Medieval and Renaissance Furniture

by Daniel Diehl

  The sides of the arm rests extend 1¼ inches beyond the side of the rear leg and back supports, as shown in the illustration of the back of the chair. To fit around the front and side of the back supports, the arm rests each need to have a tenon cut into the rear face, as shown in the left arm back (top view) drawing. The various views of the left arm back show the tenon and surrounding arm area from all angles. The wood can be removed from the open sides of the tenon with a series of simple saw cuts, but the area between the tenon and projecting section of arm rest needs to be removed carefully, with either a series of saw cuts or a very sharp, ½-inch-wide chisel. As you cut this tenon, take care that the tenon and projecting section of arm rest fit snugly into and around the mortise in the back support. The arm rest should fit into place with a light tap of a mallet or a few taps with the palm of your hand.

  Seat and Back

  The seat and back of this chair are the only leatherwork contained in this book. A close look at the seat and back drawings, as well as the views of the front, side, and back of the chair, show clearly that both the seat and back are simple leather slings fastened to the frame of the chair with large upholstery nails. The seat is nailed to both the top and outside faces of the seat supports, and the back is nailed to the front and outside faces of the back support. Small flanges, or ears, of leather extend upward from the seat to be nailed to the inside faces of the front and back legs, and similar flanges extend forward from the back to be nailed to the inside faces of the arm rests.

  Begin constructing the seat and back by cutting pieces of 5⁄16-to 3⁄8-inch-thick leather to the overall dimensions given on the materials list. Mark and cut the 1¾-by-1¾-inch areas to be removed from all four corners of the seat and the two bottom corners of the back, as shown in the seat and back drawings. Then extend the horizontal cuts on the top and bottom edges of the seat and bottom edge of the back an additional 1¾ inches to form the flanges that attach to the legs and arm rests. Finally, cut the ends of the flanges into semicircular shapes as shown in the drawings.

  The front and back edges of the seat and top and bottom edges of the back are covered with a thin, 1⁄16-inch-thick piece of leather. This edge banding covers the raw edges of the leather and extends ½ inch onto the front and back of the seat and back. It is sewn to the leather with saddle stitching, using either a leather sewing awl or a length of thick, waxed thread with a needle on both ends. Do not try to force the needle through the three thicknesses of leather; a hole for each stitch needs to be pierced with a fine awl first. Saddle stitching through such thick leather takes some practice, so try the technique on scrap leather before attempting to sew the edge banding to the seat and back. An example of the stitching is shown in the illustrations. You may find it easier if the banding has been glued to the seat and back before sewing. Use either Barge cement or contact adhesive.

  An additional piece of heavy leather 20 inches long and 2½ inches wide is sewn to the underside of the front of the seat as shown in the illustration of the seat. This extra layer of leather helps prevent the seat from stretching and tearing under the weight and wear of constant use. Again, we recommend gluing the support strap to the underside of the seat before sewing it into place. It will be tempting to skip the work of attaching this strap, but it is insurance that the highly decorated seat will endure many years of wear.

  The various designs shown in the illustration of the back were undoubtedly stamped into the smooth face of the leather with metal stamps. We have shown the designs only on the left side of the back, but the right side is decorated in an identical manner. The design has five main elements as follows. First, a series of outlines forms rectangles of decreasing sizes. These outlines are composed of a solid centerline with a dotted line on either side of it, measuring about ¼ inch between the two outer, dotted lines. Inside the outermost set of outlines is a 1½-inchwide running chain of semicircles that looks like Celtic knot work or a series of interlocking rainbows. Inside the next set of outlines are five rectangles. The rectangles on the far left and right are each 1¼ inches wide and 5½ inches long and are filled with a series of wavelike patterns. Inside these wave patterns are 1-by-5½-inch rectangles decorated with scrollwork similar to a series of S shapes. The 5½-by-7½-inch central panel is decorated with a quarter-round sunburst pattern composed of a series of small ovals separated by lines. Beneath this sunburst is a double row of 3⁄8-inch circles extending to the bottom of the panel.

