Monthly Archives: February 2014

Limbert No. 367 bookcase in Woodworker’s Journal

Limbert No. 367 bookcase

Limbert’s No. 367 bookcase in fumed quartersawn white oak.

The April 2014 issue of Woodworker’s Journal features my build of the Limbert No. 367 bookcase (see the issue preview here) in fumed quartersawn white oak. The Charles Limbert company produced a variety of bookcases. The No. 367 strikes a nice balance between design and utility. While it’s not as striking as the No. 355, it features Limbert’s signature cutouts, is easy to build, and, for those needing a lot of book storage, arranges well in multiples.

More Information

  • Buy the issue (via Woodworker’s Journal store)
  • My book includes measured drawings for the No. 367 and 32 other Limbert designs.

No. 220 Settle–Corbels

corbel
The corbel is a common element in Craftsman furniture, providing form and function. A series of corbels supports the wide arms of the No. 220 settle. Five are required for my shortened version: one on each front leg, two on each rear leg, and one centered on the back. While the No. 220’s design allows for simply gluing the corbels to the legs (there’s substantial long grain to long grain exposure for good gluing), I chose to join the corbels to the frame using a 1/4″ tongue in the dado to ensure positioning. When replicating corbels for a reproduction, I don’t try to copy it exactly. Instead, I note major dimensions–the width and height of the corbel–and the general shape of the curve, then approximate the curve using a bezier curve in Illustrator or SketchUp. Once I have a shape I like, I print out and transfer to my template. After cutting close on the bandsaw, I complete final shaping with a spokeshave to ensure a fair curve. With the template ready, I mark the blanks, rough out on the bandsaw, then use a pattern bit in the router to copy the parts.

A Modified L & J. G. Stickley Settle–Design

Stickley Settle

A variation on L & J. G. Stickley’s No. 220. settle. I’ve shortened the length and added a slight arch to the long stretchers.

I’ve admired Leopold and John George Stickley’s “Prairie Style” settle since I first encountered it in Bob Lang’s Shop Drawings for Craftsman Furniture, so my thoughts turned to it when we began to consider replacing some seating in our living room. We needed something shorter, though, so I determined how much space I had, then adapted the Stickley design.  Continue reading

“Building Classic Arts & Crafts Furniture” gets a good review

Hot off the presses--my new book on the Arts and Crafts furniture of Charles Limbert.

Hot off the presses–my new book on the Arts and Crafts furniture of Charles Limbert.

Amidst the distractions of the holidays and the porch build, I neglected to note Chris Schwarz’s favorable review of my book on Limbert furniture at Popularwoodworking.com. He writes:

Author Michael Crow didn’t seek to provide a biography of Limbert’s life. Instead, Crow focused on the construction of 33 of Limbert’s designs. These designs are presented in a manner similar to Bob Lang’s great “Shop Drawings for Craftsman Furniture” books. There is a drawing of the finished piece, plus cutting lists and dimensioned drawings. It is all you need (if you know how to do basic woodworking). Crow wastes no space in telling you how to cut a tenon 33 times.

Read the full review here.

L & J.G. Stickley’s No. 220 Settle

Stickley 220 settle

L & J. G. Stickley’s No. 220 settle from a catalog.

I sometimes wonder whether the Stickley brothers ever gathered as a group in adulthood. I picture them, perhaps sitting down to Thanksgiving dinner, or watching their children open Christmas presents, and imagine the undercurrents and tensions that likely arose when five brothers–Gustav, Leopold, John George, Albert, and Charles–all engaged, in various combinations of partnership, in the same profession with varying degrees of success in New York and Michigan–came together in a single place. Shared meals could have been especially fraught after Gustav’s bankruptcy and short-lived association with Leopold and John George’s company. The latter two brothers built their company on designs in the same style as Gustav’s Craftsman furniture before adapting to changing tastes. While the No. 220 settle shows a Craftsman influence, it is, as Bob Lang observers in Shop Drawings for Craftsman Furniture unlike anything produced by Gustav Stickley. Continue reading