arts-crafts-overmantel.pdf

Arts & Crafts Mantel

A project plan

for building

an elegant

overmantel

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Build an Oak Bookcase

From Getting Started in Woodworking, Season 2

B y A s A C h r i s t i A n A

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Y ou can thank Mike Pekovich,

Fine Woodworking’s art direc-

tor, for designing this simple but

stylish bookcase. He took a straightfor-

ward form--an oak bookcase with dado

and rabbet joints--and added nice pro-

portions and elegant curves.

We agreed that screws would reinforce

the joints nicely, and that gave us a de-

sign option on the sides. Choose oak

plugs, and align the grain carefully, and

the plugs disappear. Make them from a

contrasting wood, like walnut, and the

rows of plugs add a nice design feature

to the broad sides, hinting at the con-

struction in a subtle way.

By design the bookcase contains a

number of fundamental lessons for

would-be furniture-makers, and like the

other projects in this video series, the

whole thing can be built with just a few

portable power tools: a circular saw, a

drill, and a router

The shelves attach to the sides with

simple dadoes, and the back and back-

splash drop into rabbets. Screws rein-

force the dado joints and also attach the

lower stretcher, and wood plugs cover

the screw holes. Smaller wood screws

are used to attach the plywood back.

Curves add life to rectangular pieces

of furniture, and Pekovich worked in

three types, each irregular and organic

(as opposed to radius curves that can

seem mechanical). At the top are gen-

tle curves that speed up as they move

forward, each taken from a section of

a French curve. At the bottom are two

long curves formed with a flexible wood

batten, one extending end to end on the

lower stretcher, and the other a short

graceful arch at the bottom of the sides,

ending at a straight step at each end to

suggest legs.

--Asa Christiana, editor, Fine Woodworking

Lumber and hardware List

Part

QtY

size

materiaL

sides

sheLVes

back sPLash

arched

stretcher

back

screws FOr

sheLVes

screws FOr

back

TAUNTON’S

PERSONALIZE YOUR HOUSE

A Mantel with a Mission

Arts-and-Crafts overmantel

beautifies a tract-house fireplace

BY MARIO RODRIGUEZ

Photos this page: Timothy Schreiner

ome friends of mine live in an attractive but

indistinguishable Ranch-style house. Built

in the 1970s, it’s a typical tract house, pro-

duced cookie-cutter style to fit a tight budget and

a streamlined modern lifestyle. They loved the

house when they bought it, but they always knew

there were a few things they would want to im-

prove. First on their list was to do something with

the plain brick fireplace and raised hearth in the

living room.

When they came to me looking for a nice wood-

en mantel, it took some time to find a design that

matched the house, the furnishings and the own-

ers’ tastes all at the same time. The raised hearth

was originally intended to make a cozy fireplace

perch. A nice idea, but it brought up a design

problem I’ve never had to deal with before: Exact-

ly what kind of mantel do you install on a raised

hearth fireplace?

After looking through a number of books and a

lot of experimenting at the sketch board, I decided

a simple wrap-around mantel in an Arts-and-Crafts

style would work nicely. A wrap-around mantel

would enhance the horizontal sweep of masonry,

not fight with it. I also considered ease of con-

struction and time and materials. With a little plan-

ning, I’d be able to construct the majority of the

mantel in my own shop and install the whole job

with only a day’s work in my friends’ living room.

The design I settled on calls for a simple four-

panel overmantel and a 2 1 ⁄ 4 -in.-thick mantel shelf.

I wanted the mantel to appear well-balanced and

symmetrical, so I designed the shelf to rest on five

brackets that are all directly in line with the stiles

on the overmantel.

A bluestone slab on top of the hearth would be

an attractive way to cover the brick, and a wood-

en skirt around the raised hearth would hide the

masonry, tying the hearth and mantel together

visually. I didn’t want anything to detract from the

design or distract the viewer, so I chose rift-cut red

oak, both solid and plywood. This combined the

rich, rough surface of oak with an inconspicuous

dead-straight grain.

