Writing Table
(in the style of the Stickley
#708)
1/04 - On the drawing board is my design for a
writing table in the style of the "Stickley #708 Two Drawer Writing Table"
introduced in the early 1900's by Gustav Stickley.
Overall
dimension are the same as Stickley's table. However, departures from Stickley's
design are evident in the replacement of the side and back panels with Mission
style slats; changes in dimension of the front and side aprons to
facilitate a better, in my opinion, double drawer assembly and grain match
across the drawer fronts and apron; and a different approach to the simpler
"letter rack" found on the original.
1/31/04
- Finished cut list and milled and batch cut the legs, aprons,
drawer fronts, and stretchers out of quarter sawn white oak for the writing
table.
2/06/04 - Picture 1 - Dry fit of basic frame parts.
Pictures 2 and 3 - The front apron, back apron, and drawer divider
assembly. Pictures of the original 708 writing table show a drawer divider assembly
with the end grain of the divider visible between the drawers. The original
appears to have used mortise and
tenon joinery on this assembly only where the drawer divider joined the back apron. The above method, attaching
the divider using mortise and
tenon joinery to both a modified front apron, as well as the back apron,
should allow a grain match across the double drawer
fronts and front apron without the divider showing. The method
used here for building this front apron was similar to that described in the Kitchen
Side Table.
2/12/04 - Basic
writing table, without the two drawers or letter rack, stained and brought
inside
to dry while the remainder of the project moves forward in the
shop.
MDF template for end panels
and dividers of letter rack. Drawn with a plastic "French curve",
the template is used with a router and pattern bit to precisely duplicate the
curve in the parts.
2/25/04 - Letter rack parts and dry fit prior to
glue-up. The joinery in the 1/2" quarter sawn white oak is all splines,
except for the stopped housing joints for the 1/4" thick dividers, and is going to be a
veritable puzzle to glue together.
2/28/04 - 3/2/04 - Letter rack and drawers completed and
stained. Sprayed final shellac coats. Will allow to cure for 30 days before
final rub out and waxing.
... and this is where it goes in the scheme of things.
20/20
Hindsight Department: Not much to say here. In actual use, the design is
pleasingly functional and serves its intended purpose well (not surprising,
since G. Stickley's piece was the inspirational model). Folks either like or
dislike the slats versus panels, but I am partial to the former as it adds a
bit of lightness to the "boxiness" of the original. During the
design stage, I was initially concerned about the added height to the letter
rack upsetting Stickley's overall proportions and maybe making the piece seem
top heavy, but that has not been the case, at least in its intended setting.
Trestle Table
in the Mission style
3/11/04 - QuickCAD drawing of the initial design (details will change
as the table evolves during fabrication) for a table to fit location in a kitchen where size is a limiting
factor. An 'apron' table was not considered due to the look, and the
trestle design decided upon because it does allow the seating of up to six
without the banging of knees against table legs. Mission style
"slats" were also desirable to compliment existing decor, but use,
size and placement are still undecided.
3/13/04 - Batch cut
legs, footers, and the two top stretchers for the trestle end assemblies. Cut
mortises in the top part of each foot and glued them up in preparation for
bandsawing the profile.
3/15-16/04 - MDF template fabricated and used to rough cut foot of
trestle ends.
Trestle end assemblies checked for square and dry fitted. Each foot of the
trestle ends routed flush with template and upper and lower stretcher cut to
size with through mortise and tenons fitted to end assemblies.
Used an
Amana #57186, 4 1/2", four flute, top bearing flush trim bit with
1/2" shank to route the feet flush with the template. This is an
excellent bit, will flush cut up to 2" with minimum tear out, and is well
worth the high price tag ($50 +/-) when dealing with expensive stock.
Judging from
the look of the project at this stage, and the way the design is panning out,
I've decided to go with the original plan of using slats in the middle
third of the stretchers. Besides a decorative, and recognizable detail fitting
the exposed joinery, they
will also be functional as they will definitely serve to stiffen the
42" span.
3/17/04 - Joinery for table is complete. Beveling the edges of the
through tenons, sanding the parts, and staining prior to glue up is all that
remains for the undercarriage ... then on to the table top.
3/20/04
- After sanding and staining, the trestle assembly was
brought indoors to it's proposed location in the kitchen. A temporary top of
3/4" plywood was cut to the largest dimensions possible for the space and
mounted to the trestles. This step is helpful in seeing if the planned dimensions work in the location, and how
they fare in
actual use.
3/20-25/04 -
Last steps in glue-up and scraping of the table top. The top will be cut to a final 70" X 42"
and weighs in at 100 pounds.
Ten 1 1/4"
thick, quarter
sawn white oak planks were jointed and glued up in three groups of three
planks each, with one plank left out. After curing for 24+ hours, these three
groups were then ripped to just shy of 13" and run back through the planer, along
with the odd plank. Two of the three groups were then glued together, and the
single plank was glued to the remaining three board group. This left two
components, six and four planks respectively, for the final glue up, and only
three glue joints to scrape down and level.
Biscuits
were used to assist in aligning each stage of the glue-up, and two 48"
2" X 4" "spacers" were jointed, ripped to same thickness, and cleats screwed to their sides so they could be clamped to the
workbench to hold the final glue-up, which is 6" wider than the
workbench. Waxed paper was used to keep the top from being glued to the
spacers and, because pipe clamps have a tendency to bow a panel glue-up
slightly, the 60 pound bench top hollow chisel mortiser added just a bit of weight/insurance
to keep the last glue joint perfectly flat.
3/26/04 -
Completed table, stained and brought in from shop to dry for a week, before
top coat being applied. Final pictures of this project will await the top coat
application.
20/20
Hindsight Department: As is so often the case with the first
implementation of an original design, there are elements that you feel would
perhaps have made a more pleasing-to-the-eye end product. In this case, and
were I to build this particular table again, I would definitely consider
doubling the thickness of the two "feet". The 1 3/4" thick
legs, coming out of mortises in 3 1/2" thick feet, would add a bit of
balance to the wide top when viewed from the side.
Page
1 (Bedside
Table; Kitchen Cabinets)
Page 2
(Trivet; Writing
Desk; Trad. End Table; Lamp)
Page 3 (A&C Coffee
Table; TV Cabinet; Walnut Coffee Table; A&C End Table)
Page 4 (Walnut Hall
Table; Granite Top Mission Table; Mission Hall Table)
Page 5 (708 Style Writing Table)
(Mission Trestle Table)
Page
6 (Arts and Crafts
Bench)
Page
7 (New
Construction-2005 Kitchen)
Page
8 (Tool
Drawers; Stacked Tansu)
Page 9 (Plan
Rack; Door Restoration; Spice Rack; A&C House# Frame)
Page 10 (Craftsman
Chair Reproduction)
Page 11 (A&C
Kitchen Dining Set)
Page 12
(Cherry/Walnut Hope Chest)
Page 13 (Mission
Sideboard)
Page 14 (Kitchen
Drawers; Calendar Frames)
Page 15 (Corner
Cabinet)
Page 16 (2008
Kitchen Project/Trash Pullout)
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