Limbert #366 Bookcase Finished

The last couple of weekends I spent most of my time finishing the Limbert bookcase, if you're not familiar with my finishing process check out my post on it here. It takes a few days to complete with drying time in between, so while I was waiting I was working on my Shaker table for The Woodwhisperer Guild March Woodworkers Fighting Cancer build. It was kind of nice having two projects going on at the same time, if I got bored with sanding I could switch over to tapering the legs of the table, if I didn't have much time I could work on the drawer. I decided to go with a medium brown finish for the bookcase so I started with medium brown dye and I used brown Mahogany gel stain for the over stain. I took the time to finish the backing plywood prior to attaching it to the back of the case with 1/2 inch staples to allow for any wood movement.
Once the dark wax was mostly dry I had a friend help me carry it into the house, all that quartersawn white oak is heavy. After letting the wax cure overnight I couldn't wait to set up my vintage Kodak camera collection on the top and fill the bookcase with my woodworking and photography books that have been piled on my dining room table for months. Then I decompressed some of my other bookcases leaving me with a whole empty shelf to expand in to.
I was very happy with the way this project came together, I started with just some pictures and measurements, used Sketchup to make them into a workable plan and went on from there. One detail that I didn't cover in my
previous posts is the bevel on the edge of the adjustable shelves, its a nice little touch that you can see in the pictures or some of the antiques. I created the bevel the same way I did on the top of the Shaker table, I adjusted the angle of my tablesaw to 12.5 degrees and set the fence 1/2 inch away from the blade. Using a tall fence and a magnetic featherboard I carefully moved the shelves vertically past the blade. Cuts like this almost always leave burn marks so a little clean up with a low angle smoothing plane was in order. Every time I make something I learn something new, sometimes something big, sometimes something small, I noticed with this bookcase sitting near my last one that my sanding and finishing have improved. I learned on this one that it is easier to finish a bookcase with the back not attached, a lot easier.

"Happiness is not something ready made. It comes from your own actions."

- His Holiness the Dalai Lama

Limbert #366 Bookcase, Part 2

Last weekend I cut and routed the dadoes and grooves in the sides of the Limbert #366 bookcase. During the week I took a few hours and, using the template I marked out the cutouts and the bottom lift. After drilling a few access holes and cutting the waste out with a jigsaw I used the template and a 3/4 inch pattern cutting bit to clean up the cuts. I also cut the adjustable shelves to size and added the bevel on the front of each shelf.

Saturday I cut and glued up the top for my cherry Shaker table for the Woodwhisperer Guild Woodworkers Fighting Cancer build, then I moved on to sanding the bookcase. I ran the complete sanding schedule I use for white oak, starting with 60 grit, then 80, 120 and finally 180 grit. Between 120 and 180 grit on the inside of the sides I drilled the shelf pin holes for the adjustable shelves. I don't use a fancy template for this, I have a section of pegboard with two lines of holes 8 inches apart marked every 2 inches. With this I use a 1/4 inch brad point drill bit with a stop collar in place to drill 1/2 inch deep holes. I've used this on many projects and have never had problems with it, its simple, its cheap and I can make custom templates for any project.

The final dryfit was done after hand fitting each part, a few clamps were used to hold everything together and tight while I took measurements to insure that everything was square. I took the rest of the afternoon to make a taper cutting jig for the tablesaw inspired by Marc's live Guild event as I would need to cut long tapers for the Shaker table.
Today I had to run to Lowes to get some oak ply for the back of the bookcase, all of the pictures of the original that I could find show a plywood back so why not? I gathered my long clamps and glue bottle and completed the glueup. After a couple of hours of drying I flipped the bookcase onto its face and measured for the plywood back. After cutting and sanding the plywood I placed it and attached it with some blue tape for the pictures leaving it unattached to make finishing easier.

I took the rest of the day to cut the mortises in the Shaker table and taper the legs. Also I took the top for the table out of the clamps and rough sanded it.

One of the features that attracted me to this particular bookcase is the detail on top of the piece. The small fixed shelf and the cutouts along with the solid wood back and the large fixed top shelf are very nice and would make a perfect place for me to keep part of my vintage Kodak camera collection. I can't wait to complete the finish and get this bookcase in the house.

"Take everything you like seriously, except yourselves."