I was able to speed the construction process by

doing most of the work in my own shop and reducing the number

of cuts I had to make for the joinery (see the photos above). I used

plywood with a solid frame to make up the four-panel overmantel.

For the rails and stiles, I used 3 ⁄ 4 -in.-thick red oak, milled with a

1 ⁄ 4 -in. plow, 3 ⁄ 4 in. deep and centered on the inside edges of the

frame. This one groove acted as both a mortise for the stub tenons

and as the groove to hold the panels.

For the 3 ⁄ 4 -in. stub tenons on the ends of the rails and short stiles,

I used a tablesaw to cut the shoulders and a bandsaw to cut the

cheeks. Then I installed a dado blade on the tablesaw to cut rab-

bets into the 1 ⁄ 2 -in.-thick plywood panels. All the joinery was cut

with only a few machine setups. The frame-and-panel overmantel

slipped easily together for glue-up in the shop. The plywood re-

QUICK FRAME-AND-PANEL JOINERY

Single groove does double duty. A

groove plowed with a dado blade serves

as both the mortise for the tenons and

the groove to hold the panel.

Stub tenons make it plenty strong.

With the shoulders cut on a tablesaw, a

bandsaw completes the stub tenons on

the ends of the rails and short stiles.

Fast rabbets with a dado blade. The panels are rabbeted with a dado blade. The frame-

and-panel overmantel is glued up before it leaves the shop.

turns were mitered to the end stiles for a cleaner, more seamless

look. I used biscuits to align and secure them in place.

A plywood mantel shelf is lightweight

If I had used a 2 1 ⁄ 4 -in. slab of solid red oak for the shelf, it would

have added considerable weight. Instead, I used two layers of

3 ⁄ 4 -in. red-oak plywood with 3 ⁄ 4 -in. plywood strips as spacers. The

use of plywood also eliminated cross-grain movement or shrink-

age, which could be considerable so near a source of heat.

I cut two identical pieces to make up the top and bottom of the

shelf. One of the spacers is placed flush with the front of the shelf;

the other is inset 1 ⁄ 2 in. from the back. Leaving this room on the back

edge reduced the amount of material I’d have to trim to get a snug

Photos except where noted: Matthew Teague

JULY/AUGUST 1998

fit when the shelf was installed.

With the shelf built up to a thick-

ness of 2 1 ⁄ 4 in., I glued plywood

spacers on each of the returns that

extend back to the wall. When the

shelf was dry, I edged the entire

lamination with red oak cut to a

light 1 ⁄ 8 in. thick on the tablesaw.

When the glue had dried, the over-

hang was carefully trimmed flush to

the plywood with a block plane,

then scraped and sanded.

PREPARATION

IS KEY TO SUCCESS

ARTS-AND-CRAFTS STYLE

O AK MANTEL

This mantel was designed to revive an old fireplace

with a raised hearth. The use of a straight-grained

wood draws attention to the design. Small details

like a repeated cornice molding tie the hearth and

overmantel together visually.

1 in.

Cornice molding, 1 5 ⁄ 8 in.

3 in.

Cut everything ahead of time

The mantel skirt is made of 3 ⁄ 4 -in.

red-oak plywood, mitered at the

outside corners and later nailed in-

to place. I prepared the wood for

the mantel skirt, but I did not as-

semble it in the shop. By leaving

the skirt in parts, I could easily

scribe the returns to the wall before

they were attached.

I knew that there would probably

be a conspicuous gap between the

masonry and the skirt’s bottom

edge. I also knew that the exposed

plywood edge of the skirt would

have to be covered. A simple and

attractive way to deal with both

problems was to attach a quirk-

and-bead molding along the bot-

tom edge of the mantel skirt. I used

a 3 ⁄ 4 -in. beading bit to run off two

8-ft. pieces from clean, straight-

grained oak. This allowed me a lit-

tle more than I’d need.

