prepare for assembly. The glue-up isn’t complicated, but its sequence matters. Begin by joining the sides to the bottom, then insert the divider into the bottom. Finally, place the top. Carry out a dry fit first before opening the glue bottle to practice the sequence and ensure that the joints fit together well.

Applying Edge Banding

Edge banding is usually reserved for covering the exposed edges of sheet goods to make the edges more attractive. Here, it actually serves the same purpose. Depending on your wood choice, you might decide to skip this step, but in this instance, adding edge banding enabled me to wrap the vertical grain pattern from the faces of the case around to its front and back edges. Applying banding to both edges also keeps the appearance of the console consistent if it should happen to be positioned away from the wall.

I ripped strips of edge banding on the table saw, cutting the stock 1/8″ thick from a board that was slightly thicker than the width of the edges I was facing. While it might be tempting to set the rip fence just 1/8″ away from the blade to make these repetitive cuts, I think it’s safer to set up these cuts so the strips fall away from the blade instead of being trapped between the blade and the fence. This requires me to reposition the fence for each cut, as the workpiece gets progressively narrower. But if you set each cut up carefully, you can still end up with strips that are all the same 1/8″ thickness.

I wanted to ensure a tight fit between the pieces of edge banding, so I applied it in stages, gluing only a piece or two at a time. If you’re impatient, a brad or pin nailer can speed up the process, but I prefer to take my time using glue and clamps alone to avoid the need to fill any nail holes.

I began by applying a piece to the top edges, cutting strips of banding to length and mitering both ends at 45°. After applying a thin layer of glue, I clamped the trim in place, taking care that its inner edge was flush with the inside edge of the case. The outer edge of the trim should stand slightly proud of the case and will be trimmed flush later.

The side edge banding came next. I cut these pieces a little longer than their finished length and mitered the top ends. When gluing them on, again take care to make sure their inside edges are flush with the case’s inside edges. After the clamps come off, trim their bottom ends flush with the bottom face of the case with a utility knife or hand saw.

With the sides covered, move on to the bottom piece of edge banding. Cut it to fit tightly between the side banding, and glue it in place. Finish up by gluing the center pieces of edge banding onto the divider, leaving both edges proud of the divider.

I used a piloted flush-trim bit in my trim router to trim the edge banding flush with the case and cleaned up the inside corners with a chisel, but a block plane would work, too. Depending on your taste, you could also apply a small roundover or chamfer to the outer edges of the banding, but I simply eased those with a sanding block. Once that’s done, do any touch-up sanding and apply finish to the outside of the case.

Installing the Shelves

Next comes the two adjustable shelves. Cut panels for them that are 1/8″ shorter than the width of the console’s openings. Install edge banding on their front and back edges to continue the vertical grain pattern here. Once that’s glued in place and trimmed flush, sand the shelves and apply finish to complete them.

To hang the shelves, I created a basic drilling jig for positioning the shelf pin holes inside the case. It’s just a length of scrap cut slightly shorter than the case opening with a pair of holes drilled at the desired height and set back about 3/4″ from either edge. To use the jig, clamp it in place with one of its edges flush with the front or back of the case, and drill the shelf pin holes about 1/2″ deep. Though they aren’t necessary, I also added metal shelf pin sleeves to these holes to lend a more refined appearance to this aspect of the build.

Building the Base

The key design elements of the case — its overhang and setback — carry through into the base, with the stretchers extending past the feet and the feet set back from the edges of the case. I joined the stretchers and feet with simple half-laps. Cut the parts to size, and drill pilot holes through the thickness of the stretchers at the drill press for eventually screwing them to the case bottom.

Next, arrange the stretchers and feet in their correct orientation, and mark the stretchers for the cross-lap pockets, using the feet to set the actual width of these cuts. I cut the pockets with a Japanese pull saw and chisel, first making parallel saw cuts, then chopping away the waste in between them.

These joints can also be cut on the band saw or using a dado blade on the table saw. Fit the stretchers and feet together; if the joints are too snug, I find it’s easier to plane the long grain of the feet until they slip into the joint pockets. It’s much easier than paring or filing the end grain inside the pockets to fit the feet that way.

When the joints slip together as they should, drill countersunk pilot holes and drive a screw through each half-lap joint to lock the parts together. Then invert the case, position the base for an even overhang all around, and drive screws through the stretchers and into the bottom panel to attach these components.