  The seat is decorated in an identical manner to the back, except that here the decorative area is 12¼ inches in height (2¾ inches taller than the 9½-inch-high decorative panel on the back). This additional height allows for two additional sunbursts in the lower left and right corners of the central panel. Finally, dye the faces of the seat and back with a leather dye. The leather on the original chair has been died black.

  Upholstery Nails

  The seat and back are held in place with a total of 107 large-headed iron nails. On each side of the front face of the back are double rows of eight nails, and on the outside face of the back is a single row of eight nails. Similarly, each side of the top face of the seat has double rows of eight nails, and the outside face of the seat supports has a single row of eight nails. The positions of these nails are shown in the front and side view illustrations of the chair.

  The original nails have slightly convex, round heads that are 5⁄8 inch in diameter. Unless you know a skilled blacksmith, it is unlikely that you will find anything that comes close to the original nails. One alternative is to use round-headed upholstery nails. As most commercially available upholstery nails are either brass or silver in color, they could be darkened slightly by heating them with a torch and dropping the hot nails into a pan of motor oil. Or you might use small, round metal conchos (sold by many leather companies including Tandy) to create decorative “nail heads.” Drill a small hole in the center of each concho, and nail ¾-inch-long brads through these “heads.”

  Finish

  Prior to assembly, we suggest applying the finish to all the wood components of the chair. This will avoid the risk of getting any stain or oil on the leather seat and back. The wood used in the original chair is European walnut, which is distinctly different in color from American black walnut. While black walnut is naturally a deep, chocolate brown, its European cousin is a lighter, creamy color. Over the centuries, the original chair has taken on a rich buttered-toast hue, so if you are using oak, maple, or ash, you may want to stain your chair a medium or dark oak color. With black walnut, we suggest leaving the wood its natural color. In either case, we recommend a simple oil finish as described on page 7.

  Assembling the Chair

  Begin assembly by nailing the leather seat to the seat supports, because it will be nearly impossible to provide the support necessary to nail the seat to the supports once the chair is assembled. You may want to dampen 3 or 4 inches at the left and right sides of the seat to make them more pliable and easier to bend around the edges of the seat supports. Immerse the leather in water for thirty seconds to one minute; complete saturation is not necessary. To attach the seat, first mark lightly in pencil the two wrap points shown as dotted lines in the drawing of the seat. Mark a line noting the position of the two rows of nails that will hold the top face of the seat to the top face of the seat supports. The first of the lines marking these rows should be 3⁄8 inch inside the wrap point line (toward the center of the seat), and the second should be ¾ inch inside this line. Now mark a line in the center of the 1¾-inch-wide strip of leather that lies outside the wrap point. To ensure equal spacing of the nails, you may want to mark the positions of the eight nails along each line. Now place the leather on top of the seat support, making sure the tenons are standing vertically. Nail the seat to the seat supports. Then wrap the leather around the sides of the seat support and nail it into place.

  Next, assemble the front of the chair by gluing the front stretcher to the front arms. Note that the tenon on the stretcher is off-center. Ins
ert the tenon into the front legs so that the ¼-inch shoulder behind the tenon is facing the fronts of the legs. Run a bead of glue into the mortises, tap the tenons into place on both legs, and secure with strap clamps until the glue is dry. Next drill two ¼-inch holes to a depth of 1¼ inches into the face of each front leg, as shown in the illustration of the front of the chair. Drop a bead of glue into each hole, tap a dowel into place, and cut the dowel about ¼ inch above the surface of the wood. When the glue is dry, sand the dowel flush with the face of the leg.

