Monthly Archives: April 2013

Limbert No. 367 Book Case–Construction

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This partial pattern contains all the elements of the case sides without the bulk entailed by a full-sized pattern. It also allows the creation of sides of different heights.

This partial pattern contains all the elements of the case sides without the bulk entailed by a full-sized pattern. It also allows the creation of sides of different heights.

Building the No. 367 is straightforward proposition. Dadoes capture the shelf ends and join the case together while the gallery back helps things square. I made a few modifications to the design, altering the depth from 12″ to 11.25″ to use 1″ x 12″ material, and narrowing the case from 30″ to 24″ since I thought it looked better. I also substituted a shiplapped back for the original’s panel. Having decided on a milk painted finish, I chose pine instead of the fumed white oak used in the original. Continue reading →

Limbert No. 367 Book Case–Design

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Limbert 367 book case

Charles Limbert’s No. 367 book case.

If I were a historian of material culture, I might contemplate the staggering variety of book storage marketed in the early part of the 20th Century and its relationship to an expanding middle class and the rise of mass media. Advancements in printing technology made more books, magazines, and music available to more people, and they could store this material on magazine stands, book racks, book shelves, book cases, etc. Limbert’s Fall 1905 catalogue featured 34 such pieces, from a $4.50 magazine stand to a $54 case with three leaded glass doors. Continue reading →

Limbert No. 238 Tabouret

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Limbert's No. 238 tabourette reproduced in cherry.

Limbert’s No. 238 tabourette reproduced in cherry.

The original version of this side table sold for $7.00 in Limbert’s 1905 catalog. Like other of Limbert’s best pieces, its design transcends the period, making it a bit of chameleon at home with many styles. The original was built of quartersawn white oak with a fumed finish. I chose to build it in cherry following an article from the November 2003 issue of Popular Woodworking.

The project provides a fine introduction to pattern routing since each leg is identical. The article calls for arranging the rabbeted legs in a pinwheel pattern, which makes for an awkward glue up since the parts want to slip when clamped. If I were building another (easy enough to do with the pattern prepared), I might rabbet both sides of each leg to produce a centered tongue, then assemble in stages, beginning with gluing two opposing legs together and finishing by gluing the remaining legs in the grooves formed by the meeting of the opposed tongues.

I began by selecting the best wood (“best” a relative term for the mediocre stock I had on hand) for the top, gluing it up. I then marked out the legs, cut out rough blanks, and used a bearing bit in the router guided by the pattern to cut the legs to final shape. I sanded through 400 grit, taped off the joints, and applied a couple of coats of boiled linseed oil. After glue up, the top was attached using brackets.

More Information

Model in the Sketchup Warehouse

Popular Woodworking’s Arts & Crafts Furniture (Amazon link) collects some of the magazine’s most popular Arts & Crafts projects, including this tabouret.

Michael

April 2, 2013

smallChestTeaserI’ve been contemplating a credenza build almost since we moved in, a place to store office supplies and files, but it hasn’t been a priority. Recently in between projects, I decided on an interim solution for my storage woes. A small chest of drawers sized to fit on one of my magazine stands could serve to hold the odds and ends that haven’t found a home in my office yet and could be repurposed after that happy day in the future when I’ve built that credenza.

A small chest is an interesting project for a number of reasons. The small scale makes it a manageable effort while the joinery involved–drawer and carcase construction, web frames, veneering–can also be used to build larger chests, making it an ideal way to work through the challenges and techniques of chest building before attempting larger pieces. The small scale also provides a chance to use smaller pieces of figured wood. Read more.