With the console still inverted, drill the four installation holes for the adjustable chair glides. Install the glides, and turn the console right-side up. Slip the shelves into place on shelf pins and this project is ready for your living room or, in my case, delivery to a happy client.

Hard-to-Find Hardware:

Black 1/4″ Pin Supports (1) #22781
Black 1/4″ Sleeves (1) #22872
Polished Nickel Glides-Screw Chair Glides (1) #12295
1/4″ Hex Drive Threaded Inserts (1) #31872

Click Here to Download the Drawings and Materials List.

The post PROJECT: Nakashima-inspired Console appeared first on Woodworking | Blog | Videos | Plans | How To.

In building a variation on the design, my challenge was to preserve the appeal of the original while producing a practically sized table I could build in a modestly equipped shop. Welding a steel rod base is beyond both my tooling and my ability, but I knew from previous experience that you can cut aluminum with carbide blades and bits and then glue it with epoxy. After visualizing several alternatives in SketchUp, I settled on the design presented here: a 22″ x 72″ elliptical plywood top over a metal trestle base composed of two rectangular frames bridged by two stretchers with beveled ends. To foster the illusion of a floating top, the stretchers are set back from the side of the frames and joined to the frames with shallow half laps.

The spare design doesn’t require much in the way of materials and goes together quickly. Building the table provides a useful introduction to cutting an elliptical top and using tools you probably already have to incorporate metal into your woodworking, expanding your arsenal of techniques.

Begin With a Solid Foundation

Each table leg consists of a rectangular frame of 1″ square aluminum tubing joined by miter joints, with the miters reinforced with short lengths of wood. Begin by cutting the four short and four long sides of the frame on the miter saw. A carbide blade will make quick work of the aluminum tubing, but working with metal instead of wood requires extra care: clamp the workpiece down, take cuts slowly, and let the blade come to a complete stop before unclamping the pieces. A stop block on the miter fence makes for easily repeatable cuts.

Before gluing the frames together, you’ll want to drill pilot holes in the two top frame rails. Mark the location of the holes 1-1⁄2″ from each end (measured from the long edge of the miter) and centered on the width of the aluminum tubing, then drill through the top and bottom of the tubing with a bit sized to clear the threads on the screws you’ll use to anchor the whole to the top (I used a 3/16″-dia. bit). Now drill clearance holes through the bottom walls of the top rail tubing, sized to accommodate your screw heads. Deburr any rough edges with a file or sandpaper and prepare the frame for assembly.

The thin walls of aluminum tubing don’t offer a lot of surface area for glue, so I used a short length of wood to reinforce the joints, ripping scrap stock so it just slides inside the tubing. This stock is cut into 1-1⁄2″ lengths and scuff-sanded with 80-grit to give it some tooth. The faces of the miter joints and inside surfaces of the frame parts are sanded as well just before assembly. I glued up the frames in stages, first joining one rail and one stile to form an L-shaped subassembly using a corner clamp. These subassemblies are then joined to form the rectangular frame.

Gluing aluminum is much like gluing wood, with epoxy standing in for PVA or hide glue. Dry-assemble the parts to verify their fit and rehearse how things go together, then apply glue, clamp things up, and let the glue dry. I mixed J-B Weld epoxy per the manufacturer’s instructions and applied it to the end of one miter and a thin layer to the first half-inch or so of the inside of the tube.

I then inserted a wood block in the tube end and applied epoxy to the inside of the other half of the joint. After bringing the two frame parts together, clamp the subassembly firmly. I scraped off the squeeze-out with a putty knife and let the joint cure overnight.

Two of these L-shaped subassemblies form a single frame. The frames are glued up in the same way as the subassemblies, although you’re working with two corners, not just one. If you’ve pre-drilled screw holes in your frame tops, take care not to glue up two tops in the same frame. After the epoxy has cured, use a razor blade to remove any remaining squeeze-out, and set the frames aside for sanding, later.

