Once you become aware of staked furniture, you will find it everywhere. Today I was finishing up a marathon 12-hour session of editing “The Woodworker: The Charles Hayward Years” and stumbled on this short article from the February 1964 issue.
It’s billed as an exercise for beginning turners. And while I’d probably add some rake and splay to the legs, it’s a pretty charming piece as-is.
The most interesting detail of its construction is that the author recommends you cut the mortises before turning the legs. That works when you have 90° angles everywhere, but is a mess when you get into compound-angle joinery.
Luckily in “The Anarchist’s Design Book,” I have a way of dealing with this sort of compound-angle joint that is embarrassingly simple. Here’s a clue: Buy a set of spade bits and an extension for your drill.
You can download the 1964 article here:
The cutting list for the project is as follows:
1 Top 7/8 x 10-1/4 x 14-1/2
4 Legs 1-1/2 x 1-1/2 x 13
2 Side rails 3/4 x 3/4 x 13
2 End rails 3/4 x 3/4 x 10
— Christopher Schwarz