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

Stickley Footstool, Part 3

The Stickley footstool is finished and in place next to the extra large Morris chair. I finished it to match the chair and used matching fabric for the cushion. Pam was very happy when I bought it into the house and immediately curled up with her book in the chair.

One of the most rewarding things about being a woodworker is making high quality furniture for your home. I'm slowly filling my home and those of my friends with furniture that I've made. You can't find furniture like this in most stores and if you do you can't afford it. It gives me a huge amount of satisfaction to take rough boards and transform them into fine furniture.

As long as you derive inner help and comfort from anything, keep it. - Mahatma Gandhi

Stickley Footstool, Part 2

I spent this weekend finishing up the Stickley Footstool, I decided that since it was just a single drawer that it would be faster and easier to hand cut the dovetails instead of setting up the Leigh jig for half blind and through dovetails. Well... I underestimated how difficult it would be to cut the half blind pins in quartsawn white oak. My first attempt turned out great, nice tight fit and everything, the second side however was sloppy, so I gave up for the afternoon on Friday and walked away.

Saturday morning I cut a fresh drawer side out of poplar and carefully lined up the pins and gave it a good whack with a mallet. This left a perfect impression of the pins on the tail board. I carefully cut out the tails and had a perfect fit, I may switch and use this method to begin with instead of cutting the tails and marking them on the pin board. I ran a groove around the bottom and inserted a 1/4 inch plywood bottom for the drawer.


From all the pictures I've found of the original the edges of the legs seem rounded over, so I installed a 1/8th inch quarter round bit in the router table and ran the leg sides and ends. I inserted 1/2 inch plywood into the grooves at the top and bottom and glued up the sides. Sunday I removed the drawer and footstool from the clamps. I trimmed the pins flush on the drawers with a low angle block plane and sanded everything smooth. Next comes the finish and some antique hardware that I picked up last winter in upstate NY. Instead of rapping the edge of the stool in leather and using tacks like the picture of the original I plan on upholstering a piece of plywood with 4 inch foam to fit inside the top.

"He has achieved success who has worked well, laughed often, and loved much." Elbert Hubbard

Stickley Footstool, Part 1

NOTE: Please be aware that the picture to the left is of a reproduction made my Kevin Creedy, I had thought the picture was from an auction catalog, it was also a Limbert, not a Stickley. I stand corrected.

This project is based on Stickley's "Smoker's Footstool", I guess back in the day when Dad got home he'd want to sit in his Morris Chair and puff on his pipe, basically smelling up the house and exposing his kids to the dangers of second hand smoke. Luckily things have changed somewhat in the hundred years since its debut and hopefully Dad's aren't smoking in the house. So I'm going to rename this "Reader's Footstool" as the drawer is a good place to keep your book safe and at hand.

I started with one board of 8 inch wide 4/4 quartersawn white oak and one board of 8/4 quartersawn white oak. I cut two lengths 18 inches and two lengths 15 inches. I jointed and planed the 8/4 inch stock to 1 3/4 inches thick and ripped 4 legs 1 3/4 inches square. I then ripped one of the 18 inch pieces to 1 1/2 inch, 4 inches and 2 1/4 inches for the top rail, drawer front, and bottom rail.

If you zoom in on this image you can see the cabinet maker's triangle that keeps the woodgrain aligned, this will help me keep the grain on the drawer in place with the top and bottom rails.
You will also notice that I used a dado blade to cut 3/4 inch long, 3/8 inch thick tenons on the ends all the sides but not the drawer front.

I reset the dado blade to 1/2 inch and ran a dado 3/4 inches from the top and 1 3/4 inches from the bottom on all four sides that will later receive 1/2 inch plywood. I used a bow to draw a nice arch on the bottom of all the sides and cut them on the bandsaw, cleaning up the sawmarks on the spindle sander.

Sometimes its just faster and easier to use a handtool to cut the shoulder's of the tenons, I could have used the bandsaw but I've found that it tends to over cut and leave a notch in the board, so I prefer the gentleman's saw.

I layed out the mortises to leave me with a 1/2 inch of leg sticking out past the sides. After installing the 3/8th inch mortising chisel and squaring it to the fence I aligned the fence so that if I ran each leg outside face towards the fence they would all be aligned correctly. Remember that the drawer face isn't mortised the whole width of the side but just for the top and bottom rail.

