Not all pieces of Campaign-style furniture require hours of insetting 30 pieces of flush hardware. In fact, with some pieces you can install all the hardware in about 10 minutes.
I call this stuff “strap-on” furniture. The brasses are applied to the surface of the piece. No wacky mortise in three axes. Just nail in four pins and you are done.
I’ve seen a number of old pieces that feature this proud hardware, though I have no idea if the brasses were original to the piece. It doesn’t take a lot of imagination to think that some antique dealers could have applied the straps and corners to dress up the piece.
I recently finished this traveling bookcase, which carries Lost Art Press books to shows, and I decided to give it the strap-on treatment. I purchased eight smallish corner guards from Ansaldi & Sons (corner ornament, item #5293, price $2.50 each) and applied them on Monday using a hammer.
Confession: After spending a week inlaying more than 30 pieces of shaped hardware into a recent campaign chest, nailing some straps onto this bookcase was fun. And the results aren’t bad.
— Christopher Schwarz
Smythe disclaimer: I paid full retail for the $20 worth of hardware on the corners.
Finish details: The finish on the piece is one coat of garnet shellac, then a glaze of brown Minwax stain to fill the pores and then two more coats of shellac.
pretty soon you will need a number of disclaimer sections.
Neanderthal Disclaimer: Long rips were done with a band saw.
Power tool Disclaimer: I used a hack saw to cut something.
Photo zoom Disclaimer: No i will not be selling the books in the picture.
Commission Disclaimer: Yes i will build you one for the right price. 😉
I look at this project and imagine a cool tool box that i can set up on someone else bench
Thanks, you beat me to it. I do listen to Chris, Ed
Cannot wait for this book, or the other Lost Art Press books in the works (Can I just get those and all future books automatically charged and mailed to me? Thanks!).
That quartersawn looks great too, this has definitely made my short list of projects.
Seriously, Kevin, that’s not a bad idea at all! How about it Chris! There are at least several among us, if not actually many that have decided to automatically buy LAP books when they come out even if the subject matter isn’t of immediate interest. We’ll be assured of having the best, most eclectic woodworking libraries and be the envy of friends and neighbors! The LAP Book Club… has a ring to it!
Verry nice, but man that’s gonna be heavy when it is loaded.
It is very heavy and takes two people to move it when fully loaded. I moved it my myself during its first voyage and burst a blood vessel in an embarrassing place.
When you inset the hardware on the other pieces, did you use a chisel to cut the reliefs or did you use a router plane? The curves around some of the hardware looks challenging; any tips you could share about doing the inset hardware?
The large curves in the hardware are outlined with firmer gouges. I used carving gouges for the smaller curves. A router plane does most of the work, though I used an electric router for the 20 straight L-shaped brackets. (I had forgotten that I had an electric router.)
Having done somewhat similar, though less complex bits of shallow inlaying on the backs of electric guitars, for pick guards and such, I’ve found a router plane helpful if you want a perfectly flat bottom – for what I was doing, I only needed a perfectly flat bottom over a small area. But I remove the bulk of the waste with a chisel, bevel down – if you’re careful, you really don’t need the router plane. Gouges are perfect for making vertical chops to define the waste to be removed, although care with a sharp knife (a template helps) can get the job done, too. Getting a vertical line incised enough so that the chips release freely without tearing out into the show area is a key point with these things, regardless of the method. Spinny things work decently well, but even with a template and bearings, I like a nice heavy scribe line to ensure no sad things happening. Even if I’m using a spinny thing to remove most of the waste, I still like getting to the edges by hand . . .
noticed the lack of errant hammer blows on the brass. did you use a nail set or similar, for the last couple blows?
Jeff,
I used a small domed-face hammer. The heads of the pins need to be squashed a bit to fill the hole.The domed face does all this with ease.
I have been following this project for some time, and I am struck that the style resembles my bedroom furniture. The pieces were made by Gibbard Furniture in Napanee, Ontario. The company is closing after 175 years in business. It was a family run business and they ran out of family members interested in taking over. You might be interested to visit: http://www.gibbardfurniture.ca and select “Brigadeer” under bedroom furniture. When I purchased my pieces 40 years ago, there were many more options available under this particular style. No shortcuts were taken in the construction.
