A Classic Bookcase in the Craftsman Style

assic Bookcase ookcase  A Classi in the Crafts Craftsm m an Style Style

ends. First mark the centerline of the temf the m any qualities that help define the Arts-and-Crafts style, perplate. On this cen terline, lay out the m ortisortishaps the most apparent is es. Cut the mortises with a -in. straight bit straigh tforwar d and and honest joinery. joinery. Wedged on the router table, table, using a fence with stops  joints  join ts and an d thr t hrough ough -ten ons on s show sh ow the th e worl wo rldd clamped onto it, Cut the two outer mortises how a piece was made. Open-grained using the same stops and fence setting; flip  woods  wo ods like wh ite oak give a piece piec e an unthe board over to cut the second one. For abashed look, perh aps even a rustic quality  quality  the center mortise, simply move the stops that says, "Here's "Here's what I am —sturdy, wellover to the proper position. position. If the tem plate made furn iture." No abstractions get in the is square, the mortises will locate properly   way,  way , no concept con ceptualizin ualizin g need n eed be done. don e. This Thi s and be the same size. Finally, glue and fran k simplicity simplicity is just just the style th e progeniscrew a fence onto one end of the template. tors of the Arts-and-Crafts movement in Only the centerlines of the mortises need England hoped for— a style in direct counto be laid out on the case sides. Clamp a  terpoint to the machines and machined side to the bench, align the centerlines on look of of the Industria Industriall A ge and an d its products— the template with the centerlines on the and it's just the style for the bookcase I side side and clamp the tem plate in place. Next, made to fit in my bungalow. set the bit depth. depth. Put a folde d index card on The bookcase b ookcase is just just 50 in. high and 31 in. the benchtop and rest your router on the  wide.  wide . Q uart ua rt ersa er sawn wn white wh ite oak, oak , th e quint qu intesesedge of the case. Then zero the bit down sential Art s-and-C rafts m aterial, was clearly  to the card and set the turret stop on the the wood of choice. For the sides and router to its lowest depth. This setting setting will shelves, I glued two boards together, then allow you to rout almost almost through th e case scraped and sanded them. Wedges made of  side side but without blowing out the mortise or the same oak secure the through-tenons marring your benchtop. Then set another to the m ortised ortised sides and give the bookcase turret stop for the center mortises, which its strength strength and h onest face. aren't through-m ortises. ortises. Mortise-and-tenon joinery usually re Af  A f t er routin rou tin g, chop ch op the th e m ortise ort ise corn ers quires precise fitting; however, these long  square square with a ch isel. I found that the stanthrough-tenons need to be a bit loose to fit dard 25° angle on my chisels really took a  easily through the mortises. The wedges beating beating in this oak; they looked like I had BY G A R Y  provide holding power at three locations. been prying nails with them . To get through R O G O W S K I The back of the wedge push es against the the job, I adjusted each chisel's edge edge about outside face of the side. This does nothing  5° with a secondary bevel. When chopping  until the an gled front of the wedge starts to mortises, remember to pull the chisel back  press against the angled slot cut into the tenon. Then the wedge hard to th e m ortise wall to keep it lined up. up. You wan t these corpulls pulls the tenon through the joint until the tenon sh oulders oulders lock  ners to be cut square and neat. I use a block of of wood as wide as m y  against the inside face of the case side. mortises mortises to check each for consist consistency ency.. I also bevel the edges of  the mortise with my chisel to give a nice shadow line and to preCut mortises with a plunge router and template  vent  ven t tearou te aroutt when wh en fitt f itting ing th e ten ons. I cut the mortises using a plunge router, a -in. straight bit, a -in. template guide and a mortising template (see the top photos on Cut tenons and wedges to fit easily p. 49). 49). The tem plate, m ade of of -in. -in. medium-density medium-density fiberboard fiberboard Cut the cheeks and shoulders of the tenons with a plunge router (MDF) (MDF),, is milled m illed as wide as my case side and with perfec tly square and a straight fen ce (see (see the bottom photos on p. 49). 49). The fen ce