Making the Stretchers

Two long stretchers form the rest of the base. Cut them to length, beveling each end to 30˚, then mark the locations of half-lap joints, beginning 1-7⁄16″ from each end. Each notch is 1″ wide x 1/4″ deep. I used a 3/4″ straight bit in a router guided by a simple dado jig to make these cuts. It’s tempting to clamp the stretchers together and gang-cut the joint, but I’ve had better luck cutting them individually. Because the cut isn’t removing much material, I made it in a single, slow pass with the router set to a low speed after clamping the jig and stretcher firmly to my benchtop.

Once the joints are cut, you can drill clearance holes and pilot holes for the screws used to secure the stretchers to the top. I drilled one hole at the center of each stretcher, then two more spaced evenly between the center hole and half-laps (approximately 12″ on center). I first drilled pilot holes all the way through the bar at each location with a small-diameter bit (3/16″), sized just larger than threads of my screws (note that, if you use solid stock for the top, you’ll want larger holes to allow for movement of the top), then a clearance hole at each location in just the bottom face of the stretcher. This hole needs to be large enough to accommodate the screw head size.

The last holes you need to drill are for the screws joining the frames to the top through the stretcher. Sized to accommodate your screw threads, these holes are centered on the notches in the stretcher.

To give the stretchers a more refined appearance, I epoxied thin caps to the ends of the stretchers to cover them. I made these caps using a side wall ripped from a scrap length of tubing. Because the stretcher ends don’t bear weight, I didn’t reinforce these joints with a wood plug. Instead, I simply scuff-sanded the beveled edges and caps, then applied epoxy to the bevels and pressed the caps into place.

After the epoxy cured, I scraped away glue squeeze-out and trimmed excess metal off with a hacksaw. Then I filed the edges of the caps flush with the sides of the stretchers. Once the stretchers are capped, they can be put aside until you’re ready to finish the base.

Topping Things Off

Like many Mid-Century Modern designers, the Eameses experimented with new materials. Their elliptical top featured a laminate layer over a plywood substrate. You could use a melamine-faced plywood if you wanted to follow suit, but making the top offers some opportunity for your own experiments. Consider an exotic veneer, solid wood or even solid surface.

To coordinate with the light, silver tone of my brushed aluminum base, I chose a plywood with a birch veneer. My own experiment was limited to using prefinished plywood. There are several ways to cut an ellipse. You can use a string and screws to define the loci and radii of the shape, then trace the edge of the ellipse with a pencil. Cut the ellipse out and sand it to shape. You can also rout one using a two-axis jig.

These jigs can be made in the shop or are available commercially. I found it easiest to make a rigid template and rout the ellipse that way. Because an ellipse is symmetrical on two axes, you only need a quarter template instead of the full elliptical shape. I created a pattern in SketchUp and printed it out, then traced it onto some 3/4″ plywood, sawed close to my lines on the band saw and sanded the template to final shape.

With the template ready to go, cut a slightly oversized piece of plywood and mark center lines on its long and short axes on the bottom of the blank. Use these center lines to position the template and trace the ellipse. After marking the full shape, cut close to the perimeter using a band saw or jigsaw. Then, with a flush-cutting bit in the router, use the template to rout the top to final shape. You could stick the template to the top panel with double-sided tape for routing, but I simply screwed through the template into the bottom face of the top — those holes won’t show from the top.

Rout the first quarter arc of the ellipse, then reposition the template and repeat three more times. If your cuts don’t meet perfectly, you can fair them with a sander. Once you’re satisfied with your elliptical top, decide on an edge treatment. The Eames table features a single bevel running the thickness of the top; I eased the top and bottom edges with a 1/4″ roundover bit instead and sanded this profiled edge up to 220-grit.

Finishing Up

Although they are made from very different materials, finishing both the top and the base begins with sanding. Because I used pre-finished plywood, only the exposed edges of the plywood needed finishing. After filling a couple of voids in plys of the exposed edge and giving things a quick sand, I applied a couple of coats of a satin water-based polyurethane, lightly sanding between coats. Your finish schedule may vary depending on your choice of materials.

Aluminum lends itself to a number of finishes, though some, like anodizing or powder coating, might be better left to the professionals. But a sanded or painted base is easily achievable in the home shop. You can create a surprising number of effects simply by sanding — varying grit or direction can dramatically alter aluminum’s appearance from brushed finishes to a mirror-like polish. Experiment on scrap tubing to find an effect you like. For a brushed appearance, I sanded the base with 220-grit paper in a random-orbit sander, changing the paper relatively often and wiping the base clean with a damp rag after sanding.

