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Hand Hand woodworking PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF WIKIMEDIA COMMONS "the Shakers’ designs continue to influence trends of the 21st century"

Shaker design 1 Shaker design certainly wasn’t about straight or shapes at all. Think of their -strip Shaker hatboxes, the carefully laid out curves on this bench project PHOTOGRAPHS BY MICHAEL T COLLINS or the wonderful example shown Michael T Collins here, of a complex whorl shaped bench British-born Michael staircase with mind boggling has been working mathematics involved in its with off and setting out and construction. Michael T Collins shows you on for 40 years. He The shapes created were only moved to New York how to make a simple Shaker in 1996 and over the those needed to do the job and bench, with a different take on years, has made bespoke furniture, making it pleasing to the eye, no including clocks, work, extraneous detail was allowed. 2 the traditional sliding dovetail Adams fireplaces, book cases and reproduction furniture. Web: www.sawdustandwoodchips. com @sawdustandwood Cutting List Twitter: Hard (rock) maple, cherry or Top 1830 x 215 x 30mm x 1 off Legs 380 x 215 x 30mm x 2 off Stretcher 1780 x 115 x 30mm x 1 off Looking at some modern furniture however, fortunately I was able to cut keep it steady. Next, using a shoulder designs, it is clear that the Shakers’ this off and was still able to get the two or combination , flatten a 12mm style continues to influence trends legs and seat out of it. Start by roughly section at one end of the board to a , jack, shoulder, combination, of the 21st century; Danish Modern cutting the pieces to length, leaving depth that just clears the cup and at , block and scrub planes tastes are a good example. the legs as a single board for now. right angles to the planed face edge. Marking and cutting gauge This bench is going to be used outside and so will be made in hard Snap a along the length Sight down the board with a pair Shop-made winding sticks maple (Acer saccharum). It would also 1of the boards so any bowing is clear. 5 of shop-made winding sticks. 3 4 or be durable enough for use in a ‘mud A winding stick allows you to see if Bow or room’ or elegant enough to grace a Then, with a jointer, bring the edge there is any twist in the board. If the Selection of hallway. Many fine examples of original 2down to this line. I keep a block winding stick ‘marker’ at the far end Fine tooth Shaker furniture can be seen in the of bees wax handy; it’s amazing how is occluded, adjust the rebate until Dead blow hammer collection of the Shaker Museum and easily a heavy plane slides across the you have the winding stick parallel. Library in Old Chatham, New York. wood when wax is applied to the sole This picture shows the slight twist and friction is reduced. in my piece of board. he Shakers came to America Preparing the wood in the 18th Century and over In all the projects I have written about, Start by flattening an edge. Now snap a chalk line the length Tthe years, became highly skilled I invariably start by saying ‘prepare 3 Once planed, mark it with a 6 of the board on the edge, from woodworkers, developing their own the wood to its final dimension’. How cabinetmaker’s mark; this is known one rebate to the other. Repeat this sense of design. Their furniture and does one do that? My steps may be as the face edge. on the other edge. Plane each rebate interiors were simple and austere. different to yours, but they work for slightly lower if the snap line does They believed that everything should me. It is best to find boards as straight If the board is cupped, place it so not lie within the board’s entire length. be made with a minimum of extra as possible; mine was slightly bowed 4 the convex side is uppermost: The idea is to have the two flat areas detail or decoration, and only made along its length and had a slight cup. it is more stable this way. If the board with the snap line being co-planar for their intended use. There was also a ‘kink’ at one end, rocks, place small wedges under it to and at right angles to the edge. ➤ 5 6

14 www.woodworkersinstitute.com Woodworking Crafts issue 17 15 Hand woodworking Hand woodworking

DRAWING AND OGEE CURVE ON THE BOTTOM OF THE LEG with a pencil. The angle of the dovetail From points A and B, 38mm Bisect the line A - C using Set radius equal to A - M, With points on P from each side, draw arcs at crossing arcs at D and B with and draw intersection arcs and S, draw joining arcs is 1:2 so come in 6mm from the line. C with radius set to A -B compass points on A and C at P and S, with compass from A to M and M to C Mark a 12mm depth on the face edges. points on A, M and C

D P P Using a , cut a ‘V’ notch on C C C C 10both sides of these scribed lines. M M Saw down the vertical and the angled lines. If you need to, use a block of wood with the same angle as a guide.