O

Wedged tenons and clean lines dignify this

oak original

Wedges

Profiles

The material of the wedges and  thei  theirr shap shape e and placement can really make make a difference di fference in the look look and feel of the bookbookcase. Using a contrasting  species, like darker rosewood, gives the wedges a visual punch. But be sure  the wedg wedge e mat mater eria iall is is as as  toug  tough h as the the whit white e oak. oak. Oak wedges can be colored to provide contrast. An ebonizingsoso-

lution of vinegar and rusty rusty nails or steel wool will give oak a color anywhere from a dusky gray to black, depending on the solution and the amount of tannin The way the bookcase bookcase

in the oak. Wedges can be

is shaped on its sides

shaped any number number of 

and rails strongly influ-

ways. Double wedges al-

ences the appearance

low you to mortise straight

of the piece. Try draw-

 thro  throug ugh h the the teno tenon n at at no no

ing out a few shapes on

angle. The angle

cardboard cardboard to see them

of the wedges

full scale. Flat or

 them  themse selv lves es

beveled bottom edges,

creates the

simple indents, shallow

necessary

arcs or other combina-

force. The number

 tions  tions of of sha shape pes s all all le lend a certain feel to a piece. My advice is to

of wedges can be varied to suit your taste; for in-

Toe kicks

stance, you can put three

keep the shaping de tail  tails s cons consis iste tent nt  thro  throug ugho hout ut.. So a negative shape cut out of the bottom of   the  the side sides s can can be be nic nicely ely recalledatthetop, in  th  thetoekickor in the backsplash.

Don't overlook the  to  toe kick asa design

you may find a complex pattern more

element. It greatly in-

suitable. The toe kick

fluences how the

on this case echoes

bookcase "stands"

 the  the sh shallo allow w arc arc of of the the

and can also help tie

 top ra rail; il; arc arcs s also also apap-

all of the pieces in

pear in the sides, at

 the case case toge togeth ther er.. A

both top and bottom.

 to  toekickcan beof a

The motif is a unify-

simple design, but

ing element.

wedges at the bottom and

 two at the top.

HONEST LINES, SOLID WOOD, SUPERIOR CRAFTSMANSHIP Wedged through-tenons through-tenons are key to both the visual design and structural structural integrity of this Arts-andCrafts bookcase. All parts are made of -in.-thick quartersawn white oak.

rides tightly against the end of the board to locate the tenon shoulder. Cut one one face of all of the boards boards about about in. deep deep and back to the tenon depth, then cut the second f ace so that the tenons will fit easily into the m ortises. ortises. Next, on the bandsaw, rough out the waste between each of the tenons. Then reset your router bit to the full

depth of the board and, in several passes, cut the shoulders between the tenons. I set up the router table table with a fe nce to finish-cut the roughedout edges of the tenons so that they slide easily through the mor-

tises. tises. Use a rabbeting plane to pare th e tenons down on both their faces and edges. The fit should be smooth; you shouldn' shouldn'tt have to fight the joint home, nor should you be able to see Paris through the gaps. Work one tenon at a time until you can push all of the  joints home h ome by hand. h and. Dry-assemble the case, then mark the outside face of the case side side onto each tenon. Be sure to locate the end of the slot for the  wedges  wed ges in. in from fr om this th is line so that th at part of the th e slot lies inside the f ace of the the case side. If you cut the slot slot flush with th e case side,

the inside face of the slot will push against the wedge, preventing  it from provid providing ing a totally snug fit . Next, m ake a mortising mortising template to router-cut router-cut the wedge slots in the tenons. The slot needs to be angled on its fron t edge, so glue a  7° angled block block to the bottom of the tem plate. Your plunge router  will  wil l then th en rout at that th at angle an gle.. Rout Rou t each ea ch wedg we dgee slot with wi th a -in . straight bit and a -in. o.d. template guide, and chop its corners square with a chisel. chisel. To make all of the wedges the same size and angle, you'll need to make a simple tapering jig for the bandsaw. Cutting out the tri-

angular shape shape of the wedges on a 3-in. 3-in. by 5-in. 5-in. piece piece of -in.-thick  scrap ply gives gives you a place in wh ich to h old your wedge stock as as you pass it by by the blade. Move the fen ce over to th e proper spot spot and cut all of the wedges. Next, plane each w edge edge until the  wedge  wed ge fit s easily through th rough the m ortise. Then Th en clean up the th e angled an gled face until it just starts to snug up when it's about 1 in. above the top face of the tenon.

