Chapter XIII

How to Make an Umbrella Stand

The umbrella stand (Fig. 81) and the other pieces that will be described hereafter are best made of quarter-sawed white oak. It should be purchased mill-planed to the desired thicknesses and should be well seasoned. Using- the accompanying working drawing, Fig. 82, first make out a stock bill and then work the pieces to the sizes and shapes indicated. The back frame should be made first, then the bottom and front, next the sides, and finally the pegs. The gen­eral directions for laying out duplicate parts, as given for making the taboret, apply to the making of this stand as well as to all other projects.

In the making of the back framework, a new joint— the cross-lap—has to be reckoned with. Proceed as follows: Having squared up the pieces of the back to their proper sizes, measure from their ends the dis­tance the nearer edge of the joint is to be and at this point square a sharp line across the edge. It is taken for granted that the pieces are to be worked in pairs. By superimposing one piece on the other, find and mark with the knife point the location of the other edge. At this point square sharp knife lines across, using try-square and knife.

Fig. 81 —Umbrella Stand

The pieces are to be so placed in the finished work that all the face sides shall be on the same side of the frame, therefore the cross lines will be on the face sides of half of the pieces, but across the back sides of the other pieces. It is well to lay the pieces in the positions they are to hold relative to one another in the finished piece and mark the corresponding parts of the joints as was indicated in the marking- of the taboret. They may be marked temporarily with pencil marks, but as soon as the joints are cut and the parts fitted, chiseled Roman numerals should be made in the bot­toms of the grooves.

The parts of the cross-lap joint are to be laid out and the bottoms chiseled as was the dado of the taboret. Lines are carried across the broad surface where the groove is to be made, and down the two edges. Gauge lines between these knife lines, on the edges, indicate the depth. The gauge should be set to one-half the thickness of the piece. The same setting will serve all the pieces, but it is of the utmost importance that the head of the gauge be held against the face sides only of the pieces. Beginners frequently think that because the groove is cut on the back side of some of the pieces, that the gauging must be done from the back side. If the pieces were all of the same thickness, and the gauge set exactly in the middle of that thickness, no harm would be done. This is very seldom the case. If the head of the gauge is held against the faces, no harm can be done, for should the groove be gauged too deep on one part, the other part will have the groove correspondingly shallow and the faces will be even and smooth after the parts are assembled.

The sides of these grooves should be sawn exactly to the lines, the kerfs coming on the waste wood (Fig. 83).

The wood being hard, no more paring than is absolute­ly necessary to make the parts fit properly should be required.

A good cross-lap joint is one in which the parts fit snugly, yet not so tightly as to spring the pieces out of line. Having fitted the parts, scrape the pieces and fasten the joints, using good hot glue and hand clamps. Figure 84 shows the cor­rect way of placing a hand clamp. Figure 85 illus­trates the manner of rotat­ing a hand clamp to open or close the jaws to the approx­imate setting. When the opening has been made, place the jaws, then tighten the shoulder spindle and after that the end spindle. In releasing a clamp, the end spindle must be released first.

Fig. 88 —Cutting End Pieces without Waste

Hot glue is obtained by boiling chip glue in a double boiler, Fig. 86. In the outer boiler is water. The glue in the inner boiler is heated by the steam and hot water of this outer boiler. To prepare the glue, place the chips in the inner boiler and pour water over them so that they are just covered. Allow them to soak over night, then heat. Cabinet workers usually heat the wood too in cold weather, a warming oven of steam pipes being used. While the glue is hardening, the other parts may be made. There is nothing- requiring special instruc­tion except, perhaps, the design. The arrow is merely suggestive. The one end is made by boring a hole through the slat. The shaft is cut with the ripsaw. The head is sawn with a coping saw or scroll saw.

Plane the pegs up in one piece. They are to be "let in" to holes bored into the frame. Use glue and in addition wedge the peg tenons from the back, Fig. 87. By working the end pieces as in Fig. 88, lumber will be saved. Put the rest of the frame together by means of screws.

A copper drip pan should be made for the bottom The copper need not be heavy since the tray is sup­ported on all sides.

Fig. 91 — Whetting and Removing the Wire Edge

In this, as well as in making the pieces of furniture to be described later, it will be necessary to have a cabinet scraper for smoothing the surfaces. The mill-marks should be removed as far as practicable with the smooth plane. The scraper is to follow and will be found necessary where the grain is curled or crossed. There are special forms of holders for the scraper steels, but they are not necessary. Figure 89 shows a scraper in use. It may be either pushed or pulled. For a scraper to do good work, it must be sharp, be held at the correct cutting angle for the burr formed and be bowed by pressing with the thumbs so as to make the middle of the cutting edge cut first and most. A shearing cut is best and the stroke should be along the grain so that the hard grain may support the soft spring growth of wood.

Fig. 92A —Flattening the Edge

Fig. 92B —Turning the Edge

When the scraper ceases to take off shavings, it should be sharpened. To do this, place the scraper in the vise and file the edge straight; it may be slightly rounded from end to end, if desired, and square across. (See Fig. 90.) Then, by means of the oil stone remove the wire edges and leave the edge of the scraper with good square corners. (See Fig. 91.) Again place the steel in the vise and using a burnisher, a smooth piece of steel, draw up the arrises, as in Fig. 92-A. Now force the arrises down as in Fig. 92-B. The angle at which the scraper is to be held in cutting will depend upon the angle at which this burr is formed with ref­erence to the scraper's surface. It can be told only by trial.

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