Stickley 3 door buffet. design and construction Q's

I will be starting to gather materials and prepare for my build of a Stickley based piece for my home.

Attachment 391926


It will be quarter sawn white oak with aniline dye to darken the wood and a wiping varnish finish. Finished up with a black wax to fill the pores and contrast with the wood grain. I have done simple square leaded glass for another A&C build I did. But am not sure if I will do this leaded glass or farm it out.

I have prepared a sketch up model to the dimensions needed to fit the location it will be in our home.

Attachment 391925

Dims are
72" Long for the top. case is 6 inches less so 66" long.
17" deep
32" high.

i have a few questions about construction methods. Hoping for some help.

1. I plan on shiplapped or T n G solid wood back center screwed to rabbets in the back of the case.. Wondering what thickness material might be appropriate. 3/8ths? 1/2"?.


2. The design of this case relies on frame and panel sides with a single long bottom rail (one front and one back ) going across the length of the entire 66" case. I will be using a Domino for floating tenon joints. Wondering if this would call for 1" thick material for the side frames and/or the single long 2 3/4" wide bottom rail along the front and back of the case?


3. Doors are inset with butt hinges.. Is 3/4" thick material for door frames appropriate structurally, considering the leaded panels will add some wight on the relatively small doors? would 7/8 or 1" be necessary?


4. How should I secure the top. I was assuming pillow blocks held by recesses in the cabinet sides and dividers would work well here?

Thanks in advance.

You didn't ask about this, but using one-by material for the legs looks odd to me. Two-by posts would look better to my eye.

1. The back: 1/2 in. thick slats in a frame with two intermediate stiles.

2. There will be a long rail at the top of the back and most likely a frame just under the top and behind the doors. The side frames should be at least 1 in. thick. I agree with Jamie that they look too thin for this piece. Thicker would be better.

3. 3/4 in. thick for the door frames will be fine.

4. Pillow blocks? What are those? You could use wooden buttons or metal Z-clips to attach the top but I would be inclined to drill holes in the top frame members--elongate the ones nearest the edges--and round head screws with flat washers in counterbores. It's not unlikely that someday someone will try to pick this thing up by its top and you probably don't want the top to come off.

I tweaked the design a bit and bumped the side panel thickness up but to thicker material and settled on 7/8ths thickness. Just what looked best to me . Tweaked the door rails and stiles to try and balance out the visual weight of the doors and am pretty happy with it right now..

Dave Yes, makes sense to have a rail along the back. I also added one along the front laying flat against top. As well you are right in using those rails to secure the top.

Still a a few more questions needing input.

1. 1" x 2 3/4" thick rails below the doors and under the back..the long ones that span the length of the case)? 1" thick or is 3/4" OK

2. construct and attach the bottom? Frame and panel for the bottom with stiles where the vertical dividers run? Is there a simpler way that works? Currently ( where the bottom attaches to the front). I have it butted against the bottom rail that runs below the doors along the front. For the back of the bottom i have it laying over the lower rear rail so it can expand if necessary. Comments?

3. There vertical dividers. Ho to attach to the bottom and the top. the original seems to have them butted to the front bottom rail. No dado or sliding dovetail. these support the door hinges for at least one door so I am wondering how to secure them. Do they even need to be solid panels running the full depth of the pieced?


d4.Finally I'm still not convinced of going frame and panel for the back . Shiplap seems more appropriate to Stickley pieces So currently I have the back designed to accept a back regardless of which I ultimately chose. ( just notice) I don't show rabbets in the side panels yet to accept the back. . but I'll have them there shortly)

Thanks.

Attachment 391981Attachment 391979Attachment 391980

To my eye, you missed most of the characteristics of "Stickley". As others have noted the side panels are too thin. I would make them at least 1-1/4" thick. The bottom rail ought to be an inch or two wider, and at least an inch thick. When I'm building an Arts & Crafts period reproduction I start thinking as the case goes together that it would be a good place to hide if a tornado comes along. Last but not least, it looks like all of the stiles and rails on the front are the same width. That makes it look as if it came out of a kitchen cabinet factory. In authentic pieces, lower rails were wide, followed by hinge stiles on paired doors. Three doors won't let you do that, but varying the width of these parts will make the front much more interesting.

My apologies if this sounds harsh, but you would do well to get your hands on a copy of the turn of the century (19th-20th) Stickley catalogs or spend some time looking at images of antiques online. People calling furniture something it isn't is a pet peeve of mine. If we don't get the history of the things we build right, our kids and grandkids won't appreciate the real thing when it comes along.

Bob Lang

No prob Bob, I know your credentials on this. I have one of your books.

I guess i should have been clear. The first picture above is out of the current Stickley Catalog. Not Gustav or the Stickley Bros. I like this piece as it is and am not going for a Gustav Stickley design . But the contemporary Stickley Co.
Thanks for the suggestions tho.

If I'm going to fuss, I should probably fuss at them. I realized that was a current catalog picture after I hit the "post" button. Some of their current lineup is reproductions from the period and some of it (like the piece you pictured) are rather bland and boring designs only distantly related to the real stuff. But if you like it, you like it and that's okay. If it were me, I would carry the lines of the rails on the side panels across the front and make the door stiles wider. It would also look better if each element in the front stepped back a little bit from adjacent elements.

Bob Lang

Joel
You are starting a nice project. A couple of things will make it much better.

Do install the leaded glass, without it your piece will be a bit uninteresting.

With Oak, use of grain is critical. Get the best material you can and plan to scrap a lot of it.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Tom Bender

Joel
You are starting a nice project. A couple of things will make it much better.

Do install the leaded glass, without it your piece will be a bit uninteresting.

With Oak, use of grain is critical. Get the best material you can and plan to scrap a lot of it.

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Oh for sure Tom! I completely agree. I never planned nor would have planned to build this without the Leaded glass. As you stated. without the glass this cabinet would be pretty boring.

I recently built a fireplace mantel/cabinet for my home and also used leaded glass in the build. I made the panels myself and am not sure if I will also make these leaded glass panels..since they are a bit more complex than the simple ones I used for my mantel/cabinet.

That build also was QSWO and I designed it inspired by the arts and crafts movement.

https://sawmillcreek.org/showthread....Mantle-Cabinet

It seems that nobody commented on construction of the bottom. I was hoping you'd get some input on that. I have the same question for a project I am planning.