Gothic Stool: Part I

This project reminds me a bit of the meditation bench I built because of the splayed legs and through mortises. But this stool has a stretcher and tusk tenons whereas the bench did not.











I drew a pattern in Illustrator based on an image I found in a book, then I located some thick cherry in my lumber stash, printed out the patterns full size, and made a plywood template for the curvy legs.






I was all set to start cutting the legs because the decorative elements of any project are always my favorite, when I realized that it would be much easier to layout the joinery if the boards were square.

Whew. Disaster averted.

The benefit to working from full size patterns is you can take measurements right from the printout. And for those of us who are baffled by simple geometry, it makes it easy to determine angles.

I drew a pencil line down the center of both leg boards and seat. This helped align the pieces when laying out the joinery.

It's a pretty straight forward build. The one thing I did differently than the meditation bench was to cut the leg tenons first rather than the mortises just to see if it was more efficient and/or produced better joints.

And the result of my in-depth experiment? I didn't notice a bit of difference.



Next up: cutting the stretcher and tusk tenons.

Those corners on the front of the legs
will be removed when I cut the
scrolly pattern. And the tenons
will be sawn flush with the seat.

Woodworking for Your Inner Knight

This will be the first project in my new book*, The Forgotten Realm of Gothic Woodworking, which will feature not only projects with which to outfit your manor, but will answer age-old questions about the period such as: "Did they buy black nail polish or make their own?" and "Does this flying buttress make me look fat?"

I'm all up in the Goth grill these days and have been finding loads of fun projects online, thanks in part to those of you who have commented on the last couple blog posts and those who have emailed me directly.

You might be wondering what the difference is between Gothic, Medieval, and Renaissance. According to Wiki, the Medieval Period is from 400 - 1500; Gothic (a pejorative term meaning barbarous or crude) is from 1150 - 1500; and Renaissance is from 1300 - 1600.

I'm currently reading The Time Traveler's Guide to Medieval England: A Handbook for Visitors to the Fourteenth Century, by Ian Mortimer, which is wildly interesting. It recounts a time when mullets didn't make you cringe.

As you read the book, you can't help but wonder where you would fit into the social hierarchy—royalty, knight, merchant, peasant, mead-swilling friar—and be forever grateful that you're living in the 21st century. The 14th century doesn't have indoor plumbing and Barbie Foosball. I don't want to live in that world.

The book is what got me interested in researching the types of furniture that were made back then.

One piece that caught my eye is a 15th century stool from Normandy. I found it in a free book online. My version will be a little different, but the basic design is the same. The stool had me at tusk tenons.

Before tastes in furniture starting changing in the 17th century, much of the furniture was adorned with elaborate carving. Google “gothic furniture” and you’ll see what I mean.

So, this weekend I’ll get started building my collapsible stool and hope that no one drops by unexpectedly. Perhaps there’s still time to build a moat around my shop.
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An interesting write-up on 15th and 16th century stools can be found here. 
*I'm not really writing a book about gothic furniture.

Have You Seen This Table?

I bought a book over the weekend for one reason only: this photo.

The description says it's "A Gothic Walnut and Pine Center Table. Related examples appearing in Switzerland and Rhenish areas. South German 15th-16th Century."

The book is A Directory of Antique Furniture by F. Lewis Hinckley, published in 1953.

Have any of you ever seen this table or one like it? It's going on my to-build list and I'd love to find out more about it.

Looking For Resource Suggestions

I'm looking for resources (books, museums, websites) for unique, folk, European furniture, preferably 17th and 18th century. 

Nothing high end, but not too simple either. Some carving and decorative elements would be great. German, Scandinavian, Austrian, Dutch, English....any suggestions?

Here are some pieces that sort of reflect what I'm looking for, but I'm open to any and all suggestions. 

Tables, chairs, cupboards, any kind of household stuff.

Thank you for your help!

Great Book of Shop Drawings for Craftsman Furniture

Bob Lang has compiled three of his books—Shop Drawings for Craftsman Furniture, More Shop Drawings for Craftsman Furniture, and Shop Drawings for Craftsman Inlays & Hardware—into one impressive collection entitled Great Book of Shop Drawings for Craftsman Furniture.

Within the 328 black and white pages are drawings of 57 pieces of American furniture known as Craftsman, Arts & Crafts, and Mission. Original designs by Gustav Stickley and his associates are provided with detailed illustrations, exploded views, and cut lists.

Bob Lang has been studying and building Arts & Crafts furniture since the late 1970s. Working from photographs and catalog illustrations of original pieces, he has amassed a book of shop drawings for anyone who loves well designed, well structured, and well balanced furniture.

What is it that attracts us—woodworker and non-woodworker alike—to this style of furniture? Perhaps it's the practical, no frills nature. The designs are based on solid fundamentals, paring away the fancy portions of previous styles, revealing the beauty in simplicity and wood grain.

Maybe it's the comfort element, because Craftsman furniture surely is that.

