Medieval and Renaissance Furniture

by Daniel Diehl

  Next, drop beads of glue into the mortises on the appropriate side of one of the rear corner posts. Tap the post into place and repeat the process with the other post. Use a bar clamp or strap clamp to pull the posts into place and allow the glue to dry. Finally, drill two ¼-inch holes into each corner post about 1 inch deep and ¼ inch from the point where it joins each rail. The relative position of these holes is shown in the illustration of the back of the kist. Tap a ¼-inch dowel into each hole and allow the glue to dry. Then trim the dowels about 1/8 to ¼ inch above the surface of the post and sand off the excess dowel.

  Assemble the front by following the same process. Because the drawers and bottom rail were added after the kist was built, the drawer divider stiles and bottom rail do not need to be installed with the rest of the front assembly. The mortises in the corner posts into which the bottom rail is inserted run through the bottom of the posts, allowing the rail to be tapped into place after the rest of the front has been assembled.

  Assembling the Case

  Now assemble the carved side panels, top and middle rails, and stiles in the same manner used to assemble the front and back. When both sides have been assembled, glued, and doweled, the case can be put together. We suggest that the back assembly be laid on the floor so that the interior of the chest faces upward. Drop beads of glue into both the left and right corner post mortises where the top and middle rails will be inserted. Tap the side assemblies into place. Quickly drop beads of glue into the top and middle mortises on the left and right corner posts of the front assembly, and tap the front assembly into place on the exposed ends of the sides. Carefully stand the chest upright and clamp it together with one or two strap clamps. When the glue is dry, dowel the side rails to the corner posts in the same manner as on the back and front assemblies. Then slide the horizontal side panel into place and glue and dowel the bottom rail. The four sides of the kist are now assembled.

  Installing the Drawer Runners

  Because the drawers were later additions to the kist, the runners on which they glide were retrofit into the case. The locations of the runners can most clearly be seen in the section B drawing. You will need six runners, two runner spacers, and two runner support walls in the sizes indicated on the materials list. The support walls are attached to the 45-degree chamfered edges on the inside corners of the corner posts. Cut the ends of the support walls at a 45-degree angle to the exact length that will allow them to lie flush with the inner faces of the corner posts. The support walls on the original kist are attached with a bewildering array of screws, nails, and metal brackets, but we suggest using finishing nails. Position the support walls with the top edge 19¼ inches below the top edge of the kist; this will provide extra support for the floor when it is installed. Next, ensuring that the support walls are square to the face of the kist, drill pilot holes through ends of the support walls and into the corner posts. Run a bead of glue along the 45-degree chamfer, position the support walls one at a time, and nail them into place.

  Now locate the positions of all six runners. As shown in the section C drawing, the outermost runners should be 2¾ inches below the top of the support wall and 47/8 inches above the bottom of the wall. Most important, they must be located so that the drawer clears the front bottom rail but still has enough room to slide under the front center rail. The final position of the tops of the runners should be 215/16 inches above the front bottom rail. Drill three pilot holes through each runner, place it in position, and screw it to the support wall with 1-inch wood screws. Using the top edges of the outermost runners as guides, draw a line across the back bottom rail of the kist and another line across the drawer divider stiles. This line must be perfectly level or the drawers will not fit properly. Drill two pilot holes in each of the two drawer runner spacers, position them beneath the lines on the inside face of the drawer divider stiles, and screw them into place.

  Locate the positions where the four inner drawer runners will come into contact with the inside of the bottom rail on the back of the kist, as shown in the section B drawing. Chisel out ½-inch-deep sockets 7/8 inch in height and 9/16 inch in width. With care, the ends of the support rails will fit snugly into the sockets and be level with the runner spacers on the drawer divider stiles. Drill a small pilot hole near the front end of each runner, positioned so that you can nail the runners to the spacers with 1-inch finishing nails. Put a drop of glue in one of the runner sockets on the back wall of the kist and another drop on the corresponding end of one of the runner spacers. Place the end of a runner into the socket and nail the opposite end to the spacer. Repeat the process with the remaining three runners.

  Installing the Floor

  Before installing the floor, you need to attach the floor supports to the inside of the case. The section C drawing shows the locations of these supports, and the materials list gives their dimensions. All the floor supports are attached to the inside surface of the middle rail 19¼ inches below the top edge of the chest. The supports on each end of the kist seem to be original, but the supports on the front and back are much newer. The end supports run the full length of the side, between the front and back corner posts, while the four 6-inch supports on the front and four 6-inch supports on the back are lined up roughly with the center of the panels. All the floor supports are glued and nailed into place. Drill pilot holes through the 1¼-inch supports before attempting to nail them to the frame of the kist. We suggest laying the kist on the floor with the side to which you are attaching the floor supports facedown. This provides you with a solid surface against which to nail.