MORTISES Router-cut mortises rough out quickly. With this template (below), you don't have to mark 

mortises on the case sides , just the centerlines. Use a folded index card (right) to set your  router depth so that the bit will not break through the sides when cutting mortises. mortises. Pop out the thin waste with a chisel,

Have a plan before before assem bly and glue-up

Once the through-tenons on the shelves fit easily into the m ortisortises on the case sides, it's time to add a top rail, or backsplash, above and a toe kick below. below. The toe kick needs ne eds to be strong, stron g, just in in case it gets used as itit was so aptly n amed, so rout stopped grooves grooves into the case sides and a through-groove into the bottom shelf, referencing of f each board's back edge. Then rout a tongue tongue into the toe kick so that itit can slide home af ter th e case is glued together. together. The top rail doesn't need the strength of a tongue-and-groove  join t, so afte af terr the case cas e is togethe toge ther,r, glue glu e the rail ra il onto on to the th e top with wit h biscuits biscuits.. To keep it from twisting, add two dowels to the case sides. sides. These dowels fit slots cut into the ends en ds of the top rail. r ail. For easy assembly, use the offcuts from the top rail and toe kick as clamping  blocks when gluing gluing up th ese two curved rails. rails. Shape the bottom of the case sides on the bandsaw and finish  with  wit h a tem t em plate plat e router. route r. Rabbet Rabb et the case ca se sides for fo r the th e back ba ck on a 

router table. For a long-grain cut like this, a climb cut—one made  with the rotation r otation of the router bit—ca bit —cann help avoid a void tearout t earout.. File the shaped edges slightly slightly round, th en scrape and sand the entire case  with  wit h 180-gr 180-gritit paper. Raise Ra ise the th e grain gra in with wit h a dam d ampp rag and resand r esand to to get rid of any puffed fibers. Nothing Nothing will save you more from heart palpitations palpitations and profuse sweating sweating than planning planning out a strategy for glue-up. glue-up. Dry-fitting Dr y-fitting your case and laying out your clamps, glue, hammer and wedges will help m ake this assembly an occasion occasion for whistling. Glue up one side at a time. With one side in place but unglued, unglued, apply glue to the tenons of the other side, gluing only the long 

grain. Don't over-glue these joints or you'll have a mess to clean up. Clamps pull everything in tight, with maybe a wallop or two from a dead-blow hammer.  Aft  A fter er clam ping, pin g, place pla ce the wedg we dges es and bang them th em hom ho m e. I use u se a  metal ham mer for this because the sound it makes will change  when the wedge is in far enough enough.. Do Do not not bang bang the the wedge past past this this point. You'll bust bust out the short-grain end of the tenon. This is wh y  I lef t the tenon ends poking poking through th rough the case sides sides at a relatively  relatively 

long 2 in. This much wood provides enough room to put in the  wedges  wed ges safely. safe ly. Gary Rog owski, a contributing contributing editor to   Fine Woodworking,   teaches a class o n b u i ld ld i n g t h isis b o o k c a s e a t T h e N o r t h w e s t W o o d w o r k i n g S t u d io io .

TENONS  A rou route terr with with a fence cuts clean shoulders between tenons. First, bandsaw the waste between the tenons.

 An angled angled bloc block  k   sets  sets the the beve bevel. l.

With the template tipped 7°, your 

router will auto-  matically bevel the  slot in the through-  tenon to accept a

tapered wedge.