Medieval and Renaissance Furniture

by Daniel Diehl

  Alternative to the Medieval Lock

  If constructing a lock seems too complicated, we have a suggestion. For a medieval cupboard with standard doors, such as the Cathedral Cabon, adapt a small surface-mounted lockset, or rim lock, a type that was common on nineteenth-century interior doors. A rim lock requires only minor modification to serve on these cupboard doors. Open the lock box and remove the catch normally operated by the doorknob, leaving only the key-operated dead bolt in place. Replace the cover on the lock box and screw it to the cupboard door’s inner surface so that the keyhole in the door aligns with the keyhole in the lock box. You may need to slightly reposition the keyhole in the door to correspond with the dimensions of the lock box.

  PROJECT 1

  Fifteenth-Century Bench

  Bench, French or South Netherlandish, fifteenth century. Oak, 21 x 38 x 12¼ inches. The Cloisters Collection, The Metropolitan Museum of Art 1947 (47.101.70). Metropolitan Museum of Art Image ©The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Image source, Art Resource, New York.

  Benches, such as this French example, were the single most common type of furniture at all levels of medieval society. In peasant homes, crude benches or stools were often the only pieces of furniture other than a table. At the merchant level of society, benches constituted nearly all of the seating in the home, with the exception of one chair each for the master and mistress of the house, and were also used for seating at worktables and in trade stalls.

  In abbeys and cloisters, monks sat on benches while they were at prayer and during mass. Perched on elevated stools, they laboriously executed illuminated manuscripts, and at long benches, they ate, often in total silence, in communal dining halls. In the manor houses and castles of the nobility, seating served as a precise symbol of social status. The lord of the manor, his wife, and honored guests sat on elaborate armchairs during meals and at local court proceedings. The marshal of the castle probably had a chair with no arms, as did ranking local merchants who were often guests of the lord. Lesser guests were seated on stools, and servants and peasants sat on long benches called bankettes. This handsome stool is now in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

  Construction Notes

  This finely crafted little bench is simple in construction and is made without metal fasteners or glue. Only four small dowels hold the structure together. It is a testament to medieval craftsmanship that after more than five centuries, the bench is still in good condition. This piece is an excel- lent choice for the beginner. Although one end of the original bench was sawn off and a notch was cut out of the other end, the plans here show the piece as it would have appeared when it was constructed.

  Materials

  The five boards used in the construction of this stool are all 1-inch-thick white oak. The leg boards are quite wide for such a small piece of furniture and could easily be made by gluing two boards together (the materials list reflects this approach).

  Setting Up

  Before beginning assembly, cut the legs, side rails, and seat to size and shape according to the plans. If you wish to cut the chamfer on the bottom edge of the side rails with a router, do so before fitting the seat into place; once the seat has been fitted onto the frame, the bench cannot be taken apart again.

  Legs and Side Rails

  The legs and side rails of the bench interlock with each other. The primary carrying grooves are in the legs, and there are also small grooves in the side rails to ensure that the pieces do not shift once the stool has been assembled. Cut the leg pieces first, making sure that the side rails fit into the grooves snugly enough that they can be pushed together with the pressure of two fingers.

  On the drawings, the tenons are 1⁄8 inch wider at the top than at the bottom. They must be cut in this manner to hold the seat onto the frame. An easy way to do this is to square-cut the tenon to the wider dimension, and then finish it to a slight dovetail shape with a knife or rasp. For the side rails, you can enlarge the drawing on a photocopier until it is the proper dimension and use it as a pattern. When you are cutting the legs and side rails, make sure the points at which the two boards intersect are the same dimension, 3 inches. The side rails and legs may be assembled and taken apart to check for proper fit at any time before final assembly of the stool.