For the cornice molding, I used a

simple 1 5 ⁄ 8 -in. cove molding from

a local lumberyard. This type of

molding is usually a stock profile

and shouldn’t be difficult to find.

Because of their prominent posi-

tion, the brackets on this mantel

must be well executed: clean square edges and smooth flowing

curves. Aside from the installation, they’re probably the most de-

manding part of this job. The method I use ensures crisp edges and

reliable curves (see the photos on p. 74).

The skirt around the hearth does more than just cover the bricks:

It’s the key to connecting the hearth and mantel visually. The

hearth skirt is also made of 3 ⁄ 4 -in.-thick red-oak plywood mitered at

the corners and tacked over cleats that are screwed to the brick.

With the plywood for the hearth skirt cut to size, my work in the

shop was almost done.

Top rail

11 1 ⁄ 2 in.

Panel, 1 ⁄ 2 -in. plywood

Bottom rail

Mantel shelf

3 1 ⁄ 2 in.

10 in.

2 1 ⁄ 4 in.

Starting from scratch. To make this

design work, the area above the fire-

place was built out flush with the brick.

A 2x4 frame was attached above the

fireplace; drywall and mud made it a

workable wall. All the stud positions

were marked, and measurements were

taken to make sure the mantel went

up without a hitch.

7 1 ⁄ 2 in.

5 1 ⁄ 4 in.

Bracket

3 ⁄ 4 in.

8 in.

Quirk-and-bead molding

faster when things can be laid out flat in your own shop before

you have to be careful with someone else’s walls.

After all the parts were sanded with 220-grit paper, I applied a

light honey-colored oil-based stain by Minwax (Ipswich pine)

with a 2-in. brush and wiped up drips with a rag. When the stain

was dry, I coated all the parts with two light coats of orange shel-

lac. This gives the oak a very rich color with a slight orange cast. If

your taste runs to a cooler shade of oak, you can use blond shellac

instead of orange. To get a satin finish, I gently rubbed out the shel-

lac with steel wool between coats.

Rubbing out woodwork usually results in cut-throughs—spots

on the sharp outside corners where the color and finish have

been rubbed through by the steel wool. To repair these spots, I

ran a medium-brown furniture marker along the exposed edges,

Finish before mantel is attached to the wall

Finishing can be a slow and tedious process if you wait until the

whole piece is assembled and installed. The process goes much

FINE WOODWORKING

Top photo: Timothy Schreiner

Cornice molding, 1 5 ⁄ 8 in.

Returns, 3 ⁄ 4 -in. plywood mitered

and biscuited at the corners, rear

edge rabbeted for easy scribing

Overmantel, four 1 ⁄ 2 -in. plywood

panels set into an oak frame

Mantel skirt, 3 ⁄ 4 -in. plywood

mitered and nailed at the corners

Brackets, cut from oak and

planed to 1 5 ⁄ 8 in. thick

Spacers, 3 ⁄ 4 -in.

plywood, 2 1 ⁄ 4 in. wide

Shelf, 3 ⁄ 4 -in. plywood

Edging, 1 ⁄ 8 in.

Quirk-and-bead molding

Cornice molding, 1 5 ⁄ 8 in.

Bluestone covers

the old hearth’s masonry.

Furring blocks, 3 ⁄ 4 -in. plywood

Hearth skirt, 3 ⁄ 4 -in. plywood

mitered at the corners

THREE STEPS TO PLACE A MANTEL

Overmantel slides onto the wall. With the

overmantel shimmed level, driving a few

screws ties it to the wall.

Skirt abuts the overmantel. Shims guaran-

tee that the overmantel and skirt meet flush.

Shelf fits easily onto the brackets. Using

reliable measurements in the planning stage

ensures the shelf seats itself perfectly level.

Drawings: Bob La Pointe

JULY/AUGUST 1998

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