Whatever finish you choose, you may want to install leveling feet at each corner of the bottom rails in the frames. These feet prevent the sharp edges of the base from scratching the floor.

To wrap things up, invert the top, and fit the base frames into the notches in the stretchers. The frames overhang the stretchers by 1″. Mark the center points of the top rails and stretchers, and line these center marks up with the center lines on the table. Attach the base with panhead screws driven through the clearance and pilot holes. Once you’ve joined the base to the top, the table is ready for its new home. Put up your feet and hang 10 on your new Mid-Century Modern coffee table.

Click Here to Download the Materials List and Drawings.

The post PROJECT: Designing a “Surfboard” Coffee Table appeared first on Woodworking | Blog | Videos | Plans | How To.

Flush-trim Routing Jig

By making a jig that is shaped exactly as the top and bottom sections of the sides, you can assure perfect symmetry in your finished pieces. The dimensions for the cutouts and shape of the sides can be found in the Side Elevation Drawing on the opposite page. A trick for getting the 4″ cutouts perfect in your flush-trim routing jig is to make a quick jig from 4″ wide scrap lumber.

Cut two 4″ square pieces, glue them between the longer pieces, and you have a way to flush rout square holes in your routing jig. Transfer the rounded front corner and the shape of the feet at the bottom of each side to the routing jig. Now follow the directions in the text below to shape the sides.

Pattern Makes Perfect

Begin by milling your stock and gluing up parts to rough size, adding an inch to the final length and a half-inch to final width. While the glue dries, prepare the Flush-trim Routing Jig.

Using 3/4″ sheet stock provides a large surface for the router bearing. Lay out the jig using the Drawings as a guide, then use a band saw or jigsaw to cut out the notch that forms the feet of the case and the radiused upper front corner.

You can drill out the corners of the square cutouts and use a jigsaw to cut close to your layout lines before filing and sanding the cutouts square, but a simple square routing pattern will speed things. Rip a four-inch strip from the middle of a piece of wide stock and cut the strip in half.

Glue the board back together with a four-inch spacer block between the ends of the strips, and you have a cutout pattern with nice straight edges. It’s like a jig to help make a jig! Place it over the roughed-out cutouts on your final pattern and trim to shape with a router and flush-trim bit.

Shaping the Sides

The sides contain most of the joinery for the case, so begin there once you’ve finished using the routing jig. Cut them to final size and chuck a flush trim bit in the router. To use the routing jig, you’ll position it at the top of the shelf sides to shape the radius and square cutouts, then reposition it at the base of the sides to shape the feet. First trace the details onto the case sides, then cut close to your layout lines. Fix the pattern to a side using double-sided tape and rout to final shape. Once you’re done with the pattern, you can swap out the bit for a 3/4″ straight bit and mark the insides of the sides for the dadoes, using the Drawings as a reference. A simple jig makes cutting the through dadoes for the fixed shelves and a stopped dado for the gallery shelf easy. Square up the ends of the stopped dadoes, then form the rabbets for the gallery back and back panel. You can cut the rabbets on the table saw in a single pass with a dado blade, or use a 1/4″ rabbeting bit in a router, making multiple passes until you reach the required 3/8″ depth.

The shallow mortises used to house the kick might seem excessive where pocket screws could serve to anchor the piece, but the joint aligns the kick relative to the case sides and helps the case resist racking.

Trust me, it’s easier to drill for the adjustable shelf pins and hinges while the case is still unassembled. There are a number of commercial jigs available, but I made a simple jig to locate the shelf pin holes. The first set begins 9-1/4″ from the bottom and is spaced a half inch apart. The second set begins 18″ from the bottom. The holes at the front of the case are set back 1-1/2″ from the front of the case to account for the depth of the door, while the holes at the back are set 3/4″ in from the rabbet’s edge.

If you’re mortising hinges, place the hinges 2-1/2″ from the top and bottom shelves, mark their location, and cut the mortises using a router or chisel. If you’re using non-mortise hinges, mark their position and drill pilot holes for the screws.

Rabbets join the gallery back to the case and to the gallery shelf. A 3/8″ wide x 1/2″ deep rabbet at either end of the gallery back joins it to either side of the case, and the gallery shelf gets a 1/2″ wide x 3/8″ deep rabbet to house the gallery back.

