Arts & Crafts Furniture Anyone Can Make

162 Pages·2011·14.071 MB·English

by  David Thiel

WOODWORKING
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Furniture doesn’t have to be complicated to be good adjusted for size to accomodate the standard poplar, red
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looking. By reducing classic Arts & Crafts furniture designs oak or pine boards readily available at your local home TT
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to their basics, then adding simple, screw-together joinery, center. The boards are sold cut to thickness and width, so

anyone can build great-looking furniture. Using basic tools with most of the projects all you need do is cut the pieces to FF
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(jigsaw, miter saw or circular saw and a cordless drill) even length and put them together.
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as a first-time woodworker you can successfully create a Even the finishes used are “off-the-shelf,” relying on
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piece of furniture in a weekend that you’ll proudly display stains, paints and finish coats that are sold in any home II
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for years. center, and are easy to apply.
UU 14 PROJECTS
Each of the traditional (and some original) designs Pick up some supplies today and build one of these
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in Arts & Crafts Furniture Anyone Can Make have been classic projects. EE BUILT WITH

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BASIC TOOLS
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AND SIMPLE
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TECHNIQUES
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Z7617 US $24.99
(CAN $28.99)
ISBN-13: 978-1-4403-0673-0
IISSBBNN-1 09: 17-844-013--0464730-37-0673-0
52499
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9 781440 306730 POPULAR
WOOD
WORKING
BOOKS DAVID THIEL
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ARTS & CRAFTS FURNITURE ANYONE CAN MAKE
DAVID THIEL
POPULARR WOODWORKING BOOKS
CINCINNATI, OHIO
www.popularwoodworking.com
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READ THIS IMPORTANT SAFETY NOTICE ARTS & CRAFTS FURNITURE ANYONE CAN MAKE. Copyright © 2010 by
To prevent accidents, keep safety in David Thiel. Printed and bound in China. All rights reserved. No part
mind while you work. Use the safety of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or
guards installed on power equipment; mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems
without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer,
they are for your protection.
who may quote brief passages in a review. Published by Popular
When working on power equip-
Woodworking Books, an imprint of F+W Media, Inc., 4700 East Gal-
ment, keep fingers away from saw
braith Road, Cincinnati, Ohio, 45236. [phone] First edition.
blades, wear safety goggles to prevent
injuries from flying wood chips and Distributed in Canada by Fraser Direct
sawdust, wear hearing protection and 100 Armstrong Avenue
consider installing a dust vacuum to Georgetown, Ontario L7G 5S4
reduce the amount of airborne sawdust Canada
in your woodshop.
Don’t wear loose clothing, such as Distributed in the U.K and Europe by F+W Media International
Brunel House
neckties or shirts with loose sleeves,
Newton Abbot
or jewelry, such as rings, necklaces
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or bracelets, when working on power
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Woodworking Books assumes any
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Other fine Popular Woodworking Books are available
ries, damages or other losses incurred from your local bookstore or direct from the publisher.
resulting from the material presented in
this book. 14 13 12 11 10 5 4 3 2 1
The authors and editors who com-
piled this book have tried to make Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
the contents as accurate and correct
Thiel, David, 1962-
as possible. Plans, illustrations, pho-
Arts & crafts furniture anyne can make / by David Thiel -- 1st ed.
tographs and text have been carefully
p. cm.
checked. All instructions, plans and
ISBN 978-1-4403-0673-0 (pbk : alk. paper)
projects should be carefully read, stud-
1. Furniture making--Amateurs’ manuals. 2. Woodwork--Ama-
ied and understood before beginning teurs’ manuals. I. Title. II. Title: Arts and crafts anyone can make
construction. TT195.T55 2010
Prices listed for supplies and equip- 684’.08--dc22
ment were current at the time of publi- 2010034810
cation and are subject to change.
SENIOR EDITOR: Jim Stack
DESIGNER: Brian Roeth
PRODUCTION COORDINATOR: Mark Griffin
METRIC CONVERSION CHART
PHOTOGRAPHER: David Thiel, Al Parrish (project openers)
TO CONVERT TO MULTIPLY BY
ILLUSTRATOR: Jim Stack
Inches . . . . . . Centimeters . . . . . 2.54
Centimeters . . . . .Inches . . . . . . . . . 0.4
Feet . . . . . . . . Centimeters . . . . . 30.5
Centimeters . . . . . Feet . . . . . . . . 0.03
Yards . . . . . . . . . .Meters . . . . . . . . 0.9
Meters . . . . . . . . . Yards . . . . . . . . . 1.1
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
David started woodworking at an early age by As an author, whenever I refer to “my” book I
using the drill press in his father’s woodwork- always feel uncomfortable. While it certainly is
ing buisness to drill holes in blocks of scrap my book, there are always others who deserve
wood on Saturdays. He eventually started recognition for its creation.
actually building recognizable items as he First is to my family. My wife, Patti and all
worked with and for his father through high five kids, Dillon, Danielle, Shannon, Ben and
school and college. Zach, who put up with my disappearing into
A degree in English Literature shifted his the garage to build something. There were too
sights to journalism, but he was never far away many weekends lost to “the book” that could
from woodworking, eventually opening his have been family time.
own custom woodworking shop for a few years. I’ll again thank Patti, first for her love
In the mid-90’s he found a blending of — then for her design direction and input on
both worlds, going to work for Popular all the projects. Even if it was just a comforting
Woodworking magazine as an editor, builder “that looks great” (and there were many more
and tool reviewer. in-depth discussions), her support through the
He took on a side job as host of the DIY project was extremely important; so I dedicate