  Seat

  To locate and cut the mortise holes in the seat, first assemble the legs and side rails and turn them upside down onto the seat. Align the side rails and legs so that they are in square with the seat and positioned as shown on the plans. Mark the locations of the tenons on the surface of the seat to indicate the exact locations of the mortises. When cutting the mortises into the top, make them 1 inch wide, like the leg board, but 1⁄8 inch shorter than the length of the top of the tenon. Simply put, the mortise should have the same dimensions as the bottom of the tenon. If you are unsure about cutting such a precise mortise, cut it a bit smaller than shown and then sand or rasp away excess wood a little at a time.

  Compressing the Tenons

  To fit the wedge-shaped tenons into the mortise, the wide ends must be compressed. Position a C-clamp or cabinet clamp around the upper half of each tenon. Tighten the clamps until the tenons are at least as narrow at the top as they are at the base. Leave the clamps in place for three or four hours to allow the wood to settle.

  Assembly

  Final assembly must be completed within a matter of ten minutes or so, because once the clamps are removed from the tenons, they will begin to spread and resume their natural shape. First assemble the legs and side rails. Then, with the bench in an upright position, align the mortise holes in the seat board over the ends of the tenons. Place a scrap piece of wood across the tenons on one leg and tap it firmly with a mallet or hammer. The scrap of wood will protect the top of the stool from hammer blows. Do not strike too hard. As soon as the tenons on one leg begin to move into their mortises, repeat the procedure on the other leg. By moving back and forth from leg to leg, you can tap the seat board into place without twisting the structure of the stool.

  If a tenon will not tap into its mortise, do not force it. You may need to do a little sanding or shaving, or you may need to recompress the wedges if they have been out of the clamps for more than a few minutes. Getting the seat board into place may be a little tricky, especially for the novice cabinetmaker, but the results will be worth it. Once the mortises and tenons have been fitted together, the compressed wedges will slowly return to their original shape, locking the legs tightly and permanently into the top. They should begin to resume their original shape within three or four hours of being taken out of the clamp. If they have not expanded enough to lock the stool together within twenty-four hours, wet the exposed ends of the tenons with water and let them dry slowly overnight.

  Doweling

  Following the doweling instructions on page 1, pin the side rails and legs together. Before drilling the holes, ensure that the piece is square by pulling the legs snugly against the offset shoulders on the side rails with a long cabinet clamp or bar clamp.

  Finish

  Although the original bench has been severely weathered over the centuries, we believe that it had a simple oil finish, except for the chamfered edge at the bottom of the side rail, which appears to have been painted dark green or possibly deep blue-green. The original paint was probably an egg tempera, as described on page 8, but a simple flat or low-sheen oil paint will work. If you choose to include this decorative detail, gesso the area to be painted and apply the paint before oiling the rest of the bench. Paint only the chamfer and not the bottom edge of the side rail.

  PROJECT 2

  Fifteenth-Century Stool

  Stool, French or South Netherlandish, fifteenth century. Oak, 22¾ x 21¾ x 9½ inches. The Cloisters Collection, The Metropolitan Museum of Art 1947 (47.101.72). Image ©The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Image source, Art Resource, New York.

  The precise origin of this stool is unknown, but it was probably made in Holland or Northern France. Whe
rever it came from, the quality of this amazingly well-preserved stool is unquestionable. Unlike the simple bench shown in the previous chapter, this finely carved stool must have been owned by a wealthy merchant or member of the petit nobility. Although the squire or lord never would have sat on such a simple piece of furniture, guests of lower social standing would have used stools like this both at conference tables and in the dining hall. It is even possible that this piece originates from a monastery where some monk once labored in the scriptorium, turning out magnificent illuminated manuscripts while seated on this outstanding survivor from the late Middle Ages.

  Construction Notes

  While this stool is similar in size and use to the simpler fifteenth-century bench in the previous chapter, the carving work and slightly more complex construction will give the beginning woodworker practical experience for some of the more complex projects later in this book. This stool is constructed from just a few pieces, but getting the angle at which the legs join the top correct makes building this piece a small challenge.

  Materials

  All the wood used in constructing this stool is oak. We recommend using white oak rather than red oak, as white oak will finish more closely in color to the original piece, which is made of light-colored European oak.