With the joinery cut in the sides, turn your attention to the shelves and kick. Trim the pieces to final size, notch the gallery shelf, and tenon the kick. Then refine the fit of the shelves in their dadoes. After everything goes together, round over the front edges of the shelves and sand the parts through 180-grit.

Case Closed

Since the door and back need to be sized to their respective openings, you’ll want to glue up the case first. Take the assembly in three stages: first, glue the kick to the bottom shelf; then, glue the shelves to the sides; and finally, glue in the gallery back and screw in the door trim strip.

With the case out of the clamps, measure the back and trim the back panel to size, undercutting it slightly to simplify fitting. Verify its fit and then set it aside — finishing the case is much easier without the back attached.

The door’s rails run across the ends of all three stiles instead of being captured in the outer stiles. This detail adds a horizontal element to what is otherwise a very vertical design. It also simplifies building the door. Measure the opening and verify the final size of the rails and stiles. Build the door to the opening’s exact measurements, then trim it to fit with a hand plane or jointer. If possible, cut the parts from a single board (it will look better), then mortise the rails and mill the tenons.

You can cut the rabbets for the glass now, taking care to stop the cuts in the rails, or wait until the door is assembled, then rout the rabbets and square up the corners with a chisel. Either way, you can use the time while the glue dries to cut the retaining strips and give them a quick sanding. It’s also a good idea to cut a couple of extra strips in case you split one during installation.

Use the jointer or a hand plane to trim the door until you have the reveal you want, then measure, mark, and drill to mount the door hardware and catch you’ve selected. The original features a ring pull on an escutcheon plate in hammered copper, but many Arts & Crafts-style pulls would suit the finished piece.

A Fumed Finish

Many Arts and Crafts makers used a fumed finish, where quarter sawn white oak is exposed to ammonia fumes, causing the tannins in the wood to darken the furniture. Much ink has been spent describing ways to replicate a fumed finish to avoid working with ammonia, but it’s not a difficult finish to use if you take some basic precautions.

You’ll need 28% ammonium hydroxide, available from chemical supply companies. I use glass pie pans since they offer a large surface area and won’t react with the ammonia. It’s best to wait for a day where you can fume the piece outside. Put on safety goggles, a long-sleeve shirt, rubber gloves, and a respirator with appropriate filters then drape your bookcase (with any hardware removed) in plastic sheeting along with some offcuts from the project, taking care to weight the bottom of the sheeting to form a good seal. Pour some ammonia into your container and place it under the tent.

The longer you leave the white oak exposed to ammonia fumes, the darker it becomes. Because warmer air causes the ammonia to evaporate more quickly, times will vary based on temperature, but four hours is a good starting place. To gauge color, pull an offcut out of the tent and use it to test its color with your desired finish.

Once you’re satisfied with the color, let the bookcase air out, then apply your finish. I applied boiled linseed oil, wet sanding the second coat with 320-grit paper, then wiped on a couple of coats of garnet shellac to add some warmth, and concluded with a coat of dark paste wax.

Final Details

Since I have a toddler, I chose polycarbonate panels instead of glass to glaze the door, but installation is the same: cut (or have a glass shop cut) your panels undersized to easily fit in the rabbeted door back, then trim the retaining strips to fit. Clamp the strips in place and use a pin nailer to anchor them, keeping well in from the ends to avoid splitting the narrow strips. If you don’t have a small-gauge nailer, you can pre-drill and gently hammer in escutcheon pins, or try a narrow bead of silicone caulk. Mount the door handle and catch, then hang your newly glazed door.

Shelf-pin sleeves are unnecessary here for strength, but they add a finishing touch. Pop them in, position the shelf pins at your desired height and install your adjustable shelves. Put the case where you want it, and you are ready to load it with books and enjoy.

Click Here to download a PDF of the related drawings and Materials List.

The post Classic Limbert Bookcase Project appeared first on Woodworking | Blog | Videos | Plans | How To.

