Adventures of an Imperfect Man In Search of a Handmade Life
From the issue of “Work” made available today by the good folks at Tools for Working Wood. Minimalist yet fairly ornate. It would sit well in a corner to get it out of the way when not needed.
While you are in the internet neighborhood, have a look in their store for some great and out of the ordinary stuff.
Here’s an interesting piece of “gone native” campaign furniture. There was much bad about empire building (and still is) but the bringing together of foreign cultures often created new and interesting art and craft styles.
While on the topic, if campaign furniture is of an interest, or if you want to even know what it is, head over to Lost Arts Press and check out Chris Schwartz’s new book on the topic.
Here are just a few designs from the genre known as Campaign Furniture taken from Schwartz’s webpage. Click the link below to go right to his book store.
I gotta make a couple of these.
I have had many requests for dimensions of the stools and table so I finally sucked it up and measured some things to include here. The only ones apparently on the web cost money so here are my dimensions. Please modify them to fit your style, needs, or lumber. A little time with some graph paper will go a long way.
Folding stools. Here is my cutting list from most recent batch. The angles of the feet will have to be worked out for yourself. Also, not listed are the stretchers (the cross boards between legs). These are not absolutely necessary but make the whole shebang a lot stronger. Use whatever you have.
Legs 1×3″: 4 @ 18″
Skirts 1×3″: 4 @ 11″
Seat 1×6″: 2 @ 16″ (can vary substantially. adjust dowels accordingly)
Dowels 1″ oak: 1 @ 12 3/4″
Dowels 1″ oak: 4 @ 1 1/2″
Then finish with the rest of the parts (See top photo).
Note in above photos the far side stretcher isn’t in place. I ran out of wood this day.
Table
For a 28″ tall table:
Legs 1×4″ hardwood: 4 @ 34″
Skirts 1×4″: 4 @ 20″
Top 1×12″: 2 @ 36-48″
A little nomad furniture project. Great for when guests arrive too. If you are creative, the tops can be cut into ovals, rounded rectangles, or made circular.
I’ve been making folding camp furniture. The stools are sometime called “pea-pickers”. They were somewhat difficult to figure out without a plan but some photos of others and experience making other furniture helped.
They’re not as easy to make as I thought they would be. The holes must be very precise and dowels tight-fitting. If everything isn’t square and precisely cut, the stool just doesn’t work.
This is their beauty. They fold flat and have an integrated handle. They can be made just about any size and out of any straight lumber. My first one is made from scraps from around the workshop. These later ones are from premium pine.
Seventeen pieces, twelve holes. Stick ’em together. Sit. Mine are sturdy enough to use as a step stool, with some caution due to the narrow width.
A table of similar construction. The top is about 22 x 46″. I made it 2 inches lower than a standard table to fit the stool height. A combination of pine, poplar, and oak. Definitely strong enough if it is well-fitting.
Preindustrial Craftsmanship 