  The back of the chair is assembled the same way as the front, except that it has two stretchers: the lower one, which is parallel to the front stretcher, and the top back stretcher. The locations of these are shown in both the illustrations of the back of the chair and the right rear leg. As with the stretcher on the front, the lower stretcher on the back should be positioned so that the ¼-inch shoulder behind the tenon is facing the rear (the outside face) of the legs. Glue these stretchers into place, secure with strap clamps until the glue is dry, and then dowel in the same manner as the front stretcher. Note that the top back stretcher, which is only 15⁄8 inches in width, has only one dowel on each end rather than two.

  Place a light coating of glue on the tenons on the tops of the front legs, place the arm rests on the tenons, and secure them in place with strap clamps, making sure they are at 90-degree angles to the legs. When the glue is dry, drill a ¼-inch-diameter hole on the inside face of each arm so that it runs through the center of the tenon on the top of the leg. Drill this hole to a depth of 1½ inches. Drop a bead of glue into the hole, tap a dowel into place, and cut it slightly above the surface of the arm rest. When the glue is dry, sand the dowel flush with the surface of the wood.

  Connecting the front and back assemblies to the side stretchers and arms is a two-person job. Run beads of glue into all ten mortises on the front and back legs, and then tap the tenons into place. If you dry-fitted all the tenons into the mortises, this should go relatively smoothly. Secure the chair with one strap clamp around the seat supports and another under the arm rests. Because of the slant of the lower portion of the back legs, it is not possible to place a third strap clamp at the bottom of the legs, but you can secure the lower legs by tying them with rope. We strongly recommend using a soft cotton rope like sash cord to avoid scratching the wood.

  When the frame of the chair is complete, attach the leather back to the back supports. Mark the positions of the nails on the leather in the same manner as with the seat, and then immerse the entire back in water for thirty seconds to one minute. Lay the back supports flat on a work surface—it is advisable to have a helper support the weight of the chair during this process. Position the leather back on the front face of the back supports and nail it into place. Turn the chair so that the inside face of one back support lies against a sturdy work surface, wrap the outer edge of the leather around the back support, and nail it into place. Repeat this process for the other side of the leather back.

  Finally, nail the two flanges on the back to the inside face of the arms with three nails in a triangular pattern, with two nails nearest the body of the back and one toward the front edge of the flange. Repeat this process with the four flanges on the seat, nailing the flanges on the back of the seat to the inside face of each rear leg and the flanges on the front of the seat to the inside face of each front leg. As with the flanges on the back, place the nails in a triangular pattern, with two nails nearest the body of the seat and one toward the outermost point of the flange.

  PROJECT 10

  Trestle Table

  Trestle Table, English, circa 1520. 108 x 30 x 30 inches. Private collection. Reproduced with permission of Lucy Johnson.

  This magnificent English trestle table dates from about 1520 and is a rare survivor of the days when such tables graced banqueting halls in castles and palaces all across England and Europe. Easily assembled and disassembled, trestle tables could be set up for feasts and then quickly taken apart and stored until needed again. While most medieval trestle tables were made of oak (or pine if they were to be used by servants or common people), this one is made of elm. Note the wonderfully swirling grain in the photo; this is a grain pattern unique to elm. Despite its visual appeal, elm is a delicate and perishable wood, and this table is one of only three such pieces known to survive. The elm tree has not been so lucky. Once upon a time, Europe and North America were filled with massive European and American elm trees, but starting in the mid-twentieth century, the Dutch elm blight devastated both species.

  Construction Notes

  Disregarding its sheer mass, this table may be the simplest project in this entire book: no complicated joints, no carving, no metalwork, and only a handful of nails to contend with. However, to cut the outline profile of the legs, which are nearly 4 inches thick, you will need to have access to an industrial-size band saw or be fairly proficient with a saber saw. If shortened to 6 feet in length, this table would make a fine addition to even the most modern home. To build matching benches as companion pieces to this table, the legs could easily be scaled down to 16 inches high and 10 inches wide, and the seats could be constructed of either one or two boards with a combined width of 12 or 14 inches.