  Now the floor boards can be set in place. There are two identical floor boards, each 64 inches long, 11 inches wide, and ¾ inches thick. Notch the outside corners of each board so that the boards fit around the corner posts. We suggest test-fitting the boards into the case individually before attempting to install the completed floor. The two boards of the floor are joined together with dowels, following the instructions on page 1. Setting the finished floor into place will be easiest if you lay the kist on its back, stand the floor on its edge, and slowly move it into position using the corner posts as guides.

  Building the Top

  The top, or lid, of the kist is composed of four boards with dimensions as given on the materials list. The proper order of the boards is shown in the underside of top drawing. These boards are joined together with dowels, again following the instructions on page 1.

  It is obvious from an examination of the original piece that the braces were added to the underside of the top fairly recently, probably because the top had begun to warp. Although your newly made top should be stable, there is always a chance that it could warp, and the braces guard against the possibility of breakage along the joined seams. Details of the braces are shown in the top brace side view and end view drawings. There are three braces, the two outer ones being 10 inches in from either side of the top and the middle one located in the exact center of the lid. The relative newness of the braces is evidenced by the fact that they are attached to the top with screws; if you want the braces to appear more in keeping with the rest of the kist, you can attach them with 1¼-inch-long nails, first drilling pilot holes. We also suggest running a bead of glue along the underside of each brace for extra stability.

  Finally, cut the decorative ogee edge as shown in the top edge detail, using a router or molding plane. Note that the ogee edge is present only on the front and sides of the top; the back edge is left square. The top is not attached until later, as described in the section on hardware below.

  Building the Drawers

  The drawers were also late additions to this piece, and their construction is not nearly as sophisticated as that of the rest of the kist. Begin construction by cutting the 5/8-inch-deep, 1-inchwide channels in each side board as shown in the drawer construction detail drawings labeled left side and leftright cross section. Cut corresponding notches in the back board as shown at the far left of the left side drawing. Then cut the lap joints on
the left and right inner edges of the back board. The notches for the lap should be 1 inch wide and ¼ inch deep as shown in the top view. The front face of the drawers is not notched to accept the sides as is the back board. The front face is 3/8 inch wider than the side and back boards; this excess 3/8 inch should extend beyond the bottom edge of the sides, leaving the top edges of front, sides, and back level.

  Now assemble the front, back, and sides of the drawers. Make certain they are square, then drill pilot holes, apply glue, and nail with 1-inch common nails. The nails attaching both the front and back boards to the sides are driven directly through the face of the boards. Although this may not be unusual in attaching the back of a drawer to the sides, it is a rare and sloppy way to attach the front. In this case, the banding strip around the edge of the drawer fronts serves only to hide the nail heads.

  The bottom boards on the original are completely random in width, and we have standardized them on the materials list. You may choose to use boards of entirely different widths. As with the rest of the drawer construction, the bottom boards are simply nailed directly onto the bottoms of the drawers with 1-inch common nails.

  Finally, attach the decorative banding strip around the face of the drawer fronts. With a very sharp carving or X-Acto knife, cut the 1/8-by-½-inch banding strip into lengths about 1 inch longer than the edges to which they will be attached. This should give you six 18-inch-long pieces and six 5¼ to 5½-inch-long pieces. Next, cut a 45-degree angle onto one end of each piece as shown in the front view drawing of the drawer. Set the first piece along one long edge of a drawer face so that the long end of the 45-degree angle is even with the side of the drawer face, and mark and cut the corresponding 45-degree angle on the opposite end to ensure an exact fit. We suggest cutting only one piece of banding at a time for each drawer front and attaching it before cutting the next piece. After drilling small pilot holes, run a bead of glue along the back of the banding strip, press it into place, and nail it with small headless brads. Set the brads slightly below the surface, and fill the indentations with putty before finishing the drawer fronts.

  Hardware

  The hinges and drawer pulls are obviously nineteenth-century additions. Scars on the drawer fronts indicate that they were originally opened by a central knob or pull, but the scars are not definite enough to tell us what this may have looked like. We have included a sketch of the existing brass pulls only as a reference.

  There is no evidence of the size or appearance of the original hinges, but the three hinges currently on the kist are very new, ¾-by-4-inch brass butt hinges with the spine exposed along the back edge as shown in the drawing of the back of the kist. Both arms of each hinge are set into shallow recesses cut into the wood. The position of the hinges is shown in the drawing of the underside of the top. The outer two hinges are 5½ inches from the outside edge of the chest, and the middle hinge is in the exact center. Lay one of the hinges in the proper location on the edge of the back top rail. Make sure the entire spine of the hinge extends beyond the back face of the kist. When the hinge is in place, draw a line around it with a pencil. Remove the hinge and use a hammer and sharp chisel to incise a line around the edge of the markings. Be careful not to make the recess larger than absolutely necessary; the hinge should fit snugly into the recess. Carefully chip away just enough wood to make a channel deep enough for the thickness of the hinge.

