A Collection of Woodwork Projects; Designs for the Making of Furniture, Furnishings and Accessories for the Home

By Anon Anon

This book contains a fantastic collection of woodwork designs for the making of furniture, furnishings and accessories for the home. Including tables, shelving, storage solutions and much more, this book provides the handyman with enough furniture to beautifully furnish any home.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Swedenborg Press
• Release date: Jun 28, 2021
• ISBN: 9781528764902

Book preview

Living Room Furniture

A TABLE FOR THE TELEVISION

ALTHOUGH this table was designed specifically for a television set, it would be ideal as an occasional table about the house.

Dowel joints have been used instead of haunched mortise and tenon joints, as most households have a carpenter’s brace or mechanic’s drill, and a mortise gauge and mortise chisels may not be available.

The main framework consists of four legs and four top rails. These are all made from 1 7/8 in. by 1 in. material, and if this can be obtained dressed to these sizes, so much the better. The top rails are cut to the sizes indicated in Fig. 1 (two at 12 7/8 in. and two at 14 in.). Care should be taken to ensure that the ends of these rails are quite square.

The legs are 20 in. lengths of the same material and tapered to the sizes shown in Fig. 2. How the legs can be economically cut from a 6 in. by 1 in. board is shown in Fig. 5. Sixteen 1 1/2 in. lengths of 1/4 in. dowel rod are used to assemble the framework.

In order to make sure that the joints fit neatly the procedure shown in Fig. 2 should be employed. Mark a letter (A, B, C, etc) at each end of each top rail then similarly mark the top of each leg. It is important that rail A goes with leg A and so on.

Mark the dowel positions at the end of each top rail and knock in a small (say 3/4 in.) panel pin on each mark. Allow the head to protrude slightly. Nip off the heads of these nails with pliers so that they still protrude sufficiently to allow them to be pulled out later.

Press the end of each top rail on to its corresponding leg and two small dents will be made on the legs. These indicate the centre of the holes for the dowels. When the pins are removed from the top rails the pinholes give the centres of the top rail dowels. Drill all the holes 1/4 in. diameter and slightly more than 3/4 in. deep. Fig. 3 shows how to ensure drilling to the correct depth.

The front and rear frames of the table may be glued and assembled. When the glue is dry the top and bottom of each leg may be angled; that is the bottom is level with the floor and the top of the frame is straight.

Drill holes in the top rails for the screws which secure the table top from underneath. These screws should protrude 1/2 in. above the top rails. Note that Fig. 2 shows these holes counter-drilled so that a 1 1/2 in. by 8 screw may be used. These holes may be plugged with 1/2 in. diameter dowel when the table is assembled.

Next drill the holes in the legs to accommodate the 1/2 in. dowel rails. Note that these holes are ‘blind’; that is, they do not pass right through the wood. They are in fact 3/4 in. deep (Fig. 2).

The five lower rails are cut to size (Fig. 1), and the holes carefully drilled, so that the distance between their centres is identical in every one and also identical with the distance between the two 1/2 in. holes in the frames.

The lower rails are now ‘threaded’ on to two 15 1/2 in. lengths of 1/2 in. dowel. They are secured to the dowels by fine panel pins on the underside (see Figs. 1 and 2).

The complete framework may now be put together, taking care that everything is ‘square’ before allowing the glue to set. Four fine beheaded panel pins secure the 1/2 in. dowels in their sockets.

The original table was constructed in mahogany (with the exception of the birch dowels), so a piece of 5/8 in. thick mahogany-faced ply was used for the top. The edges are bevelled to 10° and the corners slightly rounded, taking care to maintain a constant bevel all the way round. Do not fix on the top until all the polishing is finished.

Glasspaper all surfaces thoroughly. Lightly dampen the whole structure and top and allow to dry out completely. This allows the fibres of the wood to swell, and they may be cut down with glasspaper. Dust the wood with a dry cloth and apply four or five coats of white french polish, allowing each coat to dry. Glasspaper lightly and dust between each coat.

Carefully paint the edge of the plywood top black or some neutral colour. Do not use a cellulose paint or dope, as this will attack the french polish.

Finally go over all the surfaces with clean, rust-free steel wool dipped in furniture wax. Burnish the wood with a hard material, such as nylon or silk, until a smooth, hard finish is obtained.

The table will not have a high-gloss finish, but the satin smooth durable surface may be easily maintained.

Fig. 1

Fig. 2

Fig. 3

Fig. 4

Fig. 5

For those extra visitors

A FOLDING PARTY SEAT

LACK of seating accommodation is often a problem at party gatherings. A good long seat, capable of holding three or four persons, can be of real use at such a time, especially if it can be folded up and put away when the party is over.

A front view of our design is given in Fig. 1, and a side or end view in Fig. 2, with suggested dimensions. The legs are fitted to fold inwards, so as to allow the seat to be easily stored away. When let out, a stretcher bar is fixed across the legs to keep the seat firm and stable.

Cut the long rails to length given in the cutting list, and, at the distance shown, groove across for the cross rails at each end, and at the centre. The grooves need not be more than 1/8 in. deep, and the rails should be glued and nailed across. Punch these nail heads down to a trifle below the surface. At points A and B, in Fig. 1, 1 in. square fillets are nailed across. Saw off the extreme corner angles at the ends of the long rails.

For the seat board, cut 1/2 in. plywood to the full length, and width of the seat, and screw to rails. Use flat-head countersunk screws. Divide the seat board into four divisions, roughly, with pencil lines, and in each division bore three holes with a gimlet, as shown in Fig. 3C. Now clean up the edges of the seat board and long rails to be level all round.

The construction of the legs will be plain from Fig. 4. Each pair are connected with cross rails as shown, simply halved in and screwed or nailed. If the latter, then glue the joints as well. At the centre of each lower cross rail, saw out a notch as shown, 1 in. deep, for the stretcher bar D.

Turn the seat over, and holding each pair of legs firmly against its respective cross rail under the seat board, fix the legs in place with a pair of 2 in. back flap hinges. These will allow the legs to be folded under the seat, and when opened out, they will butt up against the end cross rails. For the stretcher bar, cut a strip of 2 in. square wood to the same length as the seat. Lay this across the lower cross rails, letting it rest in the notches. With assistance from a friend to keep the legs out, and flat up against the rails under the seat, mark with a pencil where they contact the leg rails, and there cut out notches 1 in. deep. A tight fit is desirable, and pressing the bar down in the notches should hold the legs firmly enough to ensure the stability of the seat.

A little padding to the seat board is desirable. A simple but quite effective method, calling for no particular skill in upholstery work, is as follows. Cut a piece of sheeting or close woven canvas a few inches larger than the dimensions of the seat board, and tack down one side to the front long rail. Now with a strip of 1/2 in. by 1 1/4 in. wood under the material, tack down about 12 in. of the opposite edge of canvas to the back rail. A look at C, Fig. 3, will explain this. Remove wood strip, and then force the padding material (flock or kapok, perhaps) in the space between seat and covering.

Level the padding by application of the wood strip, working to an even thickness all over. Repeat this every foot or so to the end of the seat, then tack the ends down, and cut away all surplus. With a long stout needle, pushed through the holes in the seat board, make long stitches of twine to keep the padding from shifting about (Fig. 3, E). Cover the whole with a single layer of cotton wool to even out the surface, and then give a final covering of American or plastic cloth to finish off. Add a final touch by hiding the tack heads with matching banding, such as you can purchase from upholstery stores.

Fig. 1

Fig. 2

Fig. 3

Fig. 4

An alcove fitting

BUILT-IN WRITING TABLE