Medieval and Renaissance Furniture

by Daniel Diehl

  If the log is fairly dry, the remaining work will be easier. If the wood is green, leave it to cure for a minimum of four months (a year is not excessive) before you begin the finishing work on the lid. Trial and error will determine for you when the wood has cured adequately—if your tools drag or the wood feels wet, it has not cured enough. The next step on the lid’s exterior requires a drawknife; use it to smooth out any large imperfections or rough spots and to shape the bottom corners. Final finishing work can be done with a carpenter’s plane. This will remove any large flaws left by the drawknife. Note that the bottom edges of the lid are rounded. Finish the lid’s interior with a chisel. The concave interior does not need to be as smooth as the exterior. It is infrequently seen and it is not as smooth on the original chest.

  Setting Up

  Since the construction of the body of this chest is so simple, it is possible to cut all the pieces before beginning the actual construction. Cut the bottom, sides, and ends as shown in the diagrams, but do not cut the angles on the top edges of the front and back. The actual thickness of the top may vary slightly from one end to the other; it may be wise to leave the curved edge of the end boards slightly longer than shown in the drawings, at least until a final fitting of all the pieces. Note that the grain on the end panels runs vertically, whereas the grain on the sides and bottom runs horizontally.

  Fitting the Case

  When the side, end, and bottom panels have been cut, set the pieces together as they will appear when the chest is finished. If you have elected to use rough-cut lumber, sand it before trialfitting. To hold the pieces in their proper position, use cabinet clamps, strap clamps, or even small nails that can later be removed. If you use nails, place them so that the nail holes will eventually be covered by the iron banding. With the chest temporarily assembled, fit the lid into place. Use a hand plane to begin to cut the angle on the top edges of the front and back panels, slowly allowing the lid to come to rest on the case. Check the fit frequently during this step to see if any adjustments in the thickness of the lid, angle of the top and back, or curve of the ends need to be made. When the lid rests evenly on the case, it is time to assemble the chest.

  Case Assembly

  The original chest shows no evidence that anything other than the metal strapping holds the case together. It is likely, however, that some form of attachment was used to assemble the chest before the strapping was applied and that this work is hidden by the strapping itself. We proceed on this assumption.

  Mark the centerlines of the straps with a pencil and straightedge on the sides, bottom, and ends of the chest. These will serve to locate the attachment points. Use either wooden pegs or nails to join together the pieces of the chest. If you choose nails, we suggest using hand-forged ones in the spirit of medieval construction. Sink the nail heads so that they are flush with the chest’s surface and will not interfere with the application of the strapping. There is no need to glue the pieces together; the iron banding will adequately support the chest.

  With the pieces held together temporarily with cabinet clamps or strap clamps, be certain that the sides and ends of the chest are square and plumb. Nail or peg the chest together. The end panels and bottom sit inside the front and back panels; all the nails or pegs therefore will be on the chest’s front and back. One nail or peg where each iron band intersects a corner of the chest should be sufficient. This makes a total of nine nails or pegs each in the front and back panels.

  Lid Banding

  The five bands that run across the top of the trunk are each constructed of a single piece of 1/8-inch strap metal; the rear ends of three of them form the top end of the hinge that opens the lid, and the front ends form the hinges, the joints of the hasps, and the lock cover. It will be easiest to begin with the two outermost bands and progress to the three inner ones. It is a good idea to cut a wooden template in the shape of the lid’s outer surface and use it as a gauge against which to fit the straps as you bend them.

  Cut the segments of strap metal to the necessary length, allowing enough to turn 3 inches of the band underneath the bottom edge of the lid. Heat the metal as for any shaping, but heat a slightly longer area than would be necessary to make a bend. Placing one end of the strap metal on an anvil or suitable working surface and holding the opposite end in one hand, gently hammer the heated area to begin to bend the metal into an arc. Don’t shape too tight an arc or attempt to bend the metal too fast; it is much easier to incline it farther by reheating than to have to remove too tight a curve later. After the band has been shaped into an arc that nicely hugs the template, use a mandrel as described on page 9 to shape the tight curves around the lid’s bottom edges. Repeat the process for the second outer band and then for the three inner bands, leaving an excess length of unbent metal at the front and rear ends of the inner bands to form the hinge and hasp joints.

