Mission Furniture Volume II Part 4

AN OAK COUCH WITH CUSHIONS

This beautiful piece of mission furniture can be made at a very moderate cost, if the material used for the cushions is of good imitation leather. These subst.i.tutes for leather last fully as long and the difference can only be detected by an expert. White oak will give the best results except for the frames or slats on which the cushions rest and these may be made of poplar or pine. If a mill or woodworking shop of any kind is handy, the hardest part of the work can be saved by securing the following list of material, cut, planed, sanded and squared up to the exact sizes given:

2 posts, 3 in. square by 17 in.

2 posts, 3 in. square by 26 in.

2 rails, 7/8 by 8 by 82 in.

1 rail, 7/8 by 8 by 25 in.

1 end, 7/8 by 18 by 25 in.

1 piece, 7/8 by 9 by 24-1/2 in.

The last piece on the list when sawed diagonal makes the two slanting pieces at the head of the couch. The corner braces are made from two pieces of straight-grained oak, 2 by 4-1/2 by 4-1/2 in., sawed on the diagonal, and cut as shown in the enlarged plan section to make the four pieces.

First be sure the legs are perfectly square, the two short ones and the two long ones of equal length respectively. Either chamfer or round the upper ends as desired, chisel and plane the taper on the lower ends. Lay out and cut all the tenons on the rails--1 in. is the amount allowed at each end in the stock dimensions given. Arrange the posts and rails in the positions they are to occupy in the finished couch. Number each tenon and the place its corresponding mortise is to be cut in the post.

Mark each mortise directly from the tenon which is to fit into it, taking care to have all the rails an equal distance from the floor. Bore and chisel out all mortises and see that all the rails fit perfectly, before proceeding with the work.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Couch Complete]

The next step will be to fit in the slanting side pieces at the head of the couch. These must be let into the long posts 1/2 in. and held also by a dowel in the side rail. In order to get these pieces into place, the mortise in the long post must be made 1/2 in. longer than the tenon on the sloping side piece so the tenon may be first pushed into the mortise and then the side clamped down on the rail over the dowel. The whole couch should fit together perfectly before gluing any of the parts.

Glue the end parts together first. Hot glue will hold best if the room and lumber are warm; if these cannot be had, use cold glue. After the ends have set for at least 24 hours, glue in place the side rails and slanting head pieces. Screw in place the corner braces. Be sure when making these braces to have the grain running diagonally across the corner, or the brace will be weak, also, be sure the sides are square with the ends; this may be determined by measuring the diagonals to find if they are equal.

If it is decided to use frames for the cushions, then the following material will be necessary:

2 pieces, 7/8 by 2 by 56 in.

2 pieces, 7/8 by 2 by 25 in.

4 pieces 7/8 by 2 by 21 in.

This material may be of pine or poplar. These pieces are made into two frames as shown in the drawing and held together with long screws or nails. Fasten with glue and screw short blocks on the inside of the couch rails for holding the two frames in place. Tack pieces of cheap burlap across the frame and cover with ordinary black cambric. This will give a strong, springy rest for the cushions.

Should slats be used instead of frames for holding the cushions, then the following list of material should be subst.i.tuted for the frame material list:

2 cleats, 7/8 by 2 by 56 in.

2 cleats, 7/8 by 2 by 25 in.

12 slats, 3/4 by 5 by 25 in.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Details of Mission Couch]

The materials listed may be of soft wood the same as for the frame. The cleats are fastened to the inside of the rails of the couch with screws, so the top edge will be 2 in. lower than the top edge of the rails. The slats are s.p.a.ced evenly on these cleats.

After the glue is all set, remove the clamps and sc.r.a.pe off any glue that may be on the wood. If this glue is not removed it will keep the stain from entering the wood, which will show up when finished in white spots.

This couch may be stained in any of the shades of brown or dark to harmonize with its lines of construction. A water stain will penetrate the wood best and after this is applied and thoroughly dried the surface should be well sanded to remove the roughness of the raised grain. Apply one coat of thin sh.e.l.lac and when this is dry, put on two coats of wax.

In making up the cushions, use either hair or elastic felt for the filling.

ELECTRIC SHADE FOR THE DINING ROOM

The dining shade shown is constructed of wood and gla.s.s. There will be needed the following:

8 pieces, 3/4 by 3/4 by 24 in., S-4-S, oak.

