[Ill.u.s.tration: Case with Mirror Door]
The wood should be finished before the gla.s.s is set, at least, it should be filled, if of hard wood, and one coat of paint put on, if of soft wood which is to be enameled.
In setting the gla.s.s, place a thin cushion of putty between the rebate and the gla.s.s and another thin cushion between the gla.s.s and the fillet of wood or the backing which is to protect the back of the gla.s.s.
Fit the door, and then put on the hinges and lock. If desired, the tenons may be made keyed as shown in the photograph instead of through as shown in the drawing.
To finish the case, if of oak, apply a coat of light paste filler, the directions being on the filler can. Next put on a coat of white sh.e.l.lac.
When this has hardened apply two coats of some good varnish. Allow time for each coat to harden and rub the first coats with haircloth or curled hair, and the last with pulverized pumice and raw linseed oil or crude oil.
If the wood is soft and an enamel white is desired, the enamel is applied not unlike paint. The directions will be found on the cans in which the paint is purchased.
A SIDE CHAIR
A side chair of simple design and construction is here given. The great difficulty with most chair designs is that the back is generally designed narrower than the front, thus necessitating the rails entering the posts or legs at angles. To the amateur this is quite confusing. The chair ill.u.s.trated is the same in width, both back and front, so that the shoulders of all the rails are at right angles to the sides. The back of the chair is straight, thus simplifying the design still more.
[Ill.u.s.tration: Side Chair Complete]
Another thing which is confusing to the beginner in his efforts to lay out the mortises is the irregular placing of the rails. It will be noted that in this design the rails of side, front and back are on the same level.
Plain sawed red oak will be appropriate for this piece. Have the pieces mill-planed and sandpapered on four sides to size, allowing 1/2 in.
extra to the lengths for squaring up the ends.
[Ill.u.s.tration: Details of Side Chair]
There will be needed the following:
4 rails, 7/8 by 2 by 17-1/2 in.
4 rails, 3/4 by 2 by 17-1/2 in.
2 front posts, 1-1/2 by 1-1/2 by 19 in.
2 rear posts, 1-1/2 by 1-1/2 by 37-1/2 in.
1 back, 3/4 by 9-3/4 by 17-1/2 in.
2 cleats, 3/8 by 1 by 16 in.
4 slats, 3/8 by 2 by 16-1/2 in.
Begin work by cutting the posts to the lengths indicated in the drawing.
The lower ends should be chamfered slightly to prevent their splintering from usage. The top ends are cut to an angle of 45 deg., the slope beginning 1/2 in. below the top. Lay out and cut the mortises. To do this, lay off the measurements on one of the posts, then place all four side by side on the bench, with the face marks up. Even the ends with the try-square and then carry the measurements just made across all of them, using the try-square. The rails ought to be shouldered on all four sides. Three-eighths inch is a good thickness for the tenons. The width may be 1-1/4 in. and the length 1 in.
Place the rails side by side on the bench with the joint-edges up and the ends evened. Measure off the desired length on one of them and carry the lines across all of them to indicate the location of the shoulder lines. Separate the pieces and square these lines entirely around all of the sides of each piece. With the tenon saw rip and cross cut to these lines.
The back, it will be noted, is set on a slant to add comfort. Thoroughly clean all the parts and a.s.semble them, using good hot glue. Put the back together first, then the front. After these have dried, put the side rails in place.
Cut and fit the two cleats--one to the front rail and one to the rear rail. Keep them even with the lower edge of the rail so as to form a slight recess at the top when the slats are in place. This is to keep the cushion from sliding off. The slats need not be "let into" the cleats but merely fastened to their top edges. The cushion may be made of Spanish roan skin and should be filled with elastic felt.
In the chair shown, the joints are reinforced by the addition of lag screws. If the glue is good and the joints well fitted, these are not necessary.
AN ARM CHAIR
The arm chair here described and ill.u.s.trated is intended to be one of the set of diners made after the design of the side chair described on another page. The same general directions for making the side chair apply equally to the arm chair.
The stock given in the following list should be purchased surfaced on four sides and well sandpapered:
2 rear posts, 1-1/2 by 1-1/2 by 38 in.
2 front posts, 1-1/2 by 1-1/2 by 26-1/2 in.
9 rails, 7/8 by 2 by 19-1/2 in.
1 rail, 7/8 by 1-1/2 by 19-1/2 in.
3 slats, 1/2 by 2 by 12-1/2 in.
2 arms, 7/8 by 4-1/2 by 20-1/2 in.
2 brackets, 7/8 by 2-1/4 by 2-1/2 in.
2 cleats, 3/8 by 1 by 19 in.
4 slats, 3/8 by 2 by 19 in.
Prepare the posts first by cutting them to the lengths shown in the drawing. In the photograph the front posts have their tops cut off square and the arms fastened to them by means of lag screws. A better way from a mechanical point of view would be to shoulder the top ends on the four sides, cut through-mortises in the arms and insert these tenoned posts into these mortises, pinning the arm to the post by means of small dowels in the edge of the post and through the tenon.
The brackets under the arms are to be fastened to the posts and arms by means of concealed dowels and glue of good quality.
All of the rails should be tenoned into the posts thoroughly, even if the lag screw fastenings are used. If the lag screws are used, the tenons may be what are known as stubb tenons--tenons of short length.
Good hot glue should be used in either case.
The shape of the arms is indicated in the drawing. They are fastened to the rear posts by means of dowels and glue.
[Ill.u.s.tration: Arm Chair Complete]
The slats, or verticals, of the back should not have their ends tenoned but should have the mortises in the rails cut sufficiently large to "let in" the whole end of each. This is much easier and more likely to result in a satisfactory fit than to shoulder them. Any unevenness in the lengths of the respective slats will not affect the fitting of the joints by this latter method.
The tops of the rear posts in this chair, as in the side chair, are cut to angles of 45 deg., beginning the slope at lines marked 1/2 in. from the tops.
[Ill.u.s.tration: Details of Chair]
The bottom is made up of 2-in. slats fitted between the front and back rails and fastened to cleats which have been previously fastened to the insides of the front and back rails. Keep these cleats low enough on the rails so that the top surfaces of the slats shall rest somewhat below the top edges of the rails. Cushions, such as the one shown, can be purchased ready made or they can be easily made by the amateur.
A good finish for this chair and its mates is obtained as follows: Apply one coat of brown Flemish water stain. This stain in the original package is very dark in tone and unless an almost black finish is wanted, it should be lightened by the addition of one-half or two-thirds water. Apply with a brush or sponge and allow to dry over night. When dry, sandpaper lightly with fine or worn sandpaper to remove the raised grain caused by the water of the stain. Put on a very thin coat of sh.e.l.lac. This is to prevent the "high lights" in close-grained woods from being discolored by the stain in the filler which is to follow. The sh.e.l.lac being very thin does not fill the pores of the wood perceptibly.
Next, sand the sh.e.l.lac coat lightly when it has hardened. Apply a coat of paste filler colored considerably darker than the stain to the tone desired for the open grain. If the filler is well stirred and properly applied, one coat ought to be sufficient. If it does not fill the pores satisfactorily, apply another coat when the first has had time to harden. Vand.y.k.e brown is used to color the filler, if none but natural color is to be had. On the hardened filler apply a thin coat of sh.e.l.lac.
On this apply several coats of wax. The directions for waxing will be found upon the cans in which the wax comes.
A BOOKCASE