  Case Banding

  The eight short bands that wrap around the corners of the chest are all identical in size and shape. Cut the stock to length, allowing enough to fit beneath the entire width of the vertical bands on the front and sides of the chest. Allowing ½ inch of metal to form the corner bend, cut these straps to 18½ inches. Bend the straps into an L shape following the instructions on page 10, with one leg 11 inches long and the other 7 inches.

  Now cut and shape the twelve bands nearest the bottom of the chest, those that run across the entire front and back, but wrap around the sides only as far as the short bands. Drill pilot holes through them, position them on the trunk, and attach them with large-headed forged nails. Also attach the two outermost bands to the lid.

  Next, forge the three bands that run down the chest’s front, across the bottom, and up the back. Make the bottom section of these bands ¼ inch wider than the actual depth of the trunk to allow them to slip over the horizontal bands on the front and rear of the chest. Also allow enough extra stock on one end of each strap to form the lower ends of the hinges. Do not attach these straps to the chest until after the formation of the hinges. Now make a template for the lock plate. Positioning the band and lock plate template on the chest, mark the section of the center band that will be covered by the lock plate and cut it away.

  Hinges

  Note in the side view drawing of the hinge that the spine of the hinge wraps completely around the hinge pin and is buried behind the strap. To accomplish this, notch the flat stock as shown in the drawings. Place the bands on the chest in their proper locations. Set the lid, without the bands, on the chest and mark the level of the lid’s bottom on the hinge straps. This line will be the top of the hinge’s spine. Lay out the area to be excised from the strap metal according to the hinge detail A drawing, and remove the band from the chest. Lay out the rectangle to be cut from the metal, drill out as much of this area as possible, and file away the remaining excess metal. Following the instructions on page 10, bend the spines for the hinges and replace the bands on the chest. If the construction of these hinges seems confusing, make paper models of the hinge ends illustrated in the hinge details A and B, and bend them to shape until the concept becomes clear.

  Replace the lid and set the bands that form the upper portion of the hinges in place, with the unformed hinge ends falling behind the finished lower halves of the hinges. Mark the location of the top line of the lower half of each hinge on the lid straps. Remove the lid straps and lay out the Hshaped areas to be cut away according to the hinge detail B drawing; be certain that the notches fall below the line of the top of the lower half of the hinge. Bend the spine for this half of the hinge. Repeat the process on the opposite end of each band to form the top end of the hasp and the lock cover joints according to the hinge detail A drawing. Cut any excess metal on the back end of each strap to the 2-inch length indicated in the drawings.

  Reposition the straps on the chest’s body and put the lid and lid straps in place. Check the alignment of the hinges by inserting the hinge pins. Drill and nail the lid straps to the lid, and then drill and nail the straps
onto the chest. When two or three nails have secured each strap in place, remove the hinge pins and take off the lid to allow the body to be turned for insertion of the remaining nails.

  Final Case Bands

  Bend and attach the bands running down the ends and across the bottom of the chest. When these bands have been nailed in place, set the lid on the chest and permanently install the hinge pins.

  Hasps and Lock Cover

  From 1/8-inch strap metal, cut three identical plates to form the hasps and lock cover. Heat and shape the curled handle and hinge section. For the two hasps, mark and cut out two rectangular holes, as shown in the drawings, by drilling and filing away excess material. For the lock cover, bend a ½-inch-wide piece of 1/16-inch strap metal to form a three-sided, right-angled figure that is 5/8 inch on the two shorter sides and 1½ inches on the single long side. Weld this piece in place on the reverse side of the lock cover at the same location as the rectangular holes on the hasp covers. Then attach these three pieces to the lid with hinge pins, peening over the pins’ ends.

