This is described as "Gustav Stickley Triple Door Miter Mullion Bookcase"
circa 1903. Although it's superficially similar to the L&JG Stickley #331
bookcase, the detailing on this one is much finer:

http://www.craftsman-auctions.com/14009.html

At auction this piece went for $35000. A 331 went for $17000. I would
really like to know how those glass doors go together with enough strength
to keep from falling apart under their own weight.

I'm trying to duplicate this piece in appearance if not exact construction.
The bookcase will be quarter or rift sawn white oak with ammonia fuming and
a shelac or Watco overcoat.

--
I can find no modern furniture that is as well designed and emotionally
satisfying as that made by Gustav Stickley in the early years of the last
century.

Well, my guess would be (for each door), 2 uprights, 2 cross pieces, 17
pieces for between the panes, grooves on the edge of each piece just
wide enough for the glass, and glue on all wood-wood contact points.

Assembly done on a large, flat surface starting with one upright and
both cross pieces. Maybe a tenon on the ends of the cross pieces and
the ends of the "between" pieces that connect to the uprights and cross
pieces. Tenon fits in the same groove as the glass. Work fast, and
clamp it flat and square.

Only thing that bothers me is the joints where the four pointed ends
come together between panes. How about grooving those as well and
putting a square piece in there to "key" the pieces together?

No doubt someone (perhaps everyone) else will have better ideas here.

Jon Larsson

"Ed Clarke" wrote in message
...
This is described as "Gustav Stickley Triple Door Miter Mullion Bookcase"
circa 1903. Although it's superficially similar to the L&JG Stickley #331
bookcase, the detailing on this one is much finer:

http://www.craftsman-auctions.com/14009.html

At auction this piece went for $35000. A 331 went for $17000. I would
really like to know how those glass doors go together with enough strength
to keep from falling apart under their own weight.

I'm trying to duplicate this piece in appearance if not exact
construction.
The bookcase will be quarter or rift sawn white oak with ammonia fuming
and
a shelac or Watco overcoat.

Just a thought . . Are those individual panes of glass, or one big piece
with the mullions purely aesthetic decoration? Either way, the main frame
would be mortise & tenon. Are the rails & stiles grooved to accept the
glass, or rabbeted so the glass is put in after assembly, with some kind of
retainer strips?

--
Nahmie
Those on the cutting edge bleed a lot.

I have an oak entertainment center that has a similar door. Instead of
individual panes, there is a single piece of glass behind the mullions.
Seems like this would simplify the construction and yet still provide
the appearance that you want.

"Ed Clarke" wrote in message
...
This is described as "Gustav Stickley Triple Door Miter Mullion Bookcase"
circa 1903. Although it's superficially similar to the L&JG Stickley #331
bookcase, the detailing on this one is much finer:

http://www.craftsman-auctions.com/14009.html

At auction this piece went for $35000. A 331 went for $17000. I would
really like to know how those glass doors go together with enough strength
to keep from falling apart under their own weight.

I'm trying to duplicate this piece in appearance if not exact
construction.
The bookcase will be quarter or rift sawn white oak with ammonia fuming
and
a shelac or Watco overcoat.

--
I can find no modern furniture that is as well designed and emotionally
satisfying as that made by Gustav Stickley in the early years of the last
century.

Two years ago I made a very similar cabinet, just one door, for my wife. The
door used mortise/tenon joints and one sheet of glass. I glued the
individual panes to the glass along the shelf lines. While the door is
heavy, it's secured to the cabinet with two pocket hinges and it works
great.

Ed, take a look at this link.
http://www.woodshopphotos.com/albums...lion.sized.jpg

I did a quick sketch for you. Cutting the mullions this way would give
you a decent glue surface. Although I didn't draw it, (I guess I could
do it if you want) you could make the glass stops which hold the glass
in as continuous lengths crossing the joint and joining the short
pieces together this would add some stiffness to the assembly.

In the photo you linked to, the mullions are mitered on the outside
and the glass is individual pieces. Doing this would make it a bit
nicer if a pane got broken. You only need to replace the one pane and
not all the glass in the door.

It would also make the door slightly lighter due to the reduced amount
of glass.

Hope the sketch helps.

Dave

Ed Clarke wrote:
This is described as "Gustav Stickley Triple Door Miter Mullion
Bookcase"
circa 1903. Although it's superficially similar to the L&JG Stickley
#331
bookcase, the detailing on this one is much finer:

http://www.craftsman-auctions.com/14009.html

At auction this piece went for $35000. A 331 went for $17000. I
would
really like to know how those glass doors go together with enough
strength
to keep from falling apart under their own weight.

I'm trying to duplicate this piece in appearance if not exact
construction.
The bookcase will be quarter or rift sawn white oak with ammonia
fuming and
a shelac or Watco overcoat.

--
I can find no modern furniture that is as well designed and
emotionally
satisfying as that made by Gustav Stickley in the early years of the
last
century.


Not sure if this would add more work, but you could use half lap
joints, and then veneer on the outside face with the mitered corners.
You would get strength from the half laps, but the look of the mitered
intersections. It would be alot easier to glue up.

While a single pane of glass will simplify construction it has the
drawback of limiting the structural strength of the door as the
dividers are merely suspended as decoration, leaving the frame to carry
the load. This is exactly how my house windows are divided. These
dividers have a joint that is identical to the one Dave illustrated.
The problem with my house dividers is that twice when I removed them to
clean the window they broke right at the intersection. The joint is
too weak here.