S S A B A B A B A B Remove the bulk of the waste 216 1829 11with a chisel and then clean 29 up the joint with a router plane. Since 32 these joints have been custom made, 111 79 10 11 25 you will need to label the mating parts. 29 67 159 410 279 381 Check the depth of the housing. 29 SIDE ELEVATION 12The combination square is a Scale 1 to 12 perfect way to do this as the base of stock sits on the board face so the rule can be adjusted to rest on the bottom 38 140 38 of the housing. END ELEVATION

LEG JOINT The sliding dovetail Scale 1 to 4 Take the depth of the housing Stretcher rail jointed into leg 29 29 13and transfer this to a cutting 13 gauge, marking this on the end of the 6 Seat joined to legs and stretcher 32 rail using sliding dovetail joints leg. Transfer the same angle to your bench leg and mark with pencil.

Cut a ‘V’ notch and saw down 12 13 14to the shoulder. The waste can With a scrub or , work be pared away with a chisel. These 7diagonally across the board (from steps were covered fully in my article the planed edge) bringing the surface on Making a Shaker Shelf Unit in down to the snap lines. It’s a good idea Woodworking Crafts issue 16. to the exit side of the board so that tear out is minimised, especially Test fit the joint. When I first with a scrub plane that takes big ‘bites’. 15saw this joint I thought it would Once the board is brought down to easily come apart, but it is surprising the snap line, you can switch to a jack just how strong the joint is. plane. Again, work diagonally across the board; I skew the plane slightly The half lap so that it slices across the fibres. Check The stretcher is 50mm shorter for flatness using the edge of the sole 16than the length of seat. Place of the plane. Finally, end with a jointer, the seat face down. On the underside down the length of the board. 7 8 of the seat, position the stretcher so 14 15 The jointer will bring the ridges down that it is centred along the length. with each successive pass. Stop once Transfer the locations of the housings continuous shavings are being taken line. You should now have boards that to the stretcher. I am a firm believer by the plane. Mark this as the face side. are uniformly thick and square and you that taking measurements and will have had quite a workout! locations directly from the actual item From the newly-planed face side, goes a long way to avoid errors. Once 8using a , deeply The sliding dovetail housing the measurements are transferred, mark the thickness of the wood on Cut the seat, stretcher and leg saw down to the bottom of the joint all edges. Repeat the planing regime 9boards to the final length and and clean up with a chisel. on the opposite face. The gauge line square all ends. Starting with the seat, will act as a stop and will be revealed come in 280mm from each end and Repeat the process on the leg as you plane down to it. A pencil strike a line across the board; this 17pieces. The leg piece section line would be missed. Check for marks the vertical side of the joint. has a notch 335mm deep while the squareness. Lastly, gauge the width of It doesn’t really matter which way stretcher’s notch is 80mm deep. the board from the face edge using a round this joint is made, but the These should be a snug fit but not combination square, or marking gauge two joints should mirror each other. so tight that putting them together if it will reach, and plane down to this Use the leg to mark the width of joint 9 splits or bows the wood. ➤ 16 17

16 www.woodworkersinstitute.com Woodworking Crafts issue 17 17 Hand woodworking

The end result should have 18the stretcher seated just below the shoulder of the dovetails. If the stretcher is proud of the joint, plane down the top of the stretcher.

Stretcher and leg profiles The profile on the stretcher 19is cut using a . To clean up the profile, use a spokeshave, paper or a card scraper. Once all the parts are complete, use a block plane to add a 3mm chamfer to all visible edges. Lastly, give the whole surface a sanding with 220 grit paper. 18 19

I drew a cyma/ogee curve 20for the legs (see diagram for instructions), but any design that is pleasing to you will work.

Cut out the curve with a coping 21saw and clean up the shape using a fine tooth rasp.

Apply a to the stretcher 22ends using a spokeshave to give a finished authentic appearance.

Assembling the parts This is where a third hand 20 21 23would be helpful… Slide the legs into the housing up to the , then fully insert the stretcher. Finally slide the leg/stretcher section into place. With the lack of glue, a little beeswax can be used to help the joints go together. Attach the stretcher to the seat with three screws, one at each end and one in the middle. a slightly oversized, countersunk hole in the stretcher and a pilot hole in the seat and fix with long steel screws.

The finish Finish the whole surface 24progressively with 120, 180 22 23 through to 220 grit sand paper. I like to sand by hand; that way I can feel the surface quality. Wipe down the entire bench before applying a finish, which will depend on where this piece is going to reside. You can apply tung oil or linseed oil for interior use, which will bring out the grain of the maple. For a more durable finish, use polyurethane. Alternatively a couple of coats of contrasting milk , rubbed through in areas that would have shown wear over the years, will give your bench an Next month... authentic ‘shabby chic’ look and feel. ■ Michael makes a 'wormy' side table 24

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