  Hasp Catch

  From two 8-inch-long pieces of 1/8-inch-thick strap metal, form the hasp catches as shown in the drawings. Begin by filing or grinding the ends to points, and then heat and bend the stock to form open-ended rectangles. Mark the locations of the hasp catches through the open holes in the hasps. Drill two holes large enough to allow the hasp catches to be inserted through the metal banding beneath the hasp. Drill smaller pilot holes through the chest’s wooden face. Tap the hasp catches through the chest, and bend the ends to lie flat against the chest’s interior.

  Handle Rings and Staples

  From a 2-foot length of ¼-inch round stock, bend two rings of the size shown in the handle ring drawing. Using a 1¾-inch iron pipe as a forming mandrel will ease this job. Heat the ¼-inch stock and bend it completely around the pipe twice. Allow the metal to cool, and then saw the rings loose. Reheat the rings and hammer the ends together. Weld the ends of the rings closed. From additional ¼-inch round stock, form two horseshoe shapes and cut them to the length shown in the drawing. File or grind the ends to a point. Drill ¼-inch holes through the side bands of the chest at the appropriate locations and 1/8-inch holes through the chest’s wooden ends. Placing the staples through the rings, drive the staples through the wood and bend the ends to lie against the interior of the chest.

  Lock Plate

  Cut the lock plate from 1/8-inch flat stock as shown in the drawing. Lay out the key and lock holes on the plate, and drill and file the openings to shape. Also make holes large enough to receive a forged nail in each corner of the lock plate. The lock plate is decorated with a raised design made from a 1/32-inch-thick sheet of flat stock. Make a forming tool from a 5/8-inch piece of round stock about 4 inches in length. Round one end of the tool into a half sphere. Repeat the process with a ¼-inch length of round stock.

  Mark out the lock plate design on the 1/32-inch flat stock. It is easier to make this design in three pieces: the first with one of the grape clusters and a length of stem, the second with the second cluster and more stem, and the third with only the pod shape where the two stems join. Lay the flat stock on a flat piece of softwood; pine will work best. Place the large forming tool at the center of one of the grapes and strike it with a hammer. It should indent the shape of one grape into the metal. After every one or two grapes are indented, turn over the metal plate to tap out the warps and dents. This is a slow, tedious process.

  Form the stems in the same way. A series of taps along the stem line will eventually form the stem. Alternatively, bend a length of ¼-inch stock to the shape of the stem. Lay it along the stem line and slowly tap along its length with a hammer. After the pieces are formed, cut out the shapes and file the edges smooth. Then solder the decorative shapes onto the lock plate.

  Handles

  The original handles are gone, but they were undoubtedly formed from lengths of either heavy plaited leather or braided rope.

  Finish

  Coat this chest with a dark stain followed by a coat of boiled linseed oil to closely approximate the original finish.

  PROJECT 24

  Paneled Coffer

  Paneled Coffer, English, circa 1550. Oak and metal, 18¼ x 28¾ x 14¾ inches. Collection of Haddon Hall, Bakewell, Derbyshire, England. Photo by Daniel Diehl.

  This marvelous little oak chest probably dates from the middle of the sixteenth century. It is not as magnificent as the grand examples of Tudor furniture, but the finely worked linenfold panels on the front, as well as the overall care that went into its construction, mark it as the property of someone of importance and means. Neither large enough to have been a clothing chest nor small enough to have held jewelry, this type of chest typically would have been used to carry the personal possessions of a nobleman, lady, or rich merchant on his or her frequent journeys. Medieval travel was an arduous and often extended undertaking, and wealthy travelers contrived to take as many attractive creature comforts with them as possible. That the lid doubles as a surprisingly comfortable seat is an indication that this coffer was intended as a multipurpose piece of travel furniture.