4 pieces, 3/4 by 3/4 by 4 in., S-4-S, oak.

4 pieces, 3/4 by 3/4 by 10-1/2 in., S-4-S, oak.

4 pieces, 3/8 by 3/4 by 23 in., S-4-S, oak.

8 pieces, 3/8 by 3/4 by 10 in., S-4-S, oak.

4 pieces, 3/8 by 3/4 by 9 in., S-4-S, oak.

1 piece, 3/4 by 8 by 8 in., S-4-S, oak.

Begin work by shaping the ends of the longest pieces as shown in the drawing. All the angles are 45 deg. Next lay out the cross-lap joints at the corners so that two sets of horizontal frames shall be formed 23 by 23 in. Cut four pieces to a length of 3 in. each. Also shape up the "false" extensions of these pieces which are to be fastened below the lower frame at the corners. Since these are to be cut from the pieces just specified, the easiest way is to shape the end of each to the required angle and then crosscut. Rabbet these pieces sufficient to allow the art gla.s.s to set in on the back sides and be fastened--about 1/4 in. will do--and put them together with glue and brads.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Details of Shade]

Now make the top square in a similar manner, except the rabbets. In this top square is to be fitted the 3/4-in. board which is to hold the lights and to which the chains are to be fastened.

The sloping sides are next to be made. The sides are to be built up separately, the corners being lapped and glued after rabbeting the under arrises sufficient to let the gla.s.s in. The four sides are mitered together at their edges and reinforced by covering the joint with copper.

These sides are next mitered to the top and bottom frames and made fast on the under sides with copper strips, glue being used on the edges of the wood.

The shade shown had a mottled gla.s.s in which greens predominated. The sizes and shapes of these pieces of gla.s.s would better be determined after the woodwork is finished.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Electric Shade Complete]

One manner of fastening the chains is clearly shown in the photograph.

Such a combination will call for an extra piece of oak, 3/4 by 3-1/4 by 3-1/4 in. finished stock.

A good finish for this shade is obtained as follows: Put on a coat of silver gray water stain. When this has dried, sand lightly with No. 00 sandpaper and apply a coat of golden oak oil stain. Allow this to dry after wiping the surplus off with a cloth. Put on a coat of black paste filler and allow to harden over night. When dry, sand lightly and put on a coat of very thin sh.e.l.lac. Sand this lightly when hard and put on a coat of wax. This is a very dark finish relieved by high lights of lighter brown and is known as Antwerp oak.

HOW TO BEND WOOD

The process for making bent wood for furniture parts is the same as for any other kind of bent-wood work. The pieces should be made close to the size, with only enough material left on them for "cleaning up" after the bending has been done. The pieces used for the bent work should be good, clean, "live" lumber. Lumber dried on the stump will not bend.

A box must be made in which to steam the pieces of wood to be bent. A design of a steaming box is shown in the ill.u.s.tration. Such a box is made by nailing four boards together into a square or rectangular form, the boards having a length sufficient to take in the length of the furniture parts to be bent. Both ends of the finished box are squared up and closed with a board cut to the size, using felt or gunny sack in the joint to make it as tight as possible. These ends can be nailed on, but it is best to hold them with a bar of metal set against each one.

Nailing the ends a few times would spoil the box for further use in steaming.

[Ill.u.s.tration: STEAMING BOX]

[Ill.u.s.tration: HOSE ATTACHED TO TEAKETTLE.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: FORM BLOCKS]

A good teakettle will serve the purpose for a steam generator. A hose is attached to the spout of the teakettle, as shown in the ill.u.s.tration, and to the steaming box in a like manner. The steaming box should be provided with a short piece of gas pipe turned into a hole bored into one of the sides used for the top on which to attach the hose. A small hole should be bored into one side of one end of the steaming box, and this end should be arranged a trifle lower than the other end. The hole will permit the water of condensation to escape. Steam should not escape from the box when a charge of wood is being softened. Steam which escapes from the box in the form of vapor has done no work whatever, and is just so much waste of fuel. In order to give up its heat to the wood, the steam must condense and come away from the box as water. Therefore, in steaming a charge of pieces in the box, never crowd the teakettle so hard that the steam escapes around the heads of the box or through any other joints. The steam should be supplied to the box just as fast as it condenses, and no faster. When the pieces are placed in the box they should be so arranged that the steam can find ready access to all sides of each piece.