On Monday night, March 11, I’ll be staying up late for a live chat on WoodCentral. It gets underway at 9:30pm EST and goes until my fingers won’t type anymore. The topic is Arts & Crafts furniture, so if you … Continue reading
Category Archives: Craftsman Furniture
PLEASE NOTE: THIS BOOK IS NOW AVAILABLE IN HARDCOVER AT THE ORIGINAL PRICE! CLICK HERE FOR DETAILS. A little while ago the folks at the WoodNet Hand Tools forum were discussing Stickley furniture and where to get plans and information … Continue reading
A Free Excerpt from the “Great Book of Shop Drawings for Craftsman Furniture” Step One: Cut all the pieces to the sizes listed in the cut list. Please don’t do that. Not if you’re building from the large format plans … Continue reading
Professionally drawn, custom printed, fully detailed plans for accurate reproductions of many of the pieces originally made by Gustav Stickley, L. & J.G. Stickley and Charles Limbert from “Shop Drawings For Craftsman Furniture” and “More Shop Drawings for Craftsman Furniture”, … Continue reading
Quartersawn white oak isn’t the easiest wood to work, but with experience and an understanding of its character, it is steady and predictable. In gaining that experience, you’ll better understand your own character. The work becomes a partnership between man … Continue reading
Gustav Stickley, while an innovator in design, did not work single-handedly, and his work does show influences from designs that were seen in England prior to the introduction of his Craftsman furniture. Although Stickley’s daughter Barbara, maintained that Harvey Ellis … Continue reading
One of the most common questions asked about building pieces from my Shop Drawings Books is “What do I do about the cushions? Your drawings don’t show any details.” There were several methods used in the original Stickley pieces, and … Continue reading
“Great Book of Shop Drawings for Craftsman Furniture Now in Stock” The new, corrected printing of “Shop Drawings for Craftsman Furniture” is on its way from the publisher. This is a combination of three of my earlier books, “Shop … Continue reading
The Gustav Stickley No. 332 Morris chair is an iconic example of Arts & Crafts period furniture. It isn’t as flashy as the bow arm or bent arm chairs, but it’s a challenging project. In my never-ending hunt for details … Continue reading
Almost every task in woodworking comes down to cutting to a line. If you can cut to a line consistently and accurately, you can build anything. There are any number of ways to do it, and the more methods you … Continue reading
Furniture from the American Arts & Crafts period is extremely popular, but it is also misunderstood. We’re not even sure what to call it. Is the correct name Mission or Craftsman or something else? Much of the confusion comes from … Continue reading
Although hand-hammered copper is often thought of as the definitive handle on a Stickley drawer, wood pulls were common on original pieces, often in a pyramid shape. I’ve seen people jump through all kinds of hoops to make these with … Continue reading
Update the “Great Book of Shop Drawings for Craftsman Furniture” is now available. Coming Summer 2012 Combined Edition of “Shop Drawings for Craftsman Furniture” “More Shop Drawings for Craftsman Furniture” “Shop Drawings for Craftsman Inlays & Hardware” Revised introductory text … Continue reading
In January 1902, Gustav Stickley suggested to readers of The Craftsman that they should examine furniture in the same way they would examine prospective friends, to look for moral and agreeable qualities in both. That may seem like an odd … Continue reading
The L. & J.G. Stickley No. 220 Prairie Settle is one of the bestselling plans in our store. The most frequently asked question I get is about building it is “how do I attach the arms”, and my answer, “glue … Continue reading
Arts & Crafts furniture finishes, especially the “proper” finish for quartersawn white oak are not difficult to achieve, if you know what you’re really after. A lot of woodworkers want the grain to “pop”, which is a worthy goal for … Continue reading
I’ve been selling plans online for 10 years through craftsmanplans.com, large format printed plans. They’re nicely done, but if you’ve never made any furniture or worked with measured drawings, they can be intimidating. Over the years, there have been requests … Continue reading
I never set out to be a writer. I’m a cabinetmaker first and foremost and have been since the early 1970s. In those days resources were few and I was continually on the prowl for new information about woodworking and … Continue reading
27 Stickley Designs for Every Room in the Home This is the first book to present accurate, detailed drawings for reproductions of Arts & Crafts period furniture. Drawings for 27 pieces of furniture, text chapters on the history of the … Continue reading