I have an alternative idea that I have not tried before but don't know
why it would not work. If you divide the door vertically into thirds
and use three tall panes of glass you would be able to reduce the
amount of glass to replace if there is damage, and also be able to use
two long vertical dividers to connect the top and bottom rails with a
mortise and tenon. The vertical dividers would have horizontal ones on
the exterior but none on the interior. If this is unappealing visually
when the door is open (I wonder about such things) I am sure a frame
with a 3 x 4 grid of false dividers could be used.

The thicker vertical dividers would accept lapped horizontal ones which
should create a very strong joint, but perhaps not as visually
appealing. In any event good luck with your project and post it to
ABPW when you have finished so we can all see the results!

Ed Clarke wrote:
This is described as "Gustav Stickley Triple Door Miter Mullion
Bookcase"
circa 1903. Although it's superficially similar to the L&JG Stickley
#331
bookcase, the detailing on this one is much finer:

http://www.craftsman-auctions.com/14009.html

At auction this piece went for $35000. A 331 went for $17000. I
would
really like to know how those glass doors go together with enough
strength
to keep from falling apart under their own weight.

I'm trying to duplicate this piece in appearance if not exact
construction.
The bookcase will be quarter or rift sawn white oak with ammonia
fuming and
a shelac or Watco overcoat.

--
I can find no modern furniture that is as well designed and
emotionally
satisfying as that made by Gustav Stickley in the early years of the
last
century.

On 2005-02-04, Dave wrote:
Ed, take a look at this link.
http://www.woodshopphotos.com/albums...lion.sized.jpg

That's great! It's not exactly clear to me how to cut the X in the long
pieces - using a saw would leave a blade's width gap in the miter. Doing
it by hand with only a chisel would take a very long time and there are
eighteen of those joints in the three doors. The short sides are trivial
to cut by machine.

I'll build a test four pane door to see what it looks like.

By the way, what's your last name? I'm going to document this project and
want to give credit where credit is due...

--
I can find no modern furniture that is as well designed and emotionally
satisfying as that made by Gustav Stickley in the early years of the last
century.

Ed, I'm not sure any credit is due my way but the last name is
Richards.

Hang tight, I'll do another drawing for you.

Dave

If this shows up a second time, my apologies. I tried once about 20
minutes ago and I see no sign of it.

Try this:
http://www.woodshopphotos.com/albums...m/mullion3.jpg

C and D are made to equal the depth of the groove in A, B, etc. plus
the glass thickness and the glass stop which isn't shown.

The groove is cut in long pieces from which the short ones are mitered.

Glue C into A & B. Glue E & F to C and glue D in place.

Really nice detail. I think you could do this as seperate pieces. That
is, rather than cutting rabbits, cut the mullions as shown from 1/2"
stock and cut sticks from 1/2" stock to overlay on the back. The you
could half lap the sticks at the intersetions (I'd lap the sticks into
the frame too) and really have a strong setup. As long as you have a
good table to lay this out one it should be pertty easy to assemble.

An interesting note. I did a modified version of a #700 Stickley
Bookcase http://www.sonomaproducts.com/Furniture/JL-BC-POP.htm. One
mistake was to use a 1/8" (or 1/4" can't recall) ply back. Without the
weight of the standard solid wood back, the door is heavy enough to tip
the case forward when you open it (when it's empty). I think 3/4" ply
would have provided enough weight but it was pretty surprising the
first time it came falling over.

http://www.woodshopphotos.com/albums...m/mullion3.jpg
How about this?

Make C and D thick enough to fit the groove plowed in the front mullion
pieces (A, B, E, F) plus the thickness of the glass and the stop which
isn't shown.

Glue C to A and B and all the other As and Bs. Glue E and F in place
then glue D in place.

Pieces A, B, C & D can be grooved in long strips. Then the miters cut.
As you say, this would be trivial.

Hope this works for you.

Dave

Hi Dave,

I have nothing to offer, but I want to thank
you for your drawings. I think that I could
actually do something like this on our new
AV center that I am designing.

This is what is so great about the "wreck"!

Lou

In article . com, Dave
wrote:

http://www.woodshopphotos.com/albums...m/mullion3.jpg
How about this?

Make C and D thick enough to fit the groove plowed in the front mullion
pieces (A, B, E, F) plus the thickness of the glass and the stop which
isn't shown.

Glue C to A and B and all the other As and Bs. Glue E and F in place
then glue D in place.

Pieces A, B, C & D can be grooved in long strips. Then the miters cut.
As you say, this would be trivial.

Hope this works for you.

Dave

Lou,

Thank you. These drawings are very easy for me to do and I find I learn
something by making them, too. The adage "A picture is worth a thousand
words" is very true and being able to make these to illustrate ideas is
such a big help for me.

Feel free to use these drawings if you want to build your AV center.

Dave

If you are going to go to the trouble of making furniture in the
stickley style you want to make true divided lights. The idea of using
a single pane of glass with faux dividers is a modern idea. The whole
idea of arts and crafts style was honest workmanship, you see what you
get. It is pretty difficult to fake convincingly, which is also the
point.

You could save yourself a lot of time by running dadoes and sticking
faux through tenons on with glue but the result would not be arts and
crafts.

On the quartersawn issue, most pieces I have seen have quartersawn
front pieces. What did stickley do for sides? I am looking at making a
tool cabinet. The additional cost of doing the door in QS is not that
great, but I could save a lot by doing rift sawn sides. Would this make
a big difference?

The other thing I am having difficulty with is working out how to
construct door panels so that there is a good surface to screw tool
mounts into. A loose panel is not going to work too well mechanically.