  The small trough or tray built into the top left-hand corner of the box suggests a storage place for quill pens to keep them apart from the chest’s other contents. If this is an accurate guess, it is quite possible that this was the traveling office of a merchant or the steward of a great estate, such as Haddon Hall, where it currently resides. The portable coffer is certainly attractive enough to have served equally well as a handsome piece of furniture in the home or place of business. Although no records of its original owner exist, Haddon Hall has housed it for several centuries.

  Construction Notes

  There is nothing complex about the chest’s actual construction, but it has a plethora of hidden joints: all the framing members are connected with mortise and tenon joints, and all the panels, as well as the bottom, are held in place with rabbet joints. If you carefully mark the location of each piece of the chest and follow the instructions step by step, you should have no trouble producing a rather extraordinary little piece of furniture that will fit comfortably in any modern or period home.

  Materials

  The entire coffer is made of fine English oak. For those in the United States, we suggest using good white oak; it may cost more than red oak, but this charming chest deserves the best materials. The small size of this piece requires neither oversize timbers nor special millwork. The framing members can all be made from standard-dimension oak, and the panels can be planed down from standard 1-inch stock. The raised panels will require full 1-inch stock, available from any good lumber mill. All the dowels used in this chest are 3/8 inch in diameter. We recommend using standard birch or maple doweling, both available at any lumberyard.

  Top Construction

  To become accustomed to the frame and panel type construction used throughout the chest, you will probably find it easiest to begin with the top of the chest. Cut the two long rails and three stiles to length, allowing an extra 2 inches on each stile for the tenons. Cut each tenon to the size shown in the front detail drawing: 1 inch long, 2 inches wide, and ½ inch thick.

  To accurately cut the mortises, mark the proper location of each tenon on the corresponding rail. If you cut the tenons by hand, measure each of them individually, as there might be slight variations. If you cut them on a table saw, they should be identical. Drill a small hole at each corner of the mortise to a depth of 1 inch. With chisels, remove the bulk of the material from the mortise. Be careful not to cut the mortise too large, or the tenon will be too loose. After removing the bulk of the material, clean up the sides and corners of the mortise with a small, sharp chisel. During this last phase of work, fit the tenon frequently to prevent overcutting the mortise. Gently tap the tenon into the mortise with a wooden mallet or softly smack it with the palm of your hand.

  Now cut the chamfering around the edges of the panels with a router, drawknife, or spokeshave. If you are us
ing a router, you can wait until the top is complete; if you are using hand tools, you must do this before the top is assembled. Chamfering dimensions are given in the section A drawing, but note that, as shown in the top view drawing, they stop ¼ inch short of the corners of the panel frame. If you cut the chamfers with a router, clean up these corners with a chisel or sharp knife to make them crisp and clean. Next, cut the panels to size, allowing ¾ inch of additional stock on each of the four sides so that they can be mounted into the frame.

  For a cross-sectional view of the top panels, see the section A drawing. It is obvious that the panels are simple, flat pieces of ½-inch-thick wood that have been rabbeted into the surrounding frame. Disassemble the frame, marking the edge of each rail and stile that will need to be rabbeted to receive a panel. Set up your table saw to cut a ½-inch-wide groove in the center of the 1½-inch-thick framing members. The grooves may run the entire length of the stiles, but be sure that they do not run through the ends of the long rails. If they do, the saw cuts will be visible on the lid ends. After cutting the rabbet grooves and checking the panels for a snug fit into the rabbets, assemble the entire frame of the top, with the panels in place. If the joints were well cut, the top should need very little adjustment to be pulled into square. If you are satisfied with the fit, disassemble the piece. If you wish, put a light coat of glue on the inside of the frame’s mortises.

  Reassemble the lid, pull it into square with cabinet clamps, and drill and dowel the mortise and tenon joints as explained on page 1. Remove the clamps after the glue has dried thoroughly. If you were waiting to chamfer around the panels with a router, do so now. Clean up the corners of the chamfers before laying the top aside.