Arts and Crafts Bench & Coat rack

[Kudzu]

These are my wife's design. She sketched out what she wanted and I took if from there. At first we were going with a elliptical cutout on the front to match the kitchen cabinets. I am still looking for trammel points and my first string made ellipse came out ..... well crappy to be honest. Asked her about doing something else and she cam up with sort of a Greene and Greene look.



Since she wanted them painted I used some pine I had laying in the shop left over from closet shelving. Chiseling the 1/2" square holes in the pine was not easy. next time I use hardwood even if I paint it. The pine wanted to split and chip and just not coperate at all.

This is the first real furniture I have made in 8 years? It's SO NICE to have a shop again! I am having way to much fun.        

This is a matching coat rack(?) Not sure what to call it. It will mount on the wall over the bench in the Laundry room. Like the bench it's pine and maple top.



Since I have to drill holes to anchior it to the studs in the wall, I want to plug the the holes. I have waited to mount the coat hooks till after it is in place. Then I will have to give it another coat of paint and do the final touch-ups.

Kind of a shame they are going in the Laundry Room where no one but us will see them.  Next project, a set of Arts and Craft garage doors.

[Charlie Jones]

Looks quite nice.

Chiseling pine will sure show you just exactly how sharp your chisels REALLY are won't it? If they ain't RAZOR sharp they won't cut clean.

[Frank Hagan]

I like it!  I've always been partial to the Arts and Crafts style and that does look very much like the Greene and Greene influence.

I'm planning to build some small end tables next.  I'm thinking these will be my first design/build pieces, because its a case of "form follows function" ... we need three very narrow tables for our family room.  They will be in the Greene and Greene type of style (there's another one that I like very much, who used more complex joinery, but I've forgotten his name).

[Kudzu]

Looks quite nice.

Chiseling pine will sure show you just exactly how sharp your chisels REALLY are won't it? If they ain't RAZOR sharp they won't cut clean.

Absolutely! These were reasonable sharp but needed a touch up. I use the scary sharp method and I can shave hair with them when done.

But I am out of sandpaper and they needed a touch up. Plus I have a about 6 new (old) chisels I have acquired that need sharpening (more like restoring!) and new handles turned. Now that I am finding some time in the shop instead of building on the house I am going to finish that dedicated sharpening station I started and stock it too.