Rudyard Kipling

Limbert #366 Bookcase

When I started my journey into Arts and Crafts furniture I was of course drawn to Stickley's designs, his being the most common in the literature. As I got further along I discovered Charles Limbert and his unique take on furniture. Limbert was a student of European designers, particularly Charles Rennie Mackintosh of the Glasgow school, his designs are noted by cutouts and curves. I've made many Limbert pieces and blogged about them here. I found this bookcase in a reprint of an early 1900's Limbert catalog and searched online auction catalogs until I found this one.

Limbert produced this model with and without a door, and in a double wide version. The single door version fits the size that I want, its 64 inches tall, 12 inches deep and 30 inches wide. I'm not sure if I will add the door or not, but for now I'm proceeding with the assumption that I won't have a door. I took the photo into Google Sketchup and with the know dimensions produced a plan that I've uploaded in The Wood Whisperer Community.

From this model I produced a cutlist and exploded details of the parts. Saturday was spent preparing the Quartersawn White Oak stock and gluing up the parts, I also created a template for the rectangular cutouts at the top of the bookcase and the small lift at the bottom. Sunday I took everything out of the clamps and cleaned off the boards. I trimmed each piece down to the correct size and cut the 3/8th inch dado along the back of the sides and on the top and bottom shelves. Using a T-square guide and a plunge router I cut the dadoes for the top and bottom shelves and for the small shelf. I switched to the router guide and a 3/8th inch bit and cut the mortises for the top and bottom aprons. After squaring up the end of the small shelf dado with a chisel I cut the tenons on the aprons using the dado blade still in the tablesaw.

After doing a little fitting of the pieces with a routerplane and chisel I was able to complete an initial dryfit before calling it a day. I wanted to get a good start on this build because starting next weekend I'll be beginning the Guild March Shaker table project as part of Woodworker's fighting cancer. I'll be recording my progress of the Shaker table and continuing on with this project so look for updates.

"First things first, but not neccessarily in that order." - Dr. Who

Limbert #234 Tabourette, Part 1

My neighbor asked me to make her an end table and a coffee table in the arts and crafts style to go in her bungalow. I showed her some of the completed pieces in my house and she was drawn more to the Limbert style. I did some more research in my books and online and came up with this little tabourette as an end table, I showed her the pictures and described my idea for a coffee table that would compliment the design of the end table. Coffee tables weren't a part of American homes in the 1900's but I took a Limbert cocktail table and lowered it and changed it some to make it a coffee table, more on that in a later post.

In previous posts I have described my method of scaling plans from pictures but luckily I was able to find descriptions of this table along with dimensions, which are 16"x16"x18" tall. These relate to the widest measurements, the top which will be square. From this and the photos I came up with the dimensions in the picture at the left.

Using Google Sketchup I created a model of the table along with dimensioned elevations, I was also able to look at the components and come up with construction details such as how to connect the sides.

After removing the stock from the clamps and trimming it to size I took this template I made up from the plan above and marked out the areas to be cut out. After removing the bulk of the waste with a jigsaw for the cut outs and the bandsaw for the bottom I carefully aligned the template to the inside of each side piece and screwed it in place. Using a template like this for routing is always good, you can attach it with double sided tape or if piece has a hidden side you can just screw the template to the stock. I used a 1/2 inch pattern cutting bit in the router table to give the cutouts the proper radius at the corners. After this I cut a 45 degree miter on each side of the side pieces.

What followed was some sanding and a little hand work on the cutouts then I glued the miters together using the miter cutoffs as glue blocks a little time cooking in the clamps while I sanded the top. A final sanding on everything inside and out and attaching the top with figure 8 table irons, a little more touch up sanding and a cleaning finished up this project for the weekend and now all that is left if finishing. My neighbor looked at the finish samples that I keep and picked the middle range of the five I have so when I start on the finish I just turn over the sample and the "recipe" is written on the back. For more on my arts and crafts finish and a look at the samples see this post.

" Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter, and those that matter don't mind." Dr. Seuss

Limbert Tables in SketchUp

I received a couple of emails and comments on scaling the images to create templates for the two Limbert tables I recently posted as SketchUp plans. The first step is to click on each of the pictures to get the larger view, save these to your computer and print them as large as you can. You will notice that the drawing is on a grid, this grid is 1x1 inch. Take a piece of poster board and draw a 1x1 inch grid on it, you can buy poster board with a ghost grid 1/2 x 1/2 inch printed already. Next scale the drawing by transferring the corner points and some guide points for the curve onto the poster board. Connect the dots and you have an outline of the side of the table you want to create as a template. Cut it out and trace it onto a piece of plywood or MDF, cut the template out on a bandsaw and clean up the lines and you have a perfect template to use to create the sides of either or both tables. I hope that this helps.

