Stick with it. Make a pattern on scrap to lay out the tenon locations on the curved back rails. Hold
the stick in place and mark both ends without moving the stick.Around the bend. Mark the tenons all the
way around the slat with a square and an
adjustable bevel. Go over the lines with a knife
before cutting the shoulders with a backsaw.Quick cheeks. A band saw is an effi cient way
to cut the tenon cheeks, or you can cut them
by hand. Either way, cut a little wide and make
the tenons fi t with a shoulder plane or a fl oat.NO. ITEM DIMENSIONS (INCHES) MATERIAL COMMENTS
T W L❏ 2 Front legs 23 ⁄ 8 23 ⁄ 8 231 ⁄ 2 QSWO* 1^1 ⁄ 4 TOE**
❏ 2 Back legs 23 ⁄ 8 23 ⁄ 8 207 ⁄ 8 QSWO 1^1 ⁄ 4 TOE
❏ 12 Leg laminations^13 ⁄ 16 23 ⁄ 8 25 QSWO
❏ 8 Leg veneers^1 ⁄ 8 3 25 QSWO
❏ 2 Top side rail^7 ⁄ 8 31 ⁄ 2 245 ⁄ 8 QSWO TBE†
❏ 2 Bottom side rails^7 ⁄ 8 3 27^3 ⁄ 8 QSWO TBE
❏ 10 Side slats^5 ⁄ 8 27 ⁄ 8 16 QSWO TBE
❏ 1 Low front rail^7 ⁄ 8 43 ⁄ 8 281 ⁄ 4 QSWO TBE
❏ 1 Low back rail^7 ⁄ 8 33 ⁄ 4 281 ⁄ 4 QSWO TBE
❏ 2 Arms^15 ⁄ 16 53 ⁄ 8 353 ⁄ 4 QSWO
❏ 4 Corbels 11 ⁄ 8 2 9^7 ⁄ 8 QSWO
❏ 2 Doughnuts^5 ⁄ 16 2 dia. 9^3 ⁄ 4 QSWO
❏ 2 Pivot pins 1 1 5^3 ⁄ 4 QSWO
❏ 2 Stop pins 1 1 3^3 ⁄ 4 QSWO
❏ 2 Back stiles 11 ⁄ 2 13 ⁄ 4 2611 ⁄ 16 QSWO
❏ 1 Top back slat^3 ⁄ 4 31 ⁄ 2 213 ⁄ 8 QSWO TBE bent lamination
❏ 4 Back slats^3 ⁄ 4 23 ⁄ 4 213 ⁄ 8 QSWO TBE bent lamination
❏ 2 Seat cleats^3 ⁄ 4 1 22^7 ⁄ 8 QSWO
*QSWO = quartersawn white oak; **TOE = tenon one end, †TBE = tenon both ends
Gust av Stickley Morris Chair
1140 40
Round wooden washers hold the back as-
sembly away from the legs. These are 2" in
diameter, and I waited until the arms were
glued to the base, and the back was as-
sembled, to make them.
I used a piece of scrap 2" wide and
12" long, and aimed for a thickness half
the difference between the back and the
back legs. Then I took another^1 ⁄ 32 " off the
thickness before drilling the holes and cut-
ting the outside to a circular shape. These
doughnuts keep the back from rubbing on
the arms, but they must be thin enough to
allow the back to swing without binding.
The last pieces to be fabricated are the
four corbels that support the outer halves
of the arms at each leg. All four corbels
are cut to the pattern from 1^1 ⁄ 8 "-thick
stock. The back corbels should be about
(^1) ⁄ 2 " shorter in the straight section than the
front. The top of the back corbels also must
be angled to match the slope at the top of
the back legs below the arms.
The corbels are centered on the legs and
are held to the leg with glue and a screw in
a plugged hole. The screw isn’t necessary
as the glue alone would be strong enough,
but it makes it easier to hold the corbel in
position. Without the screw, the corbels
slide around as the clamps are tightened.
When the glue holding the corbels dried,
the screw holes were filled with dowels.
The through-tenons on the base assembly
were also pinned with dowels, as well as
the tenons in the top and bottom slats of
the back assembly.
I make dowels from straight-grained
scrap. I start with a piece about 3" long and
split blanks from the scrap with a chisel or a
stout knife. I then drive the dowels through
holes in a^1 ⁄ 4 "-thick steel dowel plate. I
whittle the ends to get them started, and
knock off the corners with a chisel so there
is less material to remove.
The dowels are coated with glue and
driven into place. After the glue has dried,
the pegs are trimmed flush with a saw. The
saw can leave a fraction of the plug proud
of the surface, so a bit of paring with a
chisel was needed in a couple places.
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