  Materials

  With the exception of the oak pins that hold the stretchers in place, this table is made of elm. Because the European elm tree is virtually nonexistent, we suggest oak as a suitable substitute, but maple or ash would also serve the purpose.

  Legs

  The leg units to this table are each 18 inches wide, 28 inches high, and 37⁄8 inches thick. Since it is unlikely that you will find boards in these monumental dimensions, we recommend having the legs glued up by a lumber mill. It will probably be necessary to join boards for both the thickness and width of the legs (see the discussion of joined lumber on page 2). Make sure the joints are staggered to prevent any weak spots.

  Lay out the design of the legs following the leg profile drawing, which shows one side of the leg from the centerline to the edge. Each side of the legs is a mirror image of the opposite side, so the drawing will provide a complete image by simply flipping it over. To ensure a perfect mirror image, it may be wise to make a cardboard pattern of the complete leg and trace it onto each of the leg boards. Because of the thickness of the legs, cutting the profile will require either a commercial band saw or very slow and careful use of a saber saw.

  Next, cut the three mortise holes shown in both the leg profile and end view drawings. Each of these holes is ¾ inch wide by 17⁄8 inches in height Excess wood can be removed with a drill, but the sides and edges should be smoothed with a sharp chisel. Make certain that the sides are at a 90-degree angle to the face of the leg, or the tenons on the stretchers will not fit properly. Because of the thickness of the leg boards, it is advisable to make a sample tenon, ¾ inch by 17⁄8 inches by 6 inches, with a shoulder at least 2 inches wide on each side, to use as a gauge when working the finish faces of the mortises. The tenon gauge should fit easily into the mortises but not so loosely that it can be wiggled.

  Upper Stretchers

  The three stretcher boards on the materials list all have identical dimensions. Two of these will be used for the upper stretchers. Because they are identical, there is no need to worry about a left and right stretcher. A review of upper stretcher, section A, and end view illustrations shows that the stretchers have a 3⁄8-by-3⁄8 inch cove molding cut along one edge. (See the stretcher molding detail for the profile of this molding.) It can be cut along the entire length of the stretchers with a molding plane or a table saw fitted with a molding cutter blade.

  As shown in the drawings, the tenons on each end of both stretchers are ¾ inch wide, 17⁄8 inches high, and 6¾ inches long. The tenons should be situated on the opposite face of the stretcher from the cove molding, but along the same bottom edge, as shown in the upper stretcher end view. Make certain that the tenons fit easily into the mortises on the legs but are not so loose that they wiggle. Note in the str
etcher drawing that the saw cut along the top edge of the tenon extends 11⁄8 inches beyond the back edge of the tenon. Do not cut the entire tenon to the extra 2 inches in depth. When the tenons have been cut to length and width, round the ends of the tenon as shown in the profile drawing of the upper stretcher. Then lay out and cut the 1-by-¾-inch mortise holes at the locations shown in the upper stretcher drawing. Excess wood can be removed from the mortises with a drill, but the edges should be finished with a sharp chisel.

  Lower Stretcher

  The third stretcher will be located halfway down the legs and differs slightly from the two upper stretchers. First, cut the same style of cove molding along all four edges of the lower stretcher as you cut along one edge of the upper stretchers. Like the tenons on the upper stretchers, those on the lower stretcher are ¾ inch wide, 17⁄8 inches high, and 6¾ inches long. However, these tenons are located at the center of the stretcher, 3⁄16 inch in from each side and 9⁄16 inch from the top and bottom edges. Make certain that the tenons fit easily into the mortises on the legs but are not so loose that they wiggle.

  Now round the ends of the tenons as shown in the profile drawings of both stretchers. Then lay out and cut the 1-by-¾-inch mortise holes at the locations shown in both stretcher drawings. Excess wood can be removed from the mortises with a drill, but the edges should be finished with a sharp chisel.