While much of L & J. G. Stickley’s Arts & Crafts output follows the style pioneered by Gustav’s Craftsman Workshops, the broad, continuous arm and frame-and-panel sides of these Peter Hansen designs distinguish the “Prairie” settle (No. 220) and chair (No. 416). Released in 1912, these pieces call to mind ,the early work of Frank Lloyd Wright. They also provide an attractive alternative to variations on common Mission designs. Simple construction techniques underlie the minimalist design: mortise-and-tenons join the rails to the legs, and grooves capture the stiles and panels. Corbels support the top while providing a little visual relief. I’ve long admired the settle, so when the time came to replace our loveseat, I jumped at the chance to build an interpretation of it. I began by scaling it down to fit its intended space, then added shallow arches to the long bottom rails to soften those strong horizontal lines. You can use my construction techniques to reproduce this version exactly, or to adapt the design to your own space. Following the original, I built my version in quartersawn white oak but substituted 1/4″ plywood for the panels.

While it’s not the most challenging work to upholster the piece, it was still beyond my skills, so I hired an upholsterer. Although leather is a popular choice for Arts & Crafts seating, we chose fabric. It’s historically accurate and less expensive than leather. My upholsterer used high-density polyurethane foam for the cushions and covered the seat frame with webbing, padding and a cloth cover. If you use an upholsterer, consider having a conversation before construction begins: my upholster had helpful input on the seat frame and its brackets.

The Quadrilinear Leg

Quartersawing white oak produces strikingly figured grain, but it only shows on the faces of boards. So even if you have easy access to thick leg stock, you’re better off gluing up leg blanks. There are a couple of approaches you can take to make legs with four figured sides.

Gustav Stickley’s Craftsman Workshops veneered the non-quartersawn faces of legs so that figure would show on all sides. To produce these legs, laminate stock to final thickness and rip it 1/4” below final width. Saw 1/8” veneer stock and apply to the blanks, then dimension to final size. A light chamfer helps blend where veneer and solid wood meet. His brothers L & J. G. Stickley took a slightly different approach, shaping four sides to form a box leg. They called this the quadrilinear leg, and it’s functional as well as decorative since it allows you to use thinner stock to build the leg.

A similar effect can be achieved by mitering stock at the table saw or router table, then gluing up the miters, but a locking miter bit provides a mechanical interlock and avoids the slipping and sliding that can occur when joining simple miters. Since even small errors in setup will telegraph in the finished joint, it pays to take care setting bit depth and fence position. After reading good reviews of Inifinity Tools’ Lock Miter Master Jig, I decided to give it a try. I had my depth and fence zeroed in on my second attempt. If you don’t want to purchase the jig, be prepared with some scrap stock to test your cuts as you refine your setup. Once your setup is complete, mill the joints. Each cut needs to be made in a single pass, so take care to not bog down your router. And each joint has complementary faces, so you’ll be cutting one half of each joint with the edge of the board to the fence and the other with the face of the board to the fence.

Legs Form the Foundation

Whatever size you’re building, begin by milling stock to final thickness and gluing up panel blanks if you opted for solid wood instead of veneered panels. Since the legs form the foundation for the settle, it makes sense to begin construction with them. I ripped the faces of each leg to width and crosscut them a little long, then cut the locking miters at the router table, making sure to produce enough stock for an extra leg. The last step in cutting stock for the legs is to cut the central core of each leg. With the leg faces dry fit, measure the width and length of the hollow at the center of the legs, then rip your cores to fit.

Leg assembly is best handled in stages. Begin by creating leg halves. Glue two complementary sides together to form an L-shape, taking care to control glue squeeze-out, then glue those halves together around the central core. After the glue has dried, trim the legs to final size (a stop block on a miter saw or crosscut sled helps ensure all four legs are the same length).

Take some time arranging the order of the legs until you’re satisfied with their appearance. The front faces of the front legs will be most visible, while the back legs will hardly be seen. A cabinetmaker’s triangle at the top of the legs will help you maintain that arrangement as construction continues.

Once you’ve selected your front and back legs, you can cut the mortises for the rails. With the construction Drawings as a guide, lay out the mortises and cut them using your preferred technique. The grooves for the corbels can wait until you’ve actually cut the corbels, so set the legs aside for now and turn your attention to the rails.

