Mission Furniture Volume I Part 7

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$Queen Anne.--1702 to 1714.$ Increasing Dutch influences. Jacobean influence finally discarded. Chinese influence largely present.

$Louis XIV.--1643 to 1715.$ The greatest French style. An entirely French creation, marked by elegance and dignity. Toward the end of the period it softened into the early Rococo.

$Georgian.--1714 to 1820.$ A direct outgrowth of the Queen Anne, tempered by the prevailing French styles. It includes Chippendale, Hepplewhite and Sheraton, but these three great cabinetmakers were sufficiently distinct from the average Georgian to be worthy separate cla.s.sification.

$Chippendale.--1754 to 1800.$ The greatest English cabinet style.

Based on the Queen Anne, but drawing largely from the Rococo, Chinese and Gothic, he produced three distinct types, viz.: French Chippendale, Chinese Chippendale and Gothic Chippendale. The last is a negligible quant.i.ty.

$Louis XV.--1715 to 1774.$ The Rococo period. The result of the efforts of French designers to enliven the Louis XIV, and to evolve a new style out of one that had reached its logical climax.

$Hepplewhite.--1775 to 1800.$ Succeeded Chippendale as the popular English cabinetmaker. By many he is considered his superior. His work is notable for a charming delicacy of line and design.

$Louis XVI.--1774 to 1793.$ The French style based on a revival of Greek forms, and influenced by the discovery of the ruins of Pompeii.

$Sheraton.--1775 to 1800.$ A fellow cabinetmaker, working at same time as Hepplewhite. One of the Colonial styles (Georgian).

$R. & J. Adam.--1762 to 1800.$ Fathers of an English cla.s.sic revival. Much like the French Louis XVI and Empire styles in many respects.

$Empire.--1804 to 1814.$ The style created during the Empire of Napoleon I. Derived from cla.s.sic Roman suggestions, with some Greek and Egyptian influences.

$New Arts.--1900 to date.$ These are various worthy attempts by the designers of various nations to create a new style. Some of the results are good, and they are apt to be like the "little girl who had a little curl that hung in the middle of her forehead," in that "when they are good they are very, very good, but when they are bad they are horrid."

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HOW TO MAKE A PIANO BENCH

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All the material used in the making of this piano bench is 1 in. thick, excepting the two rails, which are 7/8 in. thick. The bench can be made from any of the furniture woods, but the case may demand one made from mahogany. If so, this wood can be purchased from a piano factory. The following stock list of materials may be ordered from a mill, planed and sandpapered:

1 top, 1 by 16 by 36-1/2 in.

2 ends, 1 by 14 by 18 in.

1 stretcher, 1 by 4 by 31-1/2 in.

2 side rails, 7/8 by 4 by 29-1/2 in.

2 keys, 1 by 1 by 3-1/2 in.

6 cleats, 1 by 1 by 4 in.

The dimensions given, with the exception of the keys and cleats, are 1/2 in. longer than necessary for squaring up the ends.

The two rails are cut slanting from a point 1-1/2 in. from each end to the center, making them only 3 in. wide in the middle. The rails are "let into" the edges of the ends so the outside of the rails and end boards will be flush. The joints are put together with glue and screws.

The cleats are fastened with screws to the inside of the rails and to the top. The stretcher has a tenon cut on each end which fits into a mortise cut in each end. The tenons will have sufficient length to cut the small mortise for the key.

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The kind of wood used will determine the color of the stain for the finish. This also depends on matching other pieces of furniture.

HOW TO MAKE A MISSION SHAVING STAND

This attractive and useful piece of mission furniture will be appreciated by the person that does his own shaving. The shaving stand can be made at home by a handy man in his spare time as the stock can be ordered from a mill ready for making the joints and attaching the few pieces of hardware. The following is a stock list of materials:

4 posts 1-1/2 in. square by 50-1/2 in.

4 slats 7/8 by 1 by 32-1/2 in.

2 cross rails 1 by 1-1/2 by 15 in.

2 end rails 1 by 1-1/2 by 13 in.

1 top 7/8 by 16-1/2 by 19-1/2 in.

1 bottom 7/8 by 15 by 17 in.

2 ends 7/8 by 12-1/2 in. square.

1 back 7/8 by 12-1/2 by 14-1/2 in.

1 door 7/8 by 6-1/2 by 12-1/2 in.

2 drawer ends 7/8 by 5-1/2 by 7-1/2 in.

1 part.i.tion 7/8 by 12 by 14 in.

1 part.i.tion 7/8 by 7 by 14 in.

7 pieces of soft wood 1/2 by 7-1/2 by 12 in.

2 posts 1 in. square by 10-1/2 in.

1 bottom piece 7/8 by 1-1/2 by 18-1/2 in.

4 mirror frame pieces 7/8 by 1-1/2 by 14-1/2 in.

2 sticks for pins.

2 hinges 1 lock 2 drawer pulls 1 beveled gla.s.s mirror 11-1/2 by 11-1/2 in.

While this piece of furniture can be made in any kind of wood, the novice will find that quarter-sawed oak will work up and finish better than the other woods. The stock list given has dimensions 1/2 in. larger in some instances for dressing and squaring where necessary.

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The tenons and mortises are first cut for the crosspieces at the bottom of the posts, and, as it is best to use dowels at the top, holes are bored in the bottom piece and also the ends of the slats for pins. The bottom piece is also fastened to the posts with dowels. The bottom must have a square piece cut out from each corner almost the same size as the posts. When setting the sides together the end board and posts can be doweled and glued together and after drying well the posts can be spread apart far enough to insert the bottom rail and two slats. The rail and slats should be tried for a bit before putting on any glue, which may save some trouble.

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After the sides are put together, the back is put in and glued. The top is then put on and fastened with cleats from the inside. The part.i.tions are put in as shown and the door fitted. Two drawers are made from the ends and the soft wood material. The drawer ends may be supplied with wood pulls of the same material or matched with metal the same as used for the hinges.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Mirror Frame and Standards Details]

The pieces for the mirror frame must be rabbeted 1/2 in. deep to take the gla.s.s, and the ends joined together with a miter at each corner. The two short posts are tenoned and mortises cut in the bottom piece for joints and these joints well glued together. The bottom piece is then fastened to the top board of the stand. This will form the standards in which to swing the mirror and its frame. This is done with two pins inserted in holes bored through the standards and into the mirror frame.