The original of this design was actually made up in white wood, stained and finished to harmonize with black walnut furniture; but it may be made up in oak, ash, cherry, or any of the common woods used for furniture. For one bookcase the stock required is as follows, the sizes allowing for finishing to the dimensions as given in the drawing: For the ends, two pieces 7⁄8 inch × 101⁄4 inches × 4 feet 21⁄2 inches; for the short shelves, three pieces 7⁄8 inch × 101⁄4 inches × 3 feet 1 inch; for the long shelves, two pieces, 7⁄8 inch × 101⁄4 inches × 3 feet 5 inches; for the base pieces, two pieces 7⁄8 inch × 63⁄4 × inches × 3 feet; for the keys, one piece 7⁄8 inch × 7⁄8 inch × 1 foot. In addition to this there should be two dozen No. 10 round-headed blued screws, and one half dozen 11⁄2 inch No. 10 flat headed blued screws.
The tools needed are as follows: Rip saw, cross cut saw, back saw, compass, jack-plane, smoothing plane, block plane, spokeshave, try square, steel square, rule, knife, hammer, mallet, screw-driver, 3⁄4, 1⁄2, and 3⁄16 inch bits and bitstock, and 1⁄2 and 3⁄4 inch chisels, gauges, and sand-paper.
Details and dimensions for a knock-down bookcase
Construction.—All the stock should be jointed, planed to width, and smoothed with sand-paper. The two end pieces should be squared to length, the top corners rounded, and the curve at the bottom cut as shown in the drawing. Care should be exercised in sand-papering not to round the edges. The correct spacing for the shelves should then be marked off on the end pieces and squared across, care being taken to have both ends spaced alike. To do this plane the ends together, with their edges flush; and, beginning at the bottom, measure off each of the spaces with correct allowance for the thickness of the shelf and mark these spaces across the edge. Then, separate the end pieces and with the marks on the edges as a guide, square across each of the end pieces on the inside and mark with a knife. In allowing for the thickness of the shelves it should be remembered that the stock, though originally 7⁄8 of an inch in thickness, has been planed and sand-papered, some of the shelves perhaps having been finished down more than others. It will therefore be necessary to measure and allow for the thickness of each shelf separately.
Method of gaining-in the shelves
The three middle shelves are "gained" in—i. e., set into grooves in the upright ends—1⁄4 of an inch deep, as shown in the sketch. It will be better craftsmanship if the grooves are not carried across the full width of the end pieces but stopped, say, one inch from the edge, the shelves being cut to fit, as shown in the drawing. If this be done, the grooves should be cut out carefully with a chisel. If the grooves be carried across the full width of the end, they may be cut down with a back saw and then chiselled out. To insure a good fit in either case care should be exercised not to cut outside the knife lines. Chisel the bottom of the grooves carefully so that they will be uniformly 1⁄4 of an inch deep.
The next step is to cut the mortises for the top and bottom shelves. The dimensions for these should first be laid off on the stock by means of a gauge. They should then be bored well inside the marks and carefully chiselled out. Before this chiselling is done, however, knife lines should be marked on the outside of the end pieces exactly opposite the gauge lines. In mortising, as in cutting the grooves, the greatest care will need to be exercised that the chisel does not cut outside the knife lines. In working for a close fit it is better to err on the side of removing too little stock at first, if one must err at all, since it is quite easy to remove a little more in the final fitting. It is quite impossible to replace stock once removed.