Rails Tie Everything Together

Rip and crosscut your rails to length, using wood with the most attractive grain for the front rail since it will be most visible in the completed project. Then cut your tenons and tune them to fit their mortises. If you want to follow the original design closely, omit the arch in long rails. Otherwise, lay out the arch, cut close to the mark with a jigsaw or band saw and fair the curves with a spokeshave or sandpaper. Because I put arches on the front and back rails, I first created a pattern for the arch. Using a pattern means I only have to do the work of fine-tuning the arch once. Satisfied with the shape of my pattern, I attached it to the back face of the rail with a couple of screws and routed it to shape. To avoid tearout, I made the cut from both ends, working towards the center.

The deep chamfer on the top of the front rail increases the settle’s comfort by softening an edge that would otherwise dig into the back of your legs. It’s an easy detail to reproduce using a large chamfering bit. To avoid taxing the router, ease into final depth with a couple of passes. You can also rip the chamfer on the table saw with the blade set for an angled cut, then clean it up with a plane or sandpaper.

To minimize tool setup and save time, wait to cut the grooves in the rails until you’re ready to groove the stiles as well. Begin by ripping and crosscutting the rails to size, then set up your machinery for the grooves. I use a 1/4″ x 1/2″ slot cutter in my router to make the cut, but a dado stack would work, too. Whatever your approach, you want to end up with a 1/4″-wide and 1/2″-deep groove centered on the rails and stiles. Then tenon the ends of the stiles. I used a 1/2″ rabbeting bit set for a 1/4″-deep cut. Fine-tune the fit of the stub tenons in the grooves, then cut the panels to size. If you’re using solid wood, you’ll want to cut them 1/4″ narrower than indicated in the cut list to allow for seasonal wood movement. Since I was using veneered panels, I cut them slightly undersized (about 1/16″) in both dimensions, then test fit everything.

Corbels Aren’t Just for Show

Functional as well as decorative, the corbels support the wide cap arm. You have a number of options for attaching them to the legs, including a simple butt joint or biscuits. I chose to cut a stub tenon on each corbel and grooves to match on the legs. This method registers the location of the corbel relative to the leg and provides for a solid connection. With a number of identical corbels to cut, a router template was a logical choice.

I laid out the shape on some scrap, cut it close on the band saw, then faired the curve with a spokeshave and sandpaper. Once I was satisfied with the pattern, I traced it out on my stock, then cut close to my layout lines before routing each corbel to size using a pattern bit in the router. You need seven corbels if you’re building the settle in a loveseat size, but it’s a good idea to cut a couple extra in case something goes wrong during pattern routing. And be sure to save a couple of your offcuts; you’ll use them as clamping blocks when it comes time to install the corbels.

After routing the corbels, I used a 1/4″ rabbeting bit to cut the stub tenons. A 1/4″ straight bit made quick work of the corresponding grooves in the legs and center stile of the back.

Continuous Arm Caps Things Off

Perhaps the most distinctive feature of the settle is the continuous arm running along the top. Although there’s no complicated joinery involved in its construction, its prominence calls for careful execution. Ideally, you can cut the three pieces from a single board; if that’s not possible, find boards with similar figure and grain. Rip your stock to width, then cut the miters on the back piece to bring it to final size. Leave the sides long until you cut your miters, then trim to final length. I clamped both sides together and crosscut them on the miter saw to ensure they were the same length.

Because you want a smooth joint where the arm parts come together, you’ll want to assemble the arm, then sand or plane the top flush. I used loose tenons to reinforce the joint, but splines or biscuits would serve as well. After dry fitting, I sized the miters by applying a thin layer of glue and let it sit for a minute. This gives a chance for the end grain exposed in the joint to absorb glue and helps with adhesion. After a minute, I applied another thin layer of glue and clamped things together. When the squeeze-out had begun to gel, I scraped it away and let the assembly sit overnight.

With the arm assembled, I was ready to sand. I worked through 220-grit on all my parts, taking special care to make sure the miters of the arm were flush. I then routed a light chamfer (about 1/8″) on the edges of the arms and long edges of the legs to soften them. You could also ease the edges with sandpaper, but the chamfers’ crisp edges complement the design. To minimize the risk of splintering, the bottom edges of the legs get a slightly deeper chamfer.

Historically Accurate Finish

At this point, you have all of your parts cut and sanded and have a couple of options for completing assembly and finishing. When a design permits it, I like to pre-finish the parts and then assemble. Doing so makes removing glue squeeze-out an easy task — it tends to pop off the finish with minimal effort, and there’s no risk of glue interfering with the finish.