Maybe it's the timeless quality of good taste, as Craftsman designs are at home in any home. The exposed joinery and minimalist features serve as decorative elements; an entire suite or one piece complement any room.

Or maybe the style represents something of our own nature: strength, stability, practicality, usefulness.

Bob provides a detailed history of Craftsman furniture, the Stickley Brothers, and the people, places, and trends that influenced their designs. Gustav Stickley was a ball of fire with his ideas and ideals and spent his career addressing the societal changes that affected people's lives. He sought to combat the loss of quality he saw not only in furniture, but in our living and working environments.

Bob talks about the material and hardware; offers sound advice about preparing lumber, allowing for wood movement, and woodworking techniques; and provides loads of information about the details that were used in Stickley pieces.

The project illustrations are simple and understandable, and the measurements are clearly labeled.

It's an interesting read from an historical aspect, as well as a mechanical one, and it's jam-packed with substantial information—no fluff, just like Arts & Crafts furniture.

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Find out more about Bob's book and view the table of contents on his website.

You can buy the book from a number of sources, but purchasing it directly from the author makes a tremendous difference in his income.

I do not benefit in any way from the sale of Bob's books. I am purchasing my own copy. In the meantime, Bob sent me a pdf to review.

Don Williams on True Traditional French Polish

Don Williams, who for 28 years has worked as a furniture conservator and scholar at the nation's largest cultural institution in Washington, D.C., gave a presentation to the Chesapeake Chapter of the Society of American Period Furniture Makers in April on traditional French polish.

Many of us have been under the misapprehension that French polish involves shellac, which instead refers to an English polish. True French polish is a wax finish.

While translating the book To Make As Perfectly As Possible by André Roubo (available by Christmas from Lost Art Press), Don discovered what to most of us is a long forgotten tool that was used in French polishing—a broom straw burnisher.  He's convinced that this wax and burnisher technique was used in 18th-century high style European marquetry.

Don stopped by my shop last week on his way to the Martin J. Donnelly antique tool auction, and I offered to film him demonstrating French polishing.

I also invited a friend over to watch. In other words, the male voice you hear in the background is not me with a cold.

If being period accurate is important to you, or this technique simply seems like something you'd like to try, you can make your own straw burnisher, find a broom maker to make one for you, or order one from Don for $12, plus shipping. In any case, both ends of the burnisher can be used.

You can contact Don at donsbarn250@msn.com.  Eventually, he plans to offer more products and information based on this newly rediscovered knowledge.*

The video is in real time so you can see how much time he spends on each part of the technique, but listen carefully because he offers loads of valuable information while he's working.

To view the video in HD on YouTube, click here.



*I do not benefit in any way from the sale of Don's burnishers or any future product he plans to offer.

Vintage Roy

When I first became interested in woodworking 20 years ago, I relied on Norm to teach me how to build things.  But besides the New Yankee Workshop, there was another show I watched regularly—The Woodwright's Shop.

I was a power tool junkie back then, so I couldn't figure out why I was so intrigued with this guy Roy. He built things with antique hand tools and talked about old ways of working wood—things which were outside of my purview. But there was something Andy Taylor about him that I found very appealing.

I liked his southern accent and conversational style, and his Mayberry charm made the day's stress disappear.

On Roy's shows, he talks about self-reliance and human-powered energy—things that seem to be making a comeback. His episodes are still relevant, entertaining, and educational.

Popular Woodworking Magazine is working to make all of Roy's shows available to us, including the early episodes of The Woodwright's Shop—episodes that most of us have probably never seen and to which we would never otherwise have access.  Until now you could only watch his current episodes on TV, if your local station carries it, or the past few seasons on the PBS website.

So far, PopWood has made the first three seasons available and is planning to add one new season each month. There are several ways to view Roy's shows based on your style.

If you're like me and watch a program only once or twice, the six month streaming option (where you can watch any of Roy's videos as often as you like for six months for $69.99) might be best for you. If you're only interested in watching a couple shows from each season, then you can rent the individual episodes as you would any movie (i.e., you do not own them). And third, if you like to watch shows a number of times and want to develop a reference video library of traditional craft, then you might want to buy the DVD of each season.

You can preview every episode before you make your choices, which is awesome.  Another great thing is you can watch the videos on your iPad, which means you can watch Roy anytime.  And that means I can bring my iPad to Sunday night dinners at my parents' house and opt out of watching Lawrence Welk reruns. (You think I'm kidding?)

For answers to how the various options work, go here.

To watch (for free) The Woodwright's Shop 20th Anniversary episode, go here.

For 32 years, Roy has been animating traditional craft with wit and homespun appeal. He's become part of our history as a woodworking community, and I'm glad we'll be able to share that history with future generations.

Interview with Ravinheart

Thank you to Andrew Detloff for having me as a guest on his Ravinheart podcast. 

Andrew is a woodworker in Wisconsin who builds and blogs about his projects, writes book reviews, and conducts interviews with other woodworkers. He plans to host a number of episodes with Hendrik Varju.