With the mortises cleaned out a little hand fitting with a shoulder plane gives the tenons a perfect slip fit. Here is the first dry fit, the next step is to cut the plywood top and bottom, install drawer guides and make the drawer. This project will be the perfect companion for a Morris Chair or anytime you want to just kick back.

"No man is good enough to be another's master." - William Morris

New Project!!!!!

Slow to get back into the shop after my vacation I was looking around for something that I really wanted to build, my neighbor Michelle is an Audiologist and came to me asking if I could make her a coat rack for her office. She said that she didn't have much wall space and wanted something that would hold a few coats.
I did some looking through my Stickley catalogs and found this. Its called a costumer and may have been originally intended to go in a bed room instead of the hall way but I think it will work great and looks really cool. I like the double tree design and it fits her requirement or not being too wide at 14 inches. The base is 22 inches across so it will only sit out 10 inches from the wall.

I only had to small pictures from my books and no plans so I searched around on the internet and found these pictures and more that show details such as the through tenons for the stretchers. I've also found some hardware that was close to these. What I have to figure out is how the base and the uprights are attached, I could either cut a deep bridle joint on the uprights or use a mortise and tenon joint on each foot. The rest is pretty straight forward. Any thoughts on the joinery for the bottom would be greatly appreciated.

"Do your work with your whole heart, and you will succeed - there's so little competition."

Elbert Hubbard

Stickley Music Cabinet, Pt. 1

I've wanted to make this Stickley Music Cabinet ever since I ran across one at an Antique shop a few years ago. This piece is something that has no equivalent in today's world, it is designed for a time when making music was a daily form of entertainment. It is made specifically to hold sheet music. I like the size of the piece, tall and thin without seeming out of proportion, I like the slight curve on the top edge of the sides, and I like the simplicity of it along with the detail of the through mortises. I also like the solid door that will hide the clutter inside. If anyone is looking for a stereo cabinet for a component system this would be perfect. The original had at least ten adjustable shelves and a keyed lock. The cabinet is 20 inches wide, 16 inches deep, and 46 inches tall, I'm only going to make 4-5 shelves but they will be adjustable. What I'm going to use it for is to store board games and various things that clutter up my living room.

Not having plans for this but knowing the dimensions this cabinet is simple to make. It is a simple box with the top and bottom being joined to the sides with through tenons. There is a kick board at the bottom that appears to be inset by one half of an inch. The sides protrude from above the top a few inches and there is a back splash that rises one half of an inch above the sides. Not being able to find any pictures of the back I'm going to go with a shiplap back which would be period appropriate for this piece. I guess a plywood back would be fine too especially if you are making it as a stereo cabinet and need to cut a slot for ventilation and cords to run through.

The first thing I did was to make a template out of 1/2 inch MDF, I plan to cut the mortises with my plunge router so I layed out the slots to fit a 3/4 inch router bushing. After drilling the ends of the slots with a 3/4 inch forstner bit I use a jigsaw to cut out the rest and then clean it up with chisels and files. I cut the relief for the base on the bandsaw and clean it up on the oscillating spindle sander and with a sanding block. I don't really need the template to be full height so I make it only 24 inches tall, I'll route the bottom then move it for the top.

Choosing some nicely figured boards from my stock I cut them to rough length and square the sides, I glue them up making sure that each piece has one clear side. Once the glue has dried overnight I scrape off the excess glue then run them through the drum sander to flatten the panels. I then use the template to transfer areas to be removed to the boards for the sides, taking care to choose the best sides for the exterior, marking the inside and front.

Placing the side panel inside up I drill two counter sunk screw holes at the level of the bottom shelf. These screws will hold the template in place while the bottom shelf will hide the screw holes once the unit is assembled. Clamping the template/panel combination to my work table I easily route out the mortises taking it in a few passes with a 1/2 inch straight cutting bit.

With the template still attached I switched to another router with a 3/4 inch pattern cutting bit this is when having a couple of routers comes in really handy. I have a Porter-Cable 690 motor in my router table, a P-C laminate trimmer for light duty, and two Dewalt 618 combo kits that get the job done. I usually keep one of these setup for my dovetail jig and use the other for everything else but this method seemed the most efficient set-up for this project.