  Repeat this process on the underside of the lid, laying the lid on top of the case and marking the position of each hinge channel on the back edge of the lid. Then cut the channels just large enough for the hinges to fit snugly. It will be easiest to screw the hinges to the top first and then to the case of the kist, but you will probably need someone to hold the top while it is being fastened to the body of the kist.

  Finish

  The kist has aged to a deep, rich golden brown similar in color to buttered toast. After you have oiled or stained the kist to the desired hue, you can approximate the existing finish by applying several coats of furniture wax to the finished surface. Waxed finishes require periodic renewal but produce a glow unlike any other finish. If you live in an area where summer heat is excessive, however, wax may not be a suitable finish, so you may want to select one of the other finishes described on page 7.

  PROJECT 20

  Oxford Chest

  Oxford Chest, English, 1276. Oak and iron, 32½ inches x 5 feet, 9 inches x 24 inches. Collection of Merton College, Oxford University, Oxford, England. Photo by D. Tyler Huff, courtesy of the Warden and Fellows of Merton College.

  This sturdy chest from around 1300 is, and probably has been throughout its existence, the property of Merton College, University of Oxford. In 1276, Archbishop Kilwardby, known in the records of the college as “the Visitor,” ordained that the college’s valuables should be kept in chests, two of which were to have three locks each. Merton historians believe that this is one of those two chests.

  Alterations have been made to the chest over the years. The top, now formed from two boards rather than a single plank, is unquestionably a replacement. Evidence that the archbishop’s three locks were added long after the chest was built can be seen where the banding straps have been cut away to make room for the lock covers. An earlier single lock, located behind the middle strap, formerly secured the lid. If this is indeed one of the archbishop’s chests, it must have been built before 1276 and altered to have three locks.

  The chest may have originally been several inches taller than it is now. The unusual open work on the feet indicates that there may have been more to the design of the leg than survives. An example of a similar complete leg is shown in the construction drawings. If one of the feet had become badly damaged or moisture had caused them to rot, the legs may have been sawn off to a level above the damage.

  Construction Notes

  This chest’s massive plank construction and heavy banding straps were intended to discourage theft. Despite the bulk of the piece, construction methods are fairly simple. Most of the work involved in the construction of this chest is in making the assortment of banding iron that encircles its body.

  Materials

  Like most furniture in this book, this chest is constructed of white oak. In this case, it will be difficult to find planks large enough for the framing members. The front and back panels, the bottom, and the end panels can be glued up as described on page 2. Before ordering wood, decide whether you want to make the feet the way they probably were originally (see drawing) or as they now appear. To create the original feet, you need to add 4 inches to the length of each leg. Because the front and back of the chest taper slightly inward at the bottom, the length of the lumber for the legs and the width of the panels for the front and back are slightly greater than the dimensions shown on the drawings.

  Framing Members

  The entire construction of the chest hangs on the corner posts. These four columns serve as both structural ties to which all the other boards attach and as the legs that support the finished chest. Mill the legs to the proper thickness, then cut and carve the foot decoration before cutting the mortise slots into which the side panels will fit. The amount of turning and maneuvering necessary to execute the foot designs could result in the thin walls of the mortise being split or cracked, and it would be nearly impossible to detail the feet once the chest is assembled. Carve the foot roughly ½ inch longer than shown in the drawings. If you are executing the open foot design, wait to chamfer the bottom of the foot until the chest is assembled.

  Once assembled, you need to work the top and bottom edges of the front and back panels, as well as the legs, to compensate for the slight inward pitch of the chest. To use a more modern approach to the problem, the legs can simply be cut to length as shown, at a 2-degree angle. Both ends of each leg must be cut at the same angle, with the angled cuts parallel to each other.

  After the foot designs have been executed, cut the mortise slots into which the front, back, and side panels will be inserted. Although the mo
rtise slots reach the level of the bottom of the four panels, they stop below the top edge of the leg. Not allowing the mortise slots to come through the top of the leg ensures that the joint construction will not show on the inside of the finished chest.

  End Panels

  Cut the end panels so that they have the slight taper shown in the drawings. These panels are longer than they are wide, and the grain runs vertically. Leave enough extra width on the boards to allow for the tenons. After the end panels are cut to width, cut the tenons. The tenons should run to the bottom of the panel but stop short of the top, as shown in the drawings.

  Front and Back Panels

  When you cut the tenons on the front and back panels, leave an extra ½ inch on both the top and bottom edges of these panels to allow for the leveling that will be necessary because of the slight angle of the front and back. Alternatively, you can precut the top and bottom edges of these panels to the same 2-degree angle as the top and bottom ends of the legs. As with the legs, make certain the angles are parallel.