"The only real failure in life is not to be true to the best one knows." ~Buddha

Limbert #240 Lamp Table part 2

While I am a huge fan of Robert Lang's Shop Drawings series of books I have found that there can be differences in his shop drawings and some photos of the antiques that I find on the Internet. These differences may well be design or process changes between runs of the furniture. As an avid searcher for pictures of details or original Arts and Crafts furniture I often find details that I prefer better than the one described in Mr. Lang's books. One of these differences is the top cross piece on this table. To your left is a photo I found of an original Limbert #240 Lamp Table, notice the cross braces holding on the top. In Mr. Lang's More Shop Drawings for Craftsman Furniture he calls for four small corbels that match the end of these cross braces. While certainly adequate to hold the top in place I found when I previously built this piece a few years ago that I was less than happy with the final result. I found this picture on EBay where it was listed as an original and indeed had the original stamp of Limbert. Most pictures I've found on antique auction sites show the table from the front and top not showing any of the details. While this may be great for selling the piece it isn't as satisfying for a woodworker that wants to turn it over and see how its made. That is what makes this on of my favorite pictures, apart for the beautiful antique sitting on gravel and leaning on a concrete curb, yikes!
As a result I measured out and made these cross braces for my version of the table. The ends match the curve drawn out by Mr. Lang. I cut 2 pieces of 7/8 inch thick stock 2 inches wide and 18 inches long. After cutting a halflap joint in both pieces I transferred the template of the curve to the wood and cut it out on the bandsaw, I cleaned it up on the oscillating spindle sander and by hand. I then went to the dryfit of the sides and measured the exact distance across the top where the braces will sit. I then transferred the angle of the sides to the stock and cut out the dado on the tablesaw by adjusting the miter gauge, in this case 3 degrees, and sneaking up on the lines then nibbling away at the dado while checking fit with a scrap block. After making all the cuts I could at this angle I moved the miter gauge to the other side of zero to 3 degrees and repeated on the other dados. I tested the fit on the dryfit sides. To my great surprise everything fit and lined up, with just a few light taps with a deadblow the cross braces locked into place on the top of the table.

I cut the tabletop to 20 inches square and marked out 3 inch radius rounds on the corners. I cut the corners on the bandsaw and cleaned it up on the disc sander. Taking everything apart I sanded all the parts to 150 grit and left it for the weekend.

This week while stuck in a hotel overnight for work I pulled up Sketchup and decided to give drawing this table a shot. I have been working on learning Sketchup but it has been a slow process, one reason is that I don't work on it very often, the other is that I'm working on my laptop and had not been using a mouse. I picked up a wireless wheel mouse as recommended to me by many Sketchup guru's and success. Here is a model of this table that I have posted on The WoodWhisperer forum. I did this from memory not having the book with me but after making the jigs, templates and pieces I was very familiar with the measurements. I would suggest using the model to see how it goes together and not for the exact measurements, for that pick up Robert Lang's book More Shop Drawings for Craftsman Furniture.

The project is sitting on my assembly table waiting to be glued up this week and start the finishing process this weekend. This is a really fun project, and while there are no tenons or ebony plugs its beautiful in its lines and curves. Use the sketchup model to take it apart and see how everything goes together, you can learn a lot about how to make a piece by doing this. I'll still do my designing with paper and pencil as it is faster for me and I can let my ideas flow and work them out in my head, but for complicated designs like this one I'll virtually build it and refine it on the computer. Besides, it gives me something to do when stuck out of town in a hotel.

"Happiness lies in the joy of achievement and the thrill of creative effort." - Franklin D. Roosevelt

Limbert #240 Lamp Table part 1

This weekend I started a reproduction of a Charles Limbert design #240 Lamp Table, the original was produced circa 1903. Unlike Gustav Stickley, Limbert was not concerned with humble simplicity of design, his furniture borrows heavily from the prairie style of Frank Lloyd Wright and the designs of Charles Renee MacKintosh.