  Cutting the Top, Top Braces, Stretcher, and Stretcher Pins

  The top, or seat, of the stool is a simple rectangle 22¾ inches long, 9½ inches wide, and ¾ inch thick. Note in the drawing labeled underside of top that the corners are rounded to a diameter of about 1½ inches. The two top braces are used to help support the legs. These are cut from boards 2 inches wide, 11/8 inches thick, and 9½ inches long. The length of the braces is identical to the width of the seat. Both ends of each top brace are shaped to more smoothly blend the lines of the top into the leg. These shapes and their measurements are shown in the illustration of the end of the stool. When the basic top braces have been cut, lay them aside until you are ready to cut the mortises through which the tenons on the legs will pass.

  The stretcher is cut from a board 22 inches long, 1¾ inches wide, and 15/8 inches thick. At this point, it is best just to cut the basic profile of the stretcher, including the narrowing from 1¾ to 1½ inches, as shown in the long side illustration, and the small, V-shaped notch in the center. Do not cut the tenons on the ends of the stretcher yet.

  The two small stretcher pins shown in the end view of the stool are ¾ inch wide, ½ inch thick, and 4 inches long. At one end, cut a 45-degree angle; this will allow the pin to be inserted into the mortise on the end of the stretcher more easily than if the end is left square. One side of the stretcher pins will need to be sanded to an angle, but this should wait until the exact angle and dimensions of the mortise in the stretcher have been determined.

  Cutting the Legs

  Each leg is cut from a board 9 inches wide, 1 inch thick, and 21¾ inches long. The general shape of the leg is shown in the end view illustration. When laying out the shape of the leg, leave 1¾ inches at the top from which to cut the tenon that will fit through the top brace and into the seat of the stool. The body of the leg—separate from the tenon—should be 20 inches in length.

  The general profile of the leg and all associated dimensions are shown in the end view drawing. A detail drawing of the two small, pointed protrusions in the upper third of the leg is shown in the leg profile detail. To make this detail as accurate as possible, we suggest enlarging the drawing on a photocopier until the 1-inch dimension line is as near as possible to 1 inch.

  Cutting the Tenons and Mortises on the Legs

  The drawing of the long side of the stool shows that the legs are set into the top braces and top at a 9.5-degree angle. Not only does this angle provide extra support, but it also helps hold the legs in place on the seat by applying an inward pressure on the seat.

  To create this angle, the tenon on top of the legs must be cut on a 9.5-degree angle. The angle and length of the tenon and leg are shown in profile in the cross-section construction detail drawing. Begin laying out the tenon by drawing a line across the outside face of the leg 1¾ inches below the top. Using a compass, extend this line across the sides of the leg at a 9.5-degree angle. Next, connect the lines on the edges of the leg with a line running across the back (inside) surface of the leg. As the legs are identical, they can both be laid out in the same way.

  Using a table saw or radial arm saw set at a 9.5-degree angle, remove ¼ inch of wood from the front and back surfaces of the legs. This should give you a ½-inch-wide tenon, set at a 9.5-degree angle, running the full width of each leg. Now remove ¾ inch from each end of the tenon. The remaining tenon should be 4 inches in width, centered on the top of the 5½-inch-wide top of the leg. Finally, mark and cut a 9.5-degree angle across the top of the tenon. To make this final cut, you should only need to remove ¼ inch from the front face of the tenon; the saw blade should barely skim the surface of the back edge of the tenon. The finished tenon should be 1½ inches in length on both the front and back faces.

  Now mark the positions of the mortises through which the stretcher will pass through the legs, as shown at the left side of the illustration of the long side of the stool. The bottom of each mortise should be 4¼ inches above the bottom of the foot and centered across the width of the leg. The mortises are 1½ inches in height and 5/8 inch in width. Since the legs are set at a 9.5-degree outward angle, the mortises through which the stretcher will pass must be cut on this same angle, but this will only affect the top and bottom (the 5/8-inch dimension) of the stretcher mortises. Excess wood can be removed from the mortise with a drill and the walls smoothed with a sharp chisel. Make certain when the top and bottom of the mortises are being cut that they run at a 9.5-degree angle; the angle should run toward the top of the leg.