A fumed finish (so called because the oak is exposed to ammonia fumes, which reacts with tannins in the wood to darken it) was a popular finish for Arts & Crafts pieces in white oak. Many finishing schedules have been developed to replicate the look of a fumed finish while avoiding ammonia, but the traditional finish isn’t difficult to apply so long as you take some basic precautions. You’ll need aqueous ammonia (available by mail or from blueprint supply stores), containers to let it evaporate easily (glass pie pans work well), safety goggles and a respirator with appropriate cartridges. For ammonia fuming to be effective, you need to seal the piece. Furniture maker and author Kevin Rodel has described renting a moving truck and fuming a batch of furniture in the cargo bay, but the more common approach is to tent the piece in plastic sheeting. You can build a wood frame and staple the plastic to the frame, or build a more temporary structure by stringing line between posts.

Whatever your approach to tenting, you need a good seal at the base of the tent and air circulation all around the piece. Dry fit the entire assembly, and tent it along with some offcuts from your project. After putting on your safety equipment, pour ammonia into the pie pans, then position them under the piece, allowing the evaporating ammonia to circulate.

Longer exposure times lead to a darker final color, but exactly how long to fume your piece will vary with temperature since ammonia evaporates more quickly in warmer air. After four hours, remove an offcut from the tent and wipe it with a quick coat of boiled linseed oil. When the oak is fresh from the tent, it will have a greenish cast to it, but this is temporary. The boiled linseed oil reveals the wood’s true fumed color. If you’re satisfied with the color, dispose of the ammonia and let the piece air out. Otherwise, continue to check back.

While the piece is dry assembled, it’s a good time to install the cleats that support the seat frame. The long cleats run parallel to the rails, but the short ones slope downward from front to back to create a more comfortable seating angle. I glued and screwed the long cleats in place, then marked the slope of the side cleats and installed the cleats.

Before continuing with my finishing schedule, I masked any areas that were to be glued, then applied two coats of boiled linseed oil, sanding the last coat with 320-grit wet/dry paper while it was still wet. Once the oil was dry, I wiped on a few thin coats of garnet shellac. To even the shellac, I wet sanded the last coat with 400-grit paper.

Simplify with Subassemblies

Breaking assembly into stages keeps it manageable and prevents the panic that can sometimes accompany large glue-ups. At each stage, dry fit your parts one last time to verify final fit and that you have all the clamps and cauls you’ll need. Begin with the sides. If you’ve used veneer panels, you can glue the panels to the frames for additional stability, but you’ll need to leave solid panels loose in their grooves to expand and contract with changes in humidity. Once the glue has dried, you can glue the legs to the ends of the sides and put the back together. When assembling the back, be sure that the grooves you cut in the rails and stile for the central corbel line up.

After the back has dried, you can glue it and the front rail to the side assemblies, checking for square. With the main body of the settle assembled, it’s time to glue on the corbels. Apply glue sparingly to the tongues and clamp in place, using offcuts from cutting the corbels as clamping blocks. Be sure the tops of the corbels are flush with the settle. Once the base is out of clamps, level the top to make an even surface for joining the arm to the base. A plane works well here.

The last step in assembly is joining the arm to the base. There are a number of ways to attach it — screwing through the top of the arm and plugging the holes; using biscuits to align the piece; or pocket holes through the back faces of the corbel into the arm — but the joint provides ample long-grain to long-grain contact, so simply gluing the arm to the base is more than adequate. Apply glue and position the arm, checking to make sure it stays in place as you tighten your clamps.

If you’ve pre-finished your parts, you’re almost done. The seat cushions rest on a frame that sits on cleats attached to the inner rails. To determine the size of the frame, measure the opening of the base and subtract 1/4″ from both dimensions. Mortise-and-tenons join the frame, and the corners are notched to clear the legs. A center rail provides additional support; if you are building a sofa-length version of the settle, use two center rails. Once you have the cushions installed, sit back, relax, and think about your next project.

Click Here to download a PDF of the related drawings.

The post Stickley-Inspired Prairie Style Settle appeared first on Woodworking | Blog | Videos | Plans | How To.

The post Quad-linear Legs for a Stickley-Inspired Settle appeared first on Woodworking | Blog | Videos | Plans | How To.