The Arts and Crafts movement in England was a direct response by carpenters to challenge the plain appearance of factory-manufactured furniture. Known as craftsmen, these artists designed their furniture to have both an aesthetic appeal and greater durability than the factory counterparts. Key components of a craftsman bookcase include tenon shelf construction, soft curves, and groove and tongue assembly. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
1. Measure and cut the pieces for the frame and shelves. The frame sides should be 5 feet high by 14 inches wide. The shelves and bottom pieces are 30 inches long and 13 3/4 inches wide. Your back piece is 4 1/2 feet high by 30 inches long. This back piece allows for a small open space at the bottom of the bookshelf and a three-inch decorative top piece.
2. Measure and mark your grooves for the tenons. You'll have four shelves and the top piece that must be secured in place. The grooves should be 2 inches wide by five-eighths of an inch thick. Cut the grooves through the frame sides with a router. Sand the insides of the grooves if they feel rough.
3. Cut and attach the tenons to the ends of the shelves and the top piece. The tenons will be 2 inches wide with a one-half-inch hole drilled at the end. Attach the tenons with wood glue, and then secure the tenons in place with wood screws positioned diagonally through the bottom of the shelf.
4. Construct the frame with the tenons holding the frame in place by feeding the tenons through the grooves you cut through the frame sides. Secure the tenons to the frame sides with one-half-inch-thick by 3-inch-long wedges. The wedges can be cut from your scrap wood and are simply placed on each tenon, holding the tenon in place on the outside of the frame side.
5. Place the shelf on its front and screw the back into place with wood screws.
6. Cut the toe kick and top rail out of the wood using a jigsaw. Make each piece 31 inches long by 3 inches tall.
7. Select and sketch a design onto the pieces. Typical craftsman designs are soft curves, frills or even triangles.
8. Attach the top and bottom rail with wood glue and then screw into place diagonally from the back.
Tags: frame sides, inches wide, with wood, inches long, back piece, feet high, feet high inches