Woodworker's Journal 2004 Spring, страница 23

A WATCH ftADE IN HEAVEN, OR AAYBE JU5T THE A\IDWE5T. QU5TAV STICKEEY AND

ARCHITECT HARVEY C11LI5 WERE FEINT AND STEEL TOR EACH OTHER ... CREATING THE 5E/AINAE 5PARK Or THE A/AERICAN ARTS Q CRAET5 KOVEttENT.

There's a well-founded belief among woodworkers that chairs are the most challenging projects to build. While that's true, the simple lines of these classic Craftsman-inspired pieces are well within the scope of most hobbyists' abilities. That's due, in large part, to the overriding philosophy behind their original inspiration, the Arts & Crafts movement. In the early 1900s, the Arts & Crafts philosophy swept Britain and the Americas, inspiring woodworkers to recreate the simplicity and function of medieval craftsmanship while adapting it to modern living.

Our chair is a prime example of the pieces Gustav Stickley created after 1905, under the influence of noted architect Harvey Ellis. For a brief bit of time, Ellis worked for Stickley's The Craftsman magazine. During that short period, these two friends refined the earlier versions of Craftsman furniture and developed the look the world has come to admire: taller, more slender pieces that combine style and function.

Selecting Stock

While Gustav Stickley almost exclusively used quartersawn white oak, the same cut of red oak is quite acceptable. I settled on quartersawn red oak because my supplier had some excellent stock featuring very dramatic ribbon effects.

The grain in a standard plain sawn board is tight at the edges and can be quite wide down the center. A quartersawn board, on the other hand, features tight

Arts & Crafts Furniture Spring 2004 17

grain across its entire width. This makes for a very stable piece of lumber. Whichever species you choose, let it acclimate to the humidity of your shop for at least a week before milling it to size.

Begin with the Back

The first step in construction is to lay out and cut the back legs (pieces 1) to size and shape. The legs are cut from r/2" thick by 3" wide stock. I suggest you start with 8/4 rough stock and plane it until you reach the correct thickness.

Follow the profile on the Pinup Shop Drawings (see the full-size pattern beginning on page 39) to lay out the back legs, then band saw them to shape. Next, slice the front legs (pieces 2) from the same IV2'¹ stock. Belt sand all four faces of each leg, then refer to the Elevation Drawings in the Pinup Shop Drawings to establish and mark the locations

Stickley