I really like Limbert's designs, I've made one of his large tables, the Double Oval Table, and two of his smaller tables, the #244, and the #238. I previously made this table for a friend, but I have always wanted to have one for myself and luckily, I had just enough quartersawn white oak to complete this table. When I was done with the rough cuts I only had 2 feet of 4/4 quartersawn white oak left.

The plan for this project came out of Robert Lang's More Shop Drawings for Craftsman Furniture , these books are a great resource for anyone interested in making authentic Arts and Crafts style furniture. Robert includes a drawing of the sides with their irregular shapes in a grid that can be reproduced by creating a 1 inch by 1 inch grid on a sheet of posterboard and transferring the drawing to that. I used this posterboard pattern to create a template out of plywood for both the sides and the shelf.

Taking the panels out of the clamps this morning and scraping off the excess glue the first thing I did was to trace the patterns onto the panels. I then cut proud of the line on the bandsaw for both the shelf and the side panels.

I attched the pattern to the cut our of the shelf using a couple of screws making sure to attach it to the underside of the shelf. This lets me pattern route it on the router table without worrying about the pattern slipping as can happen using double sided tape.

I make sure to label all my templates, jigs, and patterns with not only the name, but any directions and dimensions for the project. The sides call for a taper on both sides and a bevel cut at just under 45 degrees. The trick to this, which Mr. Lang does not describe in his book, is to create two jigs to enable you to easily repeat the cuts on the table saw.

I created these jigs using the template for the side. For the first jig I placed the template top up on the plywood and aligned the right side with the edge. I then attached blocks to hold the stock in place around the template. I adjusted the fence so that the bevel cut would be at the correct location and ran the stock through for all four sides. I labeled the jig with the name and the stock dimensions as well as the settings for the blade angle and the fence.

The second jig is made by placing the top of the template to the other end and aligning the edge of the template with the edge of the plywood. Again attaching blocks to hold the stock in place. Adjusting the fence so the the width of the bottom of the side is 15 inches, I run the stock through, and repeated for the other sides. I labeled this jig just as I did the first one. When I was done I trimmed off the excess plywood at the bottom of both jigs to make future cuts easier.
With the cuts complete I traced the cutouts on the stock and using the bandsaw roughed them out. They will be finished on the router table like the shelf.

When routing a template make sure that you use a starter pin to keep from getting kickback when the stock comes in contact with the spinning bit. When possible router with the grain and not against it. If that is not possible, try to sneak up on the cuts against the grain and not cut into it all at once.

One trick I use if I have to cut against the grain is to take little bites out of the stock with the bit to create breaks so that the spinning bit will not cause too much tearout. I still find that I am left with tearout, but its contained and rather than ruin the piece I'm left with a small defect that can be cleaned up using a spokeshave and some sandpaper.

With the sides beveled and shaped I like to do my first dryfit before I get too far into sanding and trimming in case I need to make any changes. Luckily everything fit nicely.

I used a Ryoba saw and a chisel to clean up the round corners left by the router bit. I then sanded the shelf and sides down to 100 grit. I tilted the blade on the tablesaw 3 degrees and cut a bevel on the bottom of the sides so that they would sit flush on the bottom. I then did a second dryfit, this time including the shelf. I cut the top to its final size, 19 inches square and called it a day.

"If you spend your whole life waiting for the storm, you'll never enjoy the sunshine." ~Morris West

Limbert Fern Stand, Felicia's table

This nice little table was delivered to Felicia Day today and being the sweetheart that she is, she wasted no time in unpacking it while taking pictures and making up a funny little comic of it.
If you are at all into online gaming you might know her as the writer/producer/actress responsible for the award winning Webshow The Guild now in second season production. Or if you, like me, are a Joss Whedon fan, you might know her as Penny alongside Neil Patrick Harris and Nathan Fillion in Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, or as Potential Slayer Vi, in the final season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Felicia is IMHO the most websavvy, online connected actress in Hollywood, she's in the top 50 of people followed on Twitter. Felicia also is in many comercials and tv shows and movies. Basically she's a very talented woman and a working actress, plus she's really cool and geeky.

She tweeted (its going to be a word soon like googled) that she was going to the New Media Expo and I knew that Marc and Nicole were going there so I asked Nicole to get a picture for me, which she did, Nicole is so awesome. Nicole helped me get in touch with Felicia and I told her I was making a Limbert Fern table for my blog and that I would like to send it to her is she was interested. Felicia wrote me back right away saying that it would fit right into her 1925 Spanish Colonial and to please send it.

