Benches,
Chairs & Beds
Practical Projects
from Shaker to Contemporary
Best of Woodworker's Journal
Softcover
215 x 280mm
151pp
Published by Fox Chapel Publishing Co. Inc., East Petersburg PA USA
R.R.P.$39.90
ISBN 978-1-56523-343-0
Split-Mortise Bench
New England Settle
Frame-and-Panel Entry Bench
Portable Folding Bench for
Two
Hoop-Back Garden Bench
English Garden Bench
Rush-Covered Stool
Hoosier Step Stool
Intarsia-Backed High Chair
Adirondack Chair Revisited
Portable Outdoor Chair
Canadian Ladder-Back Chair
As reviewed in The Australian Woodworker Issue 139
Making furniture is cited by many woodworkers as one of their most important motivations for becoming involved in the craft. Benches, Chairs and Beds should therefore be of interest to many.
Each of the projects in the book has appeared in the US publication, the Woodworker's Journal. They are therefore a collection of work by many designers and reflect a variety of styles. As a group, however, they could be described as mostly contemporary, solid and well-made, with clear, uncomplicated lines.
There are six benches, among them a Split-Mortise Bench (an excellent example of a technique applicable to many other projects), a New England Settle, a Portable Folding Bench for Two and an English Garden Bench.
There are seven chairs, ranging from a Rush Covered Stool and a Cherry Dining Chair to an intriguing Hoosier Step Stool which can be inverted for use as a set of steps.
Finally, there are five beds, from a Trundle Bed and Space-Saving Fold-Down Bed to a Pencil Post Bed.
The book is well written and well illustrated with dimensioned drawings and excellent photos.
Photos: Colour
Units of Measurement: Imperial
Contents
Benches
Split-Mortise Bench
by
Greg Wood
Timber-framed joinery in a 100-year-old Minnesota smokehouse
provided inspiration for this sturdy bench. The rest of the styling can be reproduced
with a band saw and a drum sander.
New
England Settle
by Chris Inman
Equally fitting next to the fireplace
or in the entryway, this colonial bench will warm your home with its old-world
charm.
Frame-and-Panel
Entry Bench
by Jim Jacobson
Here's a place to sit while you
pull on your boots, plus a spot to store your gloves a perfect bench for any busy
foyer.
Portable
Folding Bench for Two
by John English
It's Tuesday night at
the Little League field, and you're in for a doubleheader. But at least you won't
have to sit on the damp grass, because you've brought along this super bench.
Hoop-Back
Garden Bench
by Chris Marshall
Graceful curves give this bench
a timeless style, while rugged construction ensures that it will last forever
in your garden.
English
Garden Bench
by Chris Inman
With
its white-oak timber and mortise-and-tenon joinery, this beautiful classic bench
will grace your backyard for decades.
Chairs
Rush-Covered
Stool
by David Larson
Here's
a distinctive accent piece for your home's entryway plus, an opportunity for you
to learn the age-old skill of seat weaving.
Hoosier
Step Stool
by Ralph Bagnall
A
reproduction of a 1920s midwestern classic, this hardworking kitchen stool offers
both a step-up and a sit-down.
Intarsia-Backed
High Chair
by Bruce Kieffer
This
project creates a safe spot for youngsters during mealtimes, while introducing
you to the ancient art of intarsia
A
Brief History of the Adironback Chair
by Rob Johnstone
Learn
the origins of this enduring American archetype
Adirondack
Chair Revisited
by Dana and Michael Van Pelt
Here's
a charming hardwood version of an American classic, recreated after the style
of Greene and Greene.
Portable
Outdoor Chair
by Rick White
With this handy folding chair in
your car, you'll be as comfortable as you are at home while spending time in the
great outdoors.
Canadian
Ladder-Back Chair
by Stephen Shepherd
This rustic gem is similar
to examples found in old Quebec and Virginia in the early nineteenth century.
You can make it with hand tools, as the frontiersmen did, or use machine tools
instead.
Cherry
Dining Chair
by Chris Inman
Build one or make a set of eight
but try your hand at chair making with this basic side chair. You'll likely find
the process a whole lot easier than you've been led to believe.
Beds
Space-Saving
Fold-Down Bed
by Rick White
Perfect for a guest bedroom or a
student apartment, this clever foldaway bed becomes a desk by day.
Trundle
Bed
by Rick White
You'll always be ready for company with this
stylish two-in-one bed, which features an extralong, full-size mattress on the
upper bunk and a twin-size one on the trundle.
Bed
for Readers
by Rick White
This queen-size bed features an inclined
backrest, three large storage compartments, and three drawers for your bedside
collectibles perfect if you like to read yourself to sleep.
Maple
and Padauk Bed Frame
by Chris Inman
Getting a look of sophistication
can be very simple, as this bed demonstrates: Its distinctive lines are achieved
using only basic joinery and one primary tool, the router.
Pencil
Post Bed
by LiLi Jackson
We spend more than a third of our lives
sleeping, so why not make the time you spend in bed more opulent? Set the stage
with this simple but elegant bed design.
Cherry Dining Chair
Space-Saving Fold-Down Bed
Space-Saving Fold-Down Bed
Trundle Bed
Bed for Readers
Maple and Padauk Bed Frame
Pencil Post Bed