I think you will be struck by the similarity in design. Cheers!
Roger Perrault
You know that eventually you will go back and inset the hardware. Why not avoid all those sleepless nights, and just do it now?
Let the man have his applied hardware on this one. I visited Chris in the midst of the monster job of inlay on the chest; he’s earned these nailed-on corners!
Hey, I don’t have a horse in this race — it’s in the hide glue thread. Chris is going to do this to himself. Every time he looks at those corners, it will gnaw at him. He can’t say no.
I’m guessing he’ll leave that one as-is…but build another one (or more) with inset hardware!
Indeed. This case was a quickie project for LAP campaigning. The one I plan to make for the book has internal doors that feature glass and a Gothic arch.
It’s just so bloody beautiful!
Where’s that book? When’s it comin’?
why no finish on the inside of the bookcase? Or is there one?
Colin,
The inside has some varnish on it — no glaze or shellac. I’m debating where I should go ahead and do the inside like the outside. I’m afraid it would look weird. When the whole thing is full of books, you cannot see much of the inside.
No transit straps?
How do you stop the books flying about when being moved?
Great bit of kit.
When the case is full, the books hold the books across the way. I’ve considered adding some leather straps. Another reader had the great idea of staggering the shelves so the shelves act to hold the books when the case is closed.
Very Nice.
I think with a little tweeking this could turn into a pattern makers tool chest that could hang on the wall on the order of the H.O. Studley chest. (with or without the ornamentation).
(Read as: How about another tool chest book? You did do a second workbench book. 🙂 )
When you used “a glaze of brown Minwax stain” were you referring to the gel variety?
Just stain. Any color that is applied between coats of film finish is called a glaze.
Wonderful work, as always – an inspiration.
But I agree with John Cashman – you’ve got to inset those corner plates or, better still, get rid of them altogether. The bookcase you showed that you based this on didn’t have them. And if this is going to be carried around shows representing your fine skills and publishing business this is one piece which absolutely must display your best in all areas.
It looks like having those corner plates mounted proud has also necessitated little stick-on feet to keep the thing level when open – lose the corner plates and you can lose them too.
Also I note the original piece had two locks and you’ve only installed one. Maybe that weight of books needs two hinges to cope with the strain when the case is in transit – could prove too much strain on one little lock, perhaps?
This looks great in oak – better than that funereal, guilt-laden species in the piece it’s standing on!
I meant: ‘Maybe that weight of books needs two locks’, not two hinges’. Oops.
With a certain amount of shame I too often use a trim router for cutting hinge and hardware mortises. However, not that much shame. I just file it under making a living.
The bookcase would look good in leather straps, now that you are into leather work, something to grab onto.
Nice Portlandia reference
What do you have going on along the bottom? If you have hardware that sits proud on the eight corners of the case when closed, then when open it would seem the case would tip forward a little. In the pics it seems like there are some kind of “feet” along the front of the case when opened but I can’t tell whether these are pieces of brass or wood (or epoxy).
Little feet of cork, which were harvested in a sustainable way by non-migratory unicorns.
Yeah but is the cork local?
Indeed. It was grown out of zone by a local Portugese gentleman who gently nurtured the trees to harvesting size using a series of low-voltage LED grow-lights and pegasus dander.
Nice Portlandia reference.
The bookcase is looking quite nice. Very simple. I like it alot. Another of your books I will need to acquire. When can we expect this one? After FoN and By Hand and Eye?
Very nice. There are three or four different woods used on that shot. Which are they ?
Julien,
The bookcase is all quartersawn red oak. The secretary below it is mahogany through and through.
Are the backs just rabbeted all around and set into grooves? And will you put OBEY stickers on the outside of this like your suit case?
Indeed. The panels are just rabbeted into grooves, which are buried into the half-blind dovetails.
I need some “Disobey Me” stickers, dangit.
Hello Chris.Love your work and your photography.Maybe the Lost Art Press could do a small book on how you photograph all your work.Im sure some of us would like to learn that to.Thanks.