Flipping the panel around I again drill two counter-sunk screw holes on the midline of the top shelf. I use the pattern bit for the slight curve on the top front edge, then the same bushing guided set-up for the mortises. I then repeat these steps on the other panel. With all the routing done I use a 1/2 inch chisel to square up the mortises. The top and bottom shelves were glued up at the same time as the side panels, I cut these to size (16x20 3/4 inches) and sent them through the drum sander but I ran out of time today so I'll have to leave them for next weekend.

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

William Morris

Fuming White Oak

Well I've fumed the sample pieces of quartersawn white oak and finished them I have to say that it was cool to see how much the oak really did change color with the fuming, but man that ammonia stinks. I did go out and get a respirator, you have to be careful and find one that works for ammonia, and it worked great, but the wood after being fumed continues to smell for a few days. That first day just standing over my bench and handling the wood my eyes and nose started burning. I set them outside to air, I opened the shop door and turned on the fans.

I placed a few samples of white oak in an airtight rubbermade container with a small plastic dish of aqueous ammonia, I left this to sit for 6 hours then removed one piece. I removed another piece after 12 hours but noticed very little difference in the color so I replaced it and left the rest for another 12 hours, 24 in total. You can see the difference here, with no fuming, 6, and 24 hours with not additional finish.

This is the same samples, no fuming, 6 hours and 24 hours with an intial coat of 1lb cut of shellac. You can see that the color looks warmer and less grey on the fumed peices.

These are the peices finished with a coat of Brown Mahagony Gel stain, two coats of 2lb cut amber shellac, and finished with a coat of dark wax. I liked the results but I have to say that I like the way the dye/stain combination contrasts the ray flake as opposed to the fuming that tones the differences down. You can see in the 24 hour sample that the ray flakes are almost invisible.

One of the problems with fuming white oak is that the sapwood will not turn as dark as the heart wood, whereas dying lets you equalize the differences. If you look at the picture on the left you can see how much lighter the sapwood is in the left and middle picture compared to the sample on the right with no sapwood.

I think after this experiment I've found that fuming is no easier than dying wood and the toxicity of the ammonia makes me want to stick with the water based dyes. While I do have to sand the raised grain after dying and I wouldn't have to after fuming I think that the tradeoff of having to time the exposure to the ammonia is more inconvenient. My method may be less authentic but its also less toxic and easier to control the color. From what I've been able to find out I don't think that the Stickley factory uses fuming today to color their furniture either. Fuming may have been the state of the art in coloring wood in the 1900's but today we have other choices.

The true secret of happiness lies in taking a genuine interest in all the details of daily life.

William Morris

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

That special wood

One of the most distinguishing characteristics of Arts and Crafts furniture is the use of quartersawn white oak, apart from the practical aspects, its strength, stability and color, the flakes caused by the medular rays not up taking stain as readily as the open grain gives the furniture a striking appearance. The use of oak for furniture goes as far back as furniture itself, the wood is exceptionally strong, and resistant to decay. Stickley writes in the Craftsman

Gustav Stickley (ed.) / The craftsman(July 1909)
Our native woods and the Craftsman method of finishing them, pp. 428-436
There are many varieties of oak in this country, but of these the white oak is by far the most desirable, both for cabinetmaking and for interior woodwork. One reason for this is the deep, ripened color it takes on under the process we use for finishing it,-a process which gives the appearance of age and mellowness without in anyway altering the character of the wood. There is no question as to the greater durability of quarter-sawn oak for uses which demand hard wear and also where the finer effects are desired, as in furniture. The distinguishing characteristic of quarter-sawn oak is the presence of the glassy rays, technically called medullary rays, which bind the perpendicular fibers together and give the oak tree its amazing strength. In quarter-sawing, the cut is made parallel with these medullary rays instead of across them, as is done in straight sawing, so that they show prominently, forming the peculiar wavy lines that distinguish quarter-sawn oak. The preservation of the binding properties of these rays gives remarkable structural strength to the wood, which is much less liable to crack, check or warp than when it is plain-sawn.

