AN UMBRELLA STAND
The Design.—So far as the question of use is concerned, no problem of design could be more definite than this one, since an umbrella rack can have but one use. The only elements of beauty possible are found in simplicity, proportion, and the general effectiveness of the construction for meeting the demands of use. The drawing shows four square, straight posts, squared at the ends, which are allowed to project a little above the top to avoid a box-like effect. All the joints are mortised except the division bars at the top. The cross pieces at the base are made wider not only to conceal the drip pan but to give a more stable appearance to the whole rack.
An umbrella stand
Materials and Tools.—Oak is selected as perhaps the most appropriate wood; but other woods, if the surroundings require it, may be used to good advantage. Oak is one of the strongest and most durable of the woods used for furniture and takes well a great variety of finish. It is also quite easily obtained.
The stock requirements are as follows: Four corner posts 11⁄4 × 11⁄4 × 271⁄2 inches; four top rails 1⁄2 × 11⁄4 × 9 inches; four base rails 7⁄8 × 3 × 9 inches; two division bars 1⁄4 × 11⁄4 × 91⁄4 inches; four cleats 1⁄2 × 1⁄2 × 9 inches; and one board 1⁄2 × 71⁄2 × 71⁄2 inches to support the pan.
The same tools in general will be required as in the previous exercises, but it will be necessary to add a 1⁄4-inch bit, a 1⁄4 inch chisel, a steel scraper, and two short clamps.
Details and dimensions for umbrella rack
Construction.—All the stock should be planed to size, scraped, and sand-papered with the exception of the base board for the pan, since that is hidden from view. The scraper corrects all slight unevenness of surface and removes scratches and other blemishes. Care should be taken in sand-papering to rub always with the grain of the wood and to avoid rounding the corners. The corner posts should first be cut to proper length and the tops and bottoms slightly chamfered. Mortises are then to be located, bored, and chiselled up. The top and bottom rails should be laid off and the tenons gauged and cut, care being taken not to have them too long. The inside edges of the tenons have to be pared off slightly, as illustrated in the drawing, to allow room for each when they come together.
Top rail tenons (left) and Bottom rail tenons(right)
The next step is to assemble the parts, clamp them up, and test them for accuracy. While these parts are in the clamps, measurements should be taken for the cross pieces, which may then be made, allowing extra length of 1⁄4 of an inch in each end for the tenons to enter the top rails. These cross pieces are to be halved together at the centre, as shown in the drawing. The base rails are designed to be thick enough to take up all the space on the inside of the posts so as to hide the corner, as illustrated in the sketch showing the bottom construction.
The next step is to assemble the parts for gluing. It is not necessary to explain this process in detail, since it has already been thoroughly explained in the general section on gluing. It is not necessary to glue on the cleats on which the pan rests; they may be nailed in. When the base is glued together measurements may be taken for the pan.