The top and back are held with screws as shown in sketch.

Taper the keys only slightly, otherwise they will keep working loose.

Stain with two coats of weathered oak, give one coat of thin sh.e.l.lac to fix the stain and two coats of wax for a soft-gloss finish.

A WRITING DESK

The desk shown in the ill.u.s.tration was made of plain-sawed white oak.

The copper lighting fixtures were made by the amateur as were the hinges and the drawer pulls. The doors are fitted with art-gla.s.s panels. The following stock list is needed:

1 top, 3/4 by 22-1/2 by 41 in., S-2-S.

4 posts, 2 by 2 by 31 in., S-4-S.

2 rails, 3/4 by 6-1/4 by 19 in., S-2-S.

2 rails, 3/4 by 6-1/4 by 35 in., S-2-S.

2 rails, 3/4 by 3-1/4 by 19 in., S-2-S.

1 stretcher, 3/4 by 3-1/4 by 35 in., S-2-S.

2 drawer fronts, 3/4 by 4-1/4 by 14 in., S-2-S.

4 drawer sides, 1/2 by 4-1/4 by 19 in., S-2-S.

2 drawer backs, 3/8 by 4 by 14 in., S-2-S.

2 drawer bottoms, 3/8 by 19 by 14 in., S-2-S.

4 slides, 3/4 by 2-1/2 by 19 in., S-2-S.

8 guides, 3/4 by 2 by 10 in., S-2-S.

2 cabinet posts, 1 by 1 by 16 in., S-4-S.

4 cabinet posts, 1 by 1 by 11 in., S-4-S.

1 back, 3/4 by 16 by 35 in., S-2-S.

1 shelf, 3/4 by 8 by 35 in., S-2-S.

2 shelves, 3/4 by 8 by 15 in., S-2-S.

4 door pieces, 5/8 by 1 by 15 in., S-2-S.

8 door pieces, 5/8 by 1 by 4 in., S-2-S.

Square the legs to length and lay out and cut the mortises thereon. Lay off the tenons on the rails, after having squared the rails to length and width, and cut them.

Work up the top of the table and then the drawer stock and cabinet.

a.s.semble the ends of the frame first, using good hot glue and enough clamps to hold the parts together properly. After the glue has hardened on these, the clamps may be removed and the front, back rails and the stretcher a.s.sembled.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Writing Desk Made of Plain-Sawed Oak]

While the glue is hardening on the main frame the top cabinet may be built and a.s.sembled. This cabinet is detachable from the table proper and is to be held in place by means of cleats upon the back. These cleats are not specified in the bill; they may be obtained from sc.r.a.p stock.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Detail of the Writing Desk]

For a piece of woodwork of this style some of the softer browns of the mission stains will be most appropriate. After all parts have been thoroughly cleaned by sc.r.a.ping and sandpapering, a stain may be applied.

Allow this to dry, then sand it lightly and apply a thin coat of sh.e.l.lac. Sand the sh.e.l.lac lightly and apply a filler of a color to match the stain, but darker in tone, of course. Clean off the surplus in the usual manner and then apply a coat of sh.e.l.lac. Sand this lightly and apply several coats of some good polishing wax.

MUSIC RACK AND BOOKSTAND

The ill.u.s.tration shows a very handy music and bookstand, which also can be used at the bedside as a reading stand. The following list of material will be required for construction:

1 standard, 1-1/8 by 1-1/8 by 37 in., S-4-S.

1 horizontal, 1-1/8 by 1-1/8 by 15 in., S-4-S.

1 crosspiece, 1-1/8 by 1-1/8 by 14 in., S-4-S.

1 crosspiece, 1-1/8 by 1-1/8 by 12 in., S-4-S.

2 braces, 1-1/8 by 1-1/8 by 9 in., S-4-S.

1 board, 1/2 by 8 by 13 in., S-2-S.

4 blocks, 1-1/8 in. square.

2 gauge clamps.

1 strip, 1/2 by 1 by 13 in., S-2-S.

8 round-head bra.s.s screws.

1 bra.s.s rod, 1/4 in. in diameter and 12 in, long.

1 bra.s.s piece, 1/4 by 3/4 by 10 in.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Complete Stand]

Cut a tenon on the lower end of the upright and make a mortise in the center of the long crosspiece to receive the tenon. The horizontal has tenons cut on both ends which fit into mortises cut in the sides of both crosspieces. The upper corners on the ends of both crosspieces are cut sloping on a 45-deg. angle. The blocks for the feet are attached to the under side and at the end on each crosspiece with screws and hot glue, the screw heads being sunk so that they will not catch on carpets or mar the floor. The braces are attached with round-head screws after they are cut on each end to fit the standard and crosspiece.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Detail of the Stand]

The book rest is cut from the board. The openings are made by sawing the pieces out with a coping saw, and the edges are dressed up with a sharp chisel. The lip strip is then glued to the lower edge of the board.

One end of the board is now fitted into a slot cut in one of the gauge clamps. The slot must be cut at the right angle to give the desired slope to the book rest. The gauge clamps are joined with two small square strips of oak as shown. The small rod brace is flattened at both ends and a hole drilled in each to fasten it with screws as shown. The bra.s.s strip is bent in the middle at right angles and drilled to receive screws for fastening it in the corner of the upright and horizontal pieces.

A DICTIONARY AND MAGAZINE STAND

The accompanying picture shows a stand that is intended primarily for holding a large-size dictionary. The shelves may be utilized for holding books, magazines or sheet music. It will stand wear best if made of some hard wood, such as oak. Of the soft woods chestnut has the best grain for finishing, being hardly distinguishable from red oak.

The following pieces will be necessary:

2 sides, 3/4 by 16 by 38-1/2 in., S-4-S.

1 shelf, 3/4 by 15-1/2 by 21 in., S-2-S.

1 shelf, 3/4 by 14 by 17 in., S-2-S.

1 shelf, 3/4 by 13-1/2 by 21 in., S-2-S.

1 top, 3/4 by 13 by 17 in., S-2-S.

1 lip, 3/8 by 3/4 by 17 in., S-4-S.

8 keys, 3/4 by 1 by 3-1/2 in., S-2-S.

Begin work on the sides by preparing a joint edge on each piece and from this square up the lower ends and square lines across the inner surfaces to indicate the positions of the lower edges of the shelves.