Two Joinery Question for Craftsman End Table

Re: Two Joinery Question for Craftsman End Table

Bob Lang

>The spindly designs were pretty short lived, I think because they are a bunch of work, even after the piece is done. Dusting in between all those spindles is about as painful as making and finishing all those spindles. People will put a bunch of spindles on anything and call it Craftsman, but in the early 1900s it was a side street, not the main road.

That said, making a little tenon on the end of each one is the right way to do it. The joints will look a lot better, and the distance between the rails will register off the shoulders of the tenons, not the bottoms of the mortises.

The shelf can be held in either way, I think a through mortise, with a peg will be stronger and more attractive, but trapping the end of the shelf in a shallow mortise in the rail also works.

In any case, don't listen to anybody that tells you it's easier to cut a dado, butt the pieces in, and fill in between with little bitty pieces of stuff. Think of it as a good way to practice real joints.

Bob Lang

Re: Two Joinery Question for Craftsman End Table

Blaine Hollis

>I've got a living room full of Stickley mission-style furniture with lots of square spindles. For what it's worth, with these pieces, the ends of the spindles are set into mortises that are the same dimensions as the spindles. I've also built a couple of mission-style pieces this way. However, I see no reason why you couldn't use the alternative approach you mentioned, although the "look" will be slightly different, at least for those who look closely.

Another approach I've seen some people use is to cut a groove in the top of the rail (the width of the spindles) and glue in spacer blocks (flush with the top of the groove) between the spindles.

Re: Two Joinery Question for Craftsman End Table

Fred Peake

>I just completed a Craftsman style table with spindles, and tenons are the way to go. The design I constructed had 14 spindles and I wasn't looking forward to cutting 28 tenons and chiseling 28 tiny mortices. I used a miter box with depth stop and end stop to make uniform shoulder cuts for the tenons on the spindles and then used a hollow auger to turn round tenons on all the spindles. Then I drilled all the holes with a brace, using a doweling jig to keep all the holes aligned and straight. Worked like a charm.

I agree...

Scott Burr in Ben Lomond CA

>It may take a little longer but, they look much better that just droping the spindles into holes or the groove and plug method.

I agree...too - Spindles, Pic

Jim Shaver - Oakville, Ontario

>Hello,

I have to say I am on the side of individual mortices for each spindle. I few years ago I made two Morris Chairs. I looked carefully at the more time functional methods to assemble the sides of the chairs and ottomans. I decided that despite the time it would take to do each one by them selves I wanted that look.

Also considering the wood I chose I did not want to loose the figure of the grain across the top of the rails. The wood here is curly quarter sawn white oak

Thanks for viewing,

Take care,

Jim

Re: I agree...too - Spindles, Pic

Blaine Hollis

>When you say individual mortises for each spindle, are your mortises the same dimensions as the spindles, or did you do as Bob Lang recommends and use smaller mortises and cut small tenons on the ends of the spindles?

As I noted in my other post, my store-bought Stickley furniture uses what I'll call the "full size mortise" approach. This is also the approach I used with a couple of mission-style pieces I built.

I can see advantages and disadvantages with both approaches. Each to his own I suppose.

Now that's a nice looking piece, Jim.

Pam Niedermayer - Austin, TX

>

Re: I agree...too - Spindles, Pic

Jim Shaver - Oakville, Ontario

>Hi,

I did as you mentioned, small tenons one the end of each spindle into small mortices, the spindles are larger that the mortices...it was a ton of work.

Take care,

Jim

Thanks Pam...:)

Jim Shaver - Oakville, Ontario

>

Re: I agree...too - Spindles, Pic

Patrick Gibbons, Houston, Tx

>I made Craftsman-style beds with eleven slats for each headboard. I did not tenon the slats, rather I cut a full-sized mortise for each one. Here is how my thinking on the subject went. These slats do not support the rails. They do not need a tenon shoulder for strength. Any variance in size could actually add stress to the structure and be counter-productive; another reason for not having shouldered tenons. I carefully chopped all the mortises out by hand. After glue up, I syringed Lee Valley's Chair Doctor glue into those slat mortises that were not as tight as I would have liked. This particular glue swells up the wood tightening the fit and closing any small gaps. As the mortises are approximately 3/8" deep, I don't think wood movement will be an issue. The majority of the joints (all 132 of them; two each of headboards, footboards and bed guards with 22 mortises each) are very tight. The rest I attribute to looking hand made.