Now lets get into the details. What does it mean to Quartersaw? The photo on the left shows an example. When lumber is plainsawn, flat slabs are cut all the way through the log. When it is Quartersawn the log is cut into quarters, then a board is cut off, the quarter is turned 90 degrees and another board is cut, this process is repeated until there is not enough left to cut. However, only the first few boards to come off the log are truly considered quartersawn, that is, the growth rings are from 90-60 degrees from the face of the board, from 60-0 degrees from the face is considered to be rift sawn and while still very stable, does not exhibit the same degree of flake as quartersawn lumber. As you can see this leads to less wide boards, less yield per log, and is labor intensive. This explains why quartersawn white oak is more expensive then plainsawn white oak. In the example above, boards 1, 2, 3 and A, B, C are quartersawn, 4, 5, D, and E are rift sawn and 6 is waste.

What you end with is a board with tight growth rings perpendicular to the face, the medular rays visible as broad light colored flakes. This board is very stable with little tendency to swell or cup. The tight grain takes in stain or dye very deeply whereas the flakes do not. This contrast is enhanced by the methods we use to color it, ironically, this contrast was considered less than desirable by the original makers of arts and crafts furniture and the methods they used to color their furniture de-emphasised the flakes.

If you look closely at the picture to the left you will see the medular rays as light lines radiating from the center of the section towards the outside. When the tree is alive these rays are a transport system to bring water and nutrients from the core to the new growth. You can also tell that by cutting the boards with the rings perpendicular the rays will be shown as a flake on the finished board. You can also see the lighter sapwood near the bark and the darker, denser heart wood.

As a woodworker not only do you need to learn skills and techniques, but you need to learn about the medium you are working in. A working knowledge of wood, its characteristics and properties will make your projects a step better. If you were to build a perfect replica of a Stickley Morris chair, with tight mortises and perfect tenons yet used plainsawn red oak the result would be disappointing. Even when you use the correct wood, you still must take the time to pick the best piece of wood with the right grain for each part of your project. For a Morris Chair, I pick the best pieces with the grain for the arms as this is the most visible feature. I hope that this post has shed some light on this subject and that you are enjoying this blog.

Limbert Umbrella Stand part 2, bottoms up.

Well I had come up with a way to fit the bottom along with the copper drip pan, but as they say about the best laid plans....
I did have some nice copper left over, but apparently I had used it last spring to make a guard for my bluebird house to keep the local snakes and rats out. What I had left was not wide enough to suit the purpose. Luckily, I had some copper left over from a clock face I made, this is much thinner and not good enough for a drip pan, however I could make a wood bottom and cover it in this thinner copper after its finished. From the original photos I decided that the bottom should be half way between the two cutouts. This came out to 3 inches above the base of the side. I installed the dado blade into my tablesaw at a width of 3/4 of an inch and set it at 4 degrees and 1/4 inch at the lowest. I moved my fence over to the left side of the blade and ran all four sides through.

Before I left the shop the other day I glued up a piece for the bottom, today I cut it at 10 1/4 inches square. I didn't think sending this small piece through the planer was a good idea so I got out my trusty Stanley No. 4 and took a few swipes across the board until it fit snugly but not tightly. Sometimes a well tuned hand plane works faster, and better, that a planer. The added plus is that I can keep listening to Woodtalk while I'm doing it.

The bottom slid nicely into the dado's, with just a little whack from a small dead blow hammer it fit perfectly.

I added the other two sides and checked the fit of the miters along the length. The fit was good and the bottom fit well, so one final sanding of the inside and it was time to glue it up. With a good covering of glue along the miters and inside the dado's I slipped the sides on one at a time making sure that the bottom was centered in the dado.



With some blue tape around the feet and the middle I stood up the umbrella stand. I used two 90 degree clamping blocks at the top to insure squareness and added a few clamps to hold the joints tight while the glue dried. Then I added a few more clamps, then a few more.... I wasn't really pulling the joints together as much as holding the sides tight so the opposing clamps didn't push them out.







I left it to dry overnight and this morning removed the clamps and gave the outside a good sanding to 150 grit with a random orbital sander and then touched up the edges with a sanding block also using 150 grit. The results were fantastic, I am really happy about how this is coming along. If you look at the picture below you can see inside the cutouts to the bottom. I think that I will use the thin copper to cover it after I'm done finishing it.