stickley bench project


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Hi all,

   Looking to begin building a replica of a stickley hall bench (to the best of my novice ability). I have searched high and low and cannot find any plans that might break this build down to make it a little simpler to tackle. That said, can any of you give me your best determination on wood sizes in the included picture to get me started? I am thinking the lid is 3/4" and maybe the 4 posts (front and back) are 3x3?!? anyway, an ideas you guys have would be greatly appreciated. My only downfall right now is that I don't have a jointer, however, I have a supplier who pre-planes and joints their wood, so I will have at least 2 square sides to work with. 

Hall Bench design.jpg

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You sound like a pro. I'd say the bench is 3/4" the arms look slightly thicker at a full 1". Legs look to me like 3"x3" and also look like they have the veneer trick done to them. Think Gee-Dub has a good write up on it somewhere.

So if it were me id' use 5/4 for all the frame parts. I'd resaw 5/4 for the panels and install them in a groove. My guess is a chamfered edge to give that panel look which i like on this piece. Bench could be 4/4 but if you are buying 5/4 already i'd stick with it, Looking at this picture i personally think the bench could do with a bit more thickness to increase the typical masculine style of the Stickley designs.

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Looks like tiger oak but I will be using white oak. I am a little terrified of resawing as my saw tends to travel. I even went through the setup a few times to make sure I wasn't missing something. Though I was resawing white oak (can't promise they were square unwarped boards to be honest) and trying to make book match pieces for practice. I have a Jet 14" bandsaw with a Timberwolf 3/4" blade (don't ask me the TPI as I will have to go look at my saw lol). Im a little inexperienced with resawing wood and maybe even a little underprepared. The fence I purchased for the saw is a kreg fence that I never like to trust and end up measuring the front and back of the fence to the outside edge of the table to make sure it appears square. Anyway, I am aware that I need to build a taller fence addon to help with bigger pieces. Maybe with some practice, this will get better. I know that this task will be essential in this build if I intend to save money on some of the milling costs.

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Do you have a thickens planer? One thing i did when i had an unreliable band saw was to start the resaw at the table saw with a thin kerf blade and then finish the middle part on the band saw. This limits the strain on the band saw you can ditch the fence and just follow the groove. It does require planing afterward. but then any resawing will.

I would guess that the back is angled for comfort. I think 7 degrees is on the low end with 10 being better.

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I have the same problem resawing on the bandsaw, so I do the same as Chestnut. Two passes on the table saw with a thin kerf rip blade, leaving a narrow connecting strip, and then finish with the bandsaw (if the board is under 6 inches wide so it fits). Then the thickness planer cleans it up.

I do like Stickley pieces with some heft. I like to use a full 1" for most parts, or 7/8 at the least.

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40 minutes ago, Geoffrey said:

I have the same problem resawing on the bandsaw, so I do the same as Chestnut. Two passes on the table saw with a thin kerf rip blade, leaving a narrow connecting strip, and then finish with the bandsaw (if the board is under 6 inches wide so it fits). Then the thickness planer cleans it up.

I do like Stickley pieces with some heft. I like to use a full 1" for most parts, or 7/8 at the least.

I don't do this any longer. One thing is don't do the full depth of the table saw cut. 3" of blade always made me uncomfortable i'd typically do an inch of 1.5". For a 6" panel that doesn't leave much meat for the band saw to take care of.

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I used a laminating and veneer technique to get thick legs with normal dimension stock in my Arts and Craft sideboard build.  It should help you get an idea of how to make your legs the dimension you need.  It is one of the first things I did so it is in the first part of the journal below.

 

 

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That is definitely white oak with some kind of finish process on it. Doesn't appear to be fumed its kinda red for that. I think nut is right on with most of his observations provided although I suspect the bench may be 7/8 and the arms an 1". I have made a couple of pieces over the last year and both were on the thicker side.

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