I'm not usually someone that sends emails and stuff to celebrities but Felicia seemed so nice, and from reading her website and blog I saw that she reads the same books as I do, our politics are the same, and she likes old houses. I think though the thing that made me really think that I wanted to contact her was her blog post about having a dream about Reese Whiterspoon, if you've read it you'll understand, by the way Felicia, Reese has a house here in Charleston, if you come to town maybe we could go stalk her together.

In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act. - George Orwell

Limbert Fern Stand, Felicia's table.

Here is the completed Limbert Fern Stand for my friend Felicia. Its all glued up and sanded and ready for the finishing to begin.

But before I start finsihing its time for a little branding, I like to put my logo in a place that doesn't show unless you really look, this one is under the top. My brand is heated up with a propane torch and tested on scrap pieces of oak, once its hot enough I carefully place it and press firmly, there is no second chance here.

My finish process for an authentic Arts and Crafts look isn't simple and it isn't fast, but it looks great compared to original period pieces and it really "pops" the ray flecks in the quartersawn white oak.

Sand piece to 150 grit and clean with tack rag or vacuum.

Wipe a good coat of dye on, for this piece I chose Transtint Medium Brown dye in water, be sure to cover all sides and keep dye from puddling in corners and at base. Leave to dry for at least 24 hours.
Lightly sand to remove raised grain with 220 grit, avoid oversanding especially at corners and edges.
Pad on a 1LB cut of amber shellac or sanding sealer.
Using a 320 grit sanding pad gently rub surface, clean with tack cloth or vacuum.

Apply Brown Mahagony Gel stain being careful to not cover too large of an area because once dry its very hard to wipe off. Once the gel starts to haze rub it off with a clean lint free cloth, I prefer old T-shirts. This gives you a warm rubbed in look. Let dry overnight.

Pad on 2-3 2LB cut coats of amber shellac, I tightly fold a square of T-shirt material, then soak it in the shellac and squeeze out excess, rub it in until it starts to drag then let dry. The coat of shellac should dry in 30 minutes or less. Repeat until you get the build you want.
Again, using 320 grit sanding pad gently rub surface, clean with a tack cloth or vacuum.
Take a few minutes to go over the whole piece with your clean hand, checking the surface for any rough areas or holidays.
Using a clean square of T-shirt rub in a thick coat of Watco Dark Liquid wax. Avoid plain or light colored waxes as these may leave white residue in the pores of the oak. When the wax is dry buff it out with a clean square of T-shirt.

Let the wax sit and "harden" for a few days then its ready to take in the house or in this case, ready to be shipped across country. Hope you enjoy the table Felicia, it should fit right in with your old house.

"True art expressed in its simplest formula is merely use made beautiful" - Charles Limbert

Limbert Fern Stand

This is a nice little fern table that is based on the Limbert #244 fern stand. I've seen a lot of pictures of reproductions but I haven't been able to track down a picture of the original. I do have a couple of Limbert catalogs but they are all drawn, no photos. So while the dimensions are correct I can't call this an accurate reproduction. I've made five of these before and its one of my favorite forms. I like the long sweeping legs and the subtle in curve at the bottom of the leg. The top and middle shelf are both 12 inches in diameter, the picture on the left has a top at 14 inches by request of the customer.

This is a nice quick little project it can be completed in a weekend, but of course, the finishing takes a few days due to drying times. You need some nicely figured Quartersawn White Oak that is at least 7 inches wide. I had previously made a template for this form that you see here. I cut 4 pieces of QSWO 28 inches long and traced the pattern making sure to line it up on a square side.

Before I cut the outlines on the bandsaw I had to run a 3/8 x3/8 inch rabbet along the straight edge, more on that later. With all the legs rough cut I used double sided turner's tape to hold the pattern to the leg. I learned the hard way not to try to cheap out and save tape by trying to tape it to the pattern and reuse it. The pattern shifted and I lost one leg on a previous build. I used a pattern routing bit on the router table to finish the shape on the legs.

This is why you run the rabbet on the legs, I call this joint the "crazy rabbet" its an elegant way to join all 4 legs. Popular Woodworking used this joint building a version of a Limbert #238 table.




Here are the legs dry fitted for the first time if the stock is straight and square and your cuts are true, you can put it together like this using the "crazy rabbet" without any clamps for a dry fit. I used the off cuts from the legs to glue up 2 blanks for the tops.

