Popular Woodworking 2008-10 № 171, страница 14

Preplaning. for the 2' wide x 3' long stretchers, I thought rt was easier to snap a Une (here darkened \>Hh ye okk- Sharpie) and shasv to it before working the broad 2' face with my plane.

lure and architectural interiors. Carpenters were allowed to sell furniture as long as it wasn't mortise and tenoned. Turners alone were permitted to make post-and-rung type furniture. Outside of London. however, t hese rules rarely held up.

Joined stools arc thus small stools for sit-tingon. assembled usingmonisc-and-tenon joints. A "forme" is a joint stool long enough to accommodate several people.

Stock Preparation

Pitsaws. used for sawing logs into lumber, were common in 17th-century Colonial America. But sawn stock wasn't always needed to make useful items. The relatively short, narrow pieces required to make joined items could be easily split from straight-grained woods.

1 was lucky to get a 3'-long red oak log t hat was straight as an arrow. Red oak is easy to split, especially when wet. The split pieces can be worked wet and assembled into usable furniture quickly and easily. 1 painted the end grain with a commercial end-grain sealer shortly after the tree was felled. When I began working with this log a few weeks later, it was still very wet.

1 used steel wedges and my dogwood gluts to split the foginto the various parts I needed: 2" x 2* pieces for legs. l*x 2'pieces forstrctch-ers.and 1" x 2'/;* pieces for aprons. Ifmylog were longer. I would haw tried to split out a board wide enough for the top. As it is. I had louse sawn lumber for that. I suspect this was not uncommon.

I loping to capture a 17th-century feel. I squared up my stock without using my hand saws. The pieces were quickly hewn to shape usingmy hatchet, frocanddrawknifc. For this sort of work, you have to put aside some ofyour not ionsof preparing sawn stock. Forcxampk: 1 worked the narrow sides first. I didn't want to spend the time flattening the wide face if 1 was going to rive half of it avtay later. It was difficult just togrt the ttocktosit on the bench. I often sit on the stock to hold it steady. With ivwedgcstrued up. I went to work on the face, from the rough-split ordrawknifcd surfacc I used my fore plane. I finished each face with my long try plane.

I didn't four-square every piece of stock, though. The aprons were left a bit pie-shaped. Thisallowed use of the stock near the pith. 1 don't know if this was done in the period or not. I'd be surprised to hear this was never done It'sasavmgsof both wood andtimc.

Co {ff«i llarung green, men oak h a treat. There'* no tear-out. and the plane cut* as if the blade i.\ super sharp. Burying my benc h in shavings look wry little time or effort.

Turnings

Green wood is easy to turn and forgiving of mistakes. This isa golden opportunity to try spring-pole tumingor perfect your technique with the skew. If you are an accomplished turner, perhaps you could try making the legs very quickly or doing the ent i re job with a single 1' skew chisel. Professional turners in the 18thcentury could doavery fine job makingcrisp. uniform pans. But professional

Uniformity not required, for some parts, the trianguiir shape of men wood wffl suffice. The moulded piece at the top is a ftnished 2 h 'ssirle apron. Its lack of uniformity of thickness wH ha\e no eifec r on the finished stool.

Profiles in time. I've chosen a 19th-century sash ottxb for the bottom edge of the apron. I'm not sure this is an accurate I "th ceniury profile. You might try just using a simple hoBoiv plane and seeing sshat yxj come up with.

popuUrut»J-*\><king <om a 25