A HANGING BOOK RACK

A hanging book rack

The Design.—It is designed to plan a light but strong book rack, to be fastened to the wall of a chamber. Since it is intended to occupy the space that might be given to pictures it is properly as simple in construction as a picture frame, depending upon good proportions and symmetry to give a pleasing effect. The straight lines of the design, which is illustrated above, meet these requirements and also harmonize with the general form and outline of books. Both shelves may be used for books, if desired, but the design permits them to be confined to the lower shelf, reserving the upper one as a suitable place for a bit of pottery or two, or some other choice bit of bric-à-brac. The mortise and tenon joints give the essential stiffness and strength without requiring the use of heavy stock.

Materials and Tools.—Since strength with lightness is an essential feature to realize in the working out of this design, soft woods should be avoided. Ash is probably the strongest of the light woods in common use. Oak is much stronger but heavy and hard to work. White wood is comparatively light and very strong. Gum wood is classified with ash excepting that it is closer grained. Since this book rack is to be used in a chamber in which the wood trim is in enamelled white and most of the furniture of a mahogany finish, it will be equally appropriate to make it of white wood, to be finished in enamelled white, or of bay wood as a basis for mahogany finish. It was decided to adopt the latter course.

The stock requirements for carrying out this design are as follows: 2 back posts, 1¹⁄₄ inch × 1¹⁄₄ inch × 24 inches; 2 front posts, 1¹⁄₄ inch × 1¹⁄₄ × 18 inches; 2 centre uprights, ⁵⁄₈ × 1 × 18 inches; 1 back rail, ⁵⁄₈ × 1¹⁄₄ × 37 inches; 1 end rail, 1 × 1¹⁄₄ × 44 inches; and 2 shelves, ⁷⁄₈ × 7 by 37 inches.

Construction details and dimensions for hanging book rack (front)

The tools needed are much like those required in the previous problem—i. e., the same planes, saws, bitstock, squares, and the gauge; but there will be needed a ³⁄₈-inch bit, ³⁄₈-inch and ³⁄₄-inch chisels, a knife rule, a rabbet plane, a mitre box, and a mallet.

Construction details and dimensions for hanging book rack (end)

Construction.—The details of construction required are as follows: Dressing the stock pieces, cutting the posts to length, cutting the points on the posts, rabbeting the cross rails and cutting them to length, cutting the mortise and tenons, halving on the end rails, cutting and fitting the shelves, cutting, fitting, and fastening the back rail, arranging the clamps and other appliances for gluing up, and cleaning off the glue after hardening.

How the tenon is applied to the rail

The stock pieces should be first "dressed" down to the drawing dimensions. This means that they should be planed and sand-papered preparatory to laying out the cutting dimensions. The front and back posts should be cut to length in the mitre box, care being taken to allow an extra ¹⁄₂ inch for the pointed ends at the top and bottom. These pointed ends are cut in the mitre box by raising one end of the post and sawing to lines squared around the post ¹⁄₄ inch from the other end. The angle of the cut is made uniform by resting the raised end of the post on a block lightly nailed on the inside of the mitre box, thus giving the same elevation for all the posts. The 1-inch by 1¹⁄₄-inch piece for rails is rabbeted out, using the plane designed for that purpose, and afterward cut to length as called for. The blind mortises should be made not more than ⁷⁄₈ of an inch deep, and the tenons ¹⁄₁₆ of an inch shorter in order not to strike the bottom of the mortise. One of these rails should be accurately laid out with knife lines and the rest marked from this as a pattern. The drawing shows the location of the tenon with reference to the part of the rail on which the shelf rests. This is the most convenient position for cutting the tenon and it also gives greater strength. The centre uprights should be halved on after the end rails are in position, being cut for this purpose as illustrated in the drawing. They may be allowed to stand out ¹⁄₈ of an inch beyond the face of the end rail, and in making the joint an equal amount of stock is to be taken from the rail and from the upright. The shelves are then easily cut to length and the ends fitted with the block plane and dropped into place, being lightly glued and nailed with brads from the under side of the rabbet. Finally the top back rail should be halved in, being left to the last in order that the more important fitting of the shelves may be more easily accomplished.

How the centre uprights are halved on

In gluing up the mortise and tenon joints care must be exercised to set clamps out ready for use before the glue is applied so that the parts may be promptly drawn up in position. After gluing they should be allowed to remain about ten hours in order that the glue may properly harden before the clamps are taken off. All the extra glue squeezed out of the joints in clamping must be scraped off with a chisel, after the glue has hardened a little; and any remaining spots of glue must be carefully removed with fine sand-paper so as not to leave anything to interfere with the filling and finishing.