Network’s Tools & Techniques (still playing this book to her. Thank you, babe.
somewhere out in space), and in the begin- Thanks to Jim Stack, my editor, who I’ve
ning of the new millenia he started working at known for over thirty years, in a few differ-
his current position as Executive Editor with ent roles. His patience and quiet support (and
Popular Woodworking Books. excellent illustration work) kept me from chew-
David lives in Cincinnati, Ohio and still ing my nails too far.
enjoys checking out a new tool, whenever And to my designer Brian Roeth, again for
possible. You can visit his web site at www. patience and for allowing me to gently nudge the
theshopofthecrafters.com. design, even though he knew where he was going.
Thanks also to my e-mail critic, Jeff
Korbman, for his instightful read of the nearly-
finished manuscript.
A big thank you to Steve and Kit for letting
us use “the house of many rooms” as back-
ground for the opening photos.
And lastly, to my readers over the years, both
with Popular Woodworking Magazine, and in ear-
lier books. Your feedback, both positive and “cor-
rective” gave me the recognition of the need for
a book that offered time- and material-consious
woodworking projects that still looked good. I
hope this book serves as a thank you.
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CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION 6
1 THE SECRET TO EASY FURNITURE MAKING 8
2 USING THE TOOLS 12
3 HORIZONTAL MIRROR 18
4 GAMBLE HOUSE MIRROR 26
5 OUTDOOR TABORET 34
6 PINE BOOKCASE 44
7 OUTDOOR TABLE 52
8 MANTEL CLOCK 62
9 LIMBERT CHAIR 74
10 ALL-WEATHER MORRIS CHAIR 86
11 STICKLEY SPLAYED TABORET 100
12 ENTRY HALL BENCH 108
13 HALL TREE 116
14 MACKINTOSH TABORET 130
15 LIMBERT BOOKCASE 142
16 HILL HOUSE TABLE 150
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INTRODUCTION
It was 1995 when I first started appreciating Arts & Crafts furniture
for its simple lines and honest strength. One of the foremost pieces
in this style was the Morris chair (in a dizzying array of designs from
known and unknown designers). These chairs held features that I ap-
preciated. Strong, comfortable (for reading or relaxing), ample seat
area for one-and-a-half people and generally not all that complicated
in design — but for the mortise-and-tenon construction.
So I built a couple. They lived up to my expectations, looked
good and made me proud. Then fall entered my little part of south-
west Ohio and I wanted to spend more time on my deck enjoying
the crisp air and the beautiful colors (along with a good cigar and
a nice glass of wine). And I wanted to be comfortable — like in my
Morris chair. While white oak is actually a pretty sturdy outdoor wood,
I wasn’t in the mood to drag (let alone leave) my Morris chair outside.
What to do?
Adirondack chairs for outdoor use, (both in plan form and for sale,
completed) were in abundance. But I preferred the Morris, and out-
door plans were sorely missing for them. But hey, I’m a woodworker,
so this was a challenge that sounded like fun. I started with the over-
all dimensions from one of Gus Stickley’s slant-arm chairs (that I found
particularly comfortable) and tried to figure out how to build one
using 1x pine from the home center store. I’ve built a few variations
of that outdoor Morris since then, (each better, I hope) but they all sit
well, are easy to make (just a screw gun, miter saw and a jigsaw) and
with a few cans of spray paint, I have to say they look pretty good!
Why would I, as a woodworker, buy lumber from the home center
stores? Couldn’t I find better quality wood at a better price, that only
required a little preparation? That “preparation” (kiln dry, face, plane
and dimension the lumber) means access to rough lumber, and a
jointer, planer and table saw. Not all readers who would like to build
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furniture have access to the materials or tools. But almost everyone
has access to a home center store. Even with the added expense, my
Morris chair cost less than $75 for lumber. And today I can build one
in under three hours, because I don’t have to prepare the lumber. A
fair trade in my book (which happens to be the one in your hands…).
As a woodworking editor, I frequently need to remember that not
everyone building a project has the same experience, space or tools
that I have. Many readers don’t even want to be a woodworker. They
just like to build an occasional project for around the house. They’re
not worried about mortise-and-tenon joinery and they don’t own a
thickness planer. These are the folks that I can help: The Weekend
Woodworking Warrior.
Each of the projects in this book have been designed to use a mini-
mum of tools. I’ve made some allowances for using a benchtop table
saw, but most could be built with a jigsaw, miter saw, screws and glue.
I’ve re-designed some classic furniture pieces (and designed a couple
from scratch) to use only joinery that can be mastered in a couple of
hours: biscuit joints, dowels, pocket screws and just plain screws.
The wood I’ve used for each project (dimensional lumber in red
oak, birch, poplar or pine) is available at Lowe’s or Home Depot. I’ve
also added some plywood to avoid having to glue up solid panels.
Gus would have done it! With some judicious staining, and painting,
I feel that the designs retain much of the charm of the originals, while
making a finished piece of furniture accessible to even the most
inexperienced woodworker.
I hope you enjoy the convenience of these modified Arts &
Crafts classics, and also enjoy many years of comfort and use of
all that you build.
— David Thiel
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T H E S E C R E T 1
T O E A S Y
F U R N I T U R E
M A K I N G
When a woodworker looks at a completed piece of
furniture, they almost automatically start decon-
structing it in their head. Are the shelves of a book-
case captured by a groove cut in the sides? Do the
stretchers on a table have tenons that are mortised
into the legs? These are the details of furniture mak-
ing that make woodworking a “skill”. And there’s
nothing wrong with that.
But what if you drill a recessed hole in the leg,
drive a screw into the stretcher and glue a wooden
plug into the hole? The strength created by the screw
joint is still good. The plug will be sanded flush and
may show a little. But “expressed joinery” is part of
the culture of Arts & Crafts furniture. This may be
stretching a little, but what is gained is a serviceable
replacement for hours of work, and possibly years of
experience. Sound good? Follow me...
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