  Finally, make a 9.5-degree cut across the bottom of each foot, making sure that the blade barely skims the outside face of the foot. This should allow the legs to sit flat on the floor when the stool is assembled.

  Carving the Legs

  The outer faces of the legs are carved in a style known as linenfold, a design resembling folded cloth. This particular linenfold pattern is much simpler than many running linenfold designs found in a lot of medieval furniture. Each panel is cleverly designed to use the cutout area along the bottom edge of the leg to mirror the shape of the top of the linenfold design.

  The design becomes wider as it follows the shape of the leg downward toward the foot. The dimensions of the carving are given on the carving detail illustration. The shaded area along the outer edge indicates the deepest point in the carving. Directly beneath the carving detail is a cross-section drawing of the panel showing the carving in profile and its depth relative to the overall thickness of the leg. Note the ridge running along the vertical length of the center of the carving. The top of the linenfold panel appears to fold back on itself; this area is only about 1/8 inch deep, making it only half the depth of the main portion of the carving. For complete instructions on how to carve the design, see page 6.

  Mortising the Top and Top Supports

  Again refer to the cross section construction detail to see how the tenons on the legs pass through the top support and into the top board (seat) of the stool. As with the leg tenons the mortises into which they fit must be cut on a 9.5-degree angle.

  Mark the locations of the mortises on the bottom side of each of the top supports. Each mortise should be 4 inches long and ½ inch wide, centered on the top support. This should leave 1¼ inches of top support on each end of the tenon and ¾ inch on each of the long sides. Taking care to cut the mortise on a 9.5-degree angle, you may remove excess wood with a drill and smooth the walls and ends with a sharp chisel. Keeping the angle of the mortise true requires patience; fit the tenon on the leg into the mortise frequently until the top of the leg fits flush against the bottom surface of the top support. The tenons should fit snugly enough through the mortises that they can be seated with a gentle tap from a mallet or several taps with the p
alm of your hand.

  Next, lay the top supports on the bottom face of the seat. As shown in the drawing of the long side of the stool, the outer edge of the top supports should be 3½ inches from the outside edge of the top. Making sure that the mortises in the top supports run at an inward angle (facing the center of the seat), clamp the supports to the seat. Reach inside the mortises with a pencil and mark a line around each mortise onto the bottom surface of the top board. This should give you the exact position of the mortise to be cut into the bottom of the seat. After you remove the top supports, the area to be mortised should match the size and location indicated on the drawing of the underside of the top.

  Cut the mortises into the underside of the seat board at a 9.5-degree angle, to a depth of 3/8 inch, as indicated in the cross section construction drawing. When the mortises have been cut, the leg tenons should fit through the top supports and into the top (seat) board snugly with a gentle tap from a mallet or a few taps with the palm of your hand. The legs should fit flush against the top support, and the top support should lie flush with the surface of the seat board. When the legs, top supports, and top all fit properly, leave the pieces assembled as you carry out the next step.

  Cutting the Tenons and Mortises on the Stretcher

  Begin cutting the tenons on the ends of the stretcher. First mark the 5/8-inch thickness of the tenon on each end of the stretcher. Extend these lines inward, toward the center of the stretcher, to a depth of 1 inch only. You may remove the excess wood so that the tenons fit snugly into the mortises on the legs.

  Next, draw a line across the face of each leg at the height of both the top and bottom of each mortise. Position the stretcher so that the top and bottom of the tenon falls even with these lines. The stretcher must be held in exactly the proper position and level. It is advisable to have a helper hold the stretcher in position. Using the inside face of the legs as a guide, draw a line on the stretcher at the point where the final cuts will be made to create the 9.5-degree angle where the stretcher meets the inside of the legs. This angle is shown in the stretcher detail drawing. Cut away excess wood as necessary to allow the stretcher to fit flush against the legs. To make sure you have the proper fit, disassemble the stool and insert the stretcher into the mortises on the legs.