Once the glue has dried on the blanks I used a trammel to mark a 12 inch diameter circle then took them to the bandsaw and cut just proud of the line.





Placing a shop made circle cutting jig on my tablesaw and installing a 1/2 inch spiral cutting bit I adjusted the jig to 6 inches from the bit. I drilled a 1/4 inch hole into the center mark of the top and the shelf careful not to drill all the way through, and careful not to drill in from the best face. I placed the circle blank onto a 1/4 inch bolt that protrudes through the circle cutting jig, and adjusted the jig so that the bit was clear from the wood. I usually remember to cut a little closer to the line of the circle in one spot while at the bandsaw so that the bit can spin clear. I then carefully rotated the blank slowly around until complete, I then move the jig slightly closer and repeat until the circle it complete. This operation is tricky and if the bit catches the grain it can tear off a chunk or even more scary it can grab the blank and spin it. When I'm rotating the blank I keep my right hand pressing down to control it and carefully move it around with my left hand. I use the back of the table for this operation so I have a lot of table between me and the bit.

The final dry fit after sanding showing the rabbets, no pressure or clamps used here.






Another view of the bottom showing the shelf inserted. One thing I didn't show is that shelf has 4 cutouts to match the cutouts on the legs.

The final dry fit with the top placed on. A little glue is all it takes to complete the table, at which time I'll clamp it till it dries. The top is held on with a few figure 8 table irons, or if you want you can drill a 1/4 inch hole in the center of the top of the legs and use a dowel and a little glue, the top is small enough that wood movement shouldn't be a problem. This little table is great for a corner to hold a vase and flowers, or a fern if you really want....



"I would rather be able to appreciate things I can not have than to have things I am not able to appreciate." - Elbert Hubbard

New Arts and Crafts Furniture Project Book

The staff at Popular Woodworking have done it again. They have delved into their vast pool of talent and treasure of articles from their magazine and have brought us a wonderful collection of Arts and Crafts furniture projects. The authors are all current or former editors and senior editors for Popular Woodworking Magazine. Robert W. Lang is not only a senior editor for Popular Woodworking, he also has published five books on arts and crafts furniture in his "Shop Drawings" series, which I have used extensively for building reproductions of some very nice Arts and Crafts pieces. The first two Shop Drawings for Craftsman Furniture: 27 Stickley Designs for Every Room in the Home , and More Shop Drawings for Craftsman Furniture: 30 Stickley Designs for Every Room in the Home, will give you a great variety of projects for every room in the home.

Christopher Schwarz is an editor of Popular Woodworking, and a contributing editor to The Fine Tool Journal, in addition to teaching traditional woodworking techniques he has recently published a fantastic book on workbenches, Workbenches: From Design & Theory to Construction & Use, which has been discussed to some length at The WoodWhisperer blog and chat room.

Steve Shanesy was an editor for Popular Woodworking and is now publisher of the magazine. Jim Stack is a senior editor or Popular Woodworking and also the author of eight woodworking books. Jim Stuard is a former editor of Popular Woodworking, and Kara Uhl is a former managing editor of the magazine. David Thiel is the executive editor of Popular Woodworking Books and a former editor for Popular Woodworking.

With this much talent on board this project was sure to shine. The Book includes 26 projects, a chapter on the history of Arts and Crafts Furniture and a chapter on techniques of of construction and finishing. There is also a CD included that has a PDF file with 10 additional projects and 10 articles on techniques from the archives of the magazine. Long time readers of the magazine will notice that most of these projects have previously appeared there, however in the book you will find that more detail and more photos have been included along with all new drawings. One thing that did disappoint me is that the book appears to be an updated and expanded version of their book Authentic Arts and Crafts Furniture Projects from 2000.

Each project chapter begins with a description of the project's origins and history. Included is a very detailed text description of the process along with a cut list. Drawings for templates that you will need and a list of supplies along with sources are included. Very clear and instructional color photos along with nice shop drawings and exploded views complete the chapter with enough information for novices to make a very nice piece of furniture. One thing that this book includes that many do not is upholstery tips and techniques that allow you to move from a nice woodworking project, to a finished piece of fine furniture. The projects range from the simple, Limbert Waste Basket, to the impressive, Byrdcliffe Linen Press.

In my opinion this is the finest book of Arts and Crafts Furniture projects to date, and I should know, I have bought them all over the years of my obsession with the style. I hope that you take a look at this book and enjoy making the projects in your shop and that your family and friends get to appreciate your skills combined with some amazing reproductions of original masterpieces. If you would like to purchase a copy you can do so from the link below.

Limbert Umbrella Stand part 3, finish line in sight

It's time to finish this Umbrella stand. Now, I've been finishing arts and crafts style furniture for some time, and when I Started it was as simple as it gets, much like every woodworker in the beginning, stain and Poly. As I learned more about the style and wood finishing the technique progressed. I progressed to a danish oil and thought that I was saving time and effort only to find that the finished product was less than satisfactory. Then I came across several articles on creating an arts and crafts finish, these included everything from ammonia fuming to using roofing tar as part of the finish. What I landed on as my go to finish is a multipart process of a water based dye, a sealing coat of shellac, a dark gel stain, a few coats of thicker shellac, with a layer or two of wax to give the piece that antique feel.

I finish sanded to umbrella stand to 150 grit using a random orbit sander followed by hand block sanding. After blowing off the piece with compressed air I use a microfiber tack cloth to further clean the sanding dust from the grain. I have samples of quartersawn white oak that I have sanded and finished with different base colors and using these I decided that I wanted this umbrella stand to have a darker base than my chair and sofa, so I start with a medium brown dye diluted in water. Using a foam brush I flood the surface of the piece with the dye and let it soak in for ten minutes. If I see any areas that are under saturated I add some dye to these areas. After about 10 minutes I use a clean dry rag to wipe off excess dye and to dry the surface. I place the piece on supports to hold it off the table so that air can get to all sides of the stand. I found out the hard way that if you don't do this than the excess dye pools up on the tarp and wicks up from the bottom and discolors the base of the piece. I leave it to dry for a few days.

Once the piece has completely dried you need to lightly sand off any grain that has been raised by the water based dye. You could mix the dye in denatured alcohol to prevent grain raising but it has been shown that alcohol based dyes tend to fade over time. I use 220 grit sandpaper on a sanding block to eliminate any grain that has been raised making sure not to cut to deeply into the dye and not to lighten the edges too much. Once this is done I again use compressed air and a microfiber tack cloth to clean the piece.

I make a nice tight pad out of lint free t-shirt material and wipe on a sealing coat of shellac, this has been thinned to a 1lb. cut. (more on shellac cuts and the whole finishing technique in a future post) After this dries I give it a light rubbing with a 320 grit yellow sanding pad followed by wiping down with the microfiber tack cloth.

Now its time to add the real color, the base color will only be really visible on the ray flakes. I use brown mahogany gel stain, this stain will act as a coloring glaze for the main body and darker coloring into the grain. I use a foam brush to cover the surface with the gel stain, I only do one part at a time because there is a fine line between just right and too dry, if the gel stain gets too dry it will be very difficult to wipe off. When the surface of the gel starts to "flash", that is, starts to look dull, I use another clean soft lint free rag to wipe the gel off and rub it into the grain. This is what gives the finish the "hand rubbed" look, I rub with the grain to remove most of the stain, then across and in circles to rub it into the grain. I make sure that there are no blotches left, the gel stain if left to long resembles paint. After rubbing the surface until the cloth doesn't pick up any color I leave the piece to air and dry overnight.

The left side rubbed out, the right side just the base dye.









After rubbing out the gel stain.

The following day I wipe off any dust that fell on the stand overnight. Taking a 2lb cut of amber shellac I rub on two layers. One of the beauties of shellac is that you don't have to rub out the surface between coats, the denatured alcohol in the mixture melts the surface of the previous layer. Another nice thing is that if for some reason you do get a run or drip, you can take a cloth soaked in denatured alcohol and dissolve it. Once everything is dry and I'm happy with the build of the shellac and the finish, I wipe on a coat of watco dark liquid wax. I use dark wax because of the grainy nature of the white oak, if I had used light wax, once dry it would leave white residue in the grain that would detract from the beauty of the finish. Letting the wax sit for 30 minutes I then wipe the piece with a clean cloth and wipe on another coat of wax let stand, and wipe the surface clean for the final time.

After placing felt pads on the bottom to protect my hardwood floor the Limbert #254 umbrella stand is ready to replace that old umbrella stand that I never really was happy with. Now I am one piece closer to filling my house with handmade high quality furniture.

"Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful." William Morris