This Handbook contains, in a form convenient for everyday use, a number of articles on Rustic Carpentry contributed by various authors to Work—one of the journals it is my fortune to edit.
Readers who may desire additional information respecting special details of the matters dealt with in this Handbook, or instructions on kindred subjects, should address a question to the Editor of Work, La Belle Sauvage, London, EC., so that it may be answered in the columns of that journal.
Rustic carpentry does not demand great skill in woodworking, but it does require a large amount of artistic perception. The tools needed are but few, and the materials employed are comparatively cheap, although in many districts they are becoming dearer every year.
It may be said that any articles made from the now popular bamboo may be made quite as effectively in light rustic work.
For light rustic work, sticks of hazel, cherry, yew, blackthorn, birch, larch, fir, and the prunings of many varieties of shrubs may be used; but it is necessary that the material should be cut at the proper season, and thoroughly dried before being worked up. The sticks should be cut in mid-winter, as at that time the sap is at rest; if cut in the summer time the bark will peel off. If peeled sticks are required, they should be cut in the spring, when the sap is rising, as at that time the rind will come off easily. In some districts the copses are cleared of undergrowth periodically, and the sticks (generally hazel) sold to hurdle and spar makers. A selection of these sticks would be very suitable for the purpose here described.
The sticks should be stacked in an open shed in an upright position if possible, and in such a manner that the air can freely circulate around them. When they are required for fishing rods or walking sticks they are hung up to season—this keeps them straighter; but the hanging of them up is not necessary for the work about to be dealt with. When the sticks have been put away for from six to twelve months, according to size, they will be ready for use, after being rubbed with a cloth or brushed to clean off the dust and bring up the colour of the bark. Fir cones may often be worked into a design, and bits of rough bark and the warts and burrs found on old elm trees may be collected by the rustic worker and put by for future use.
Fig. 1.—Photograph Frame and Wall Bracket Combined.One method of treatment for designs in light rustic work is to split the sticks and use them to overlay the work with a Swiss pattern, as shown by Fig. 1; another method is to work the sticks up after the manner that canes are used in bamboo furniture (see Figs. 3 and Fig. 42, pp. 12 and 36).
Fig. 2.—Section of Bracket, showing Fixing of Glass.Fig. 1 represents a wall bracket with a photograph or mirror in the frame. To make this, the piece forming the back is first cut out of 3/8-in. deal. The shelf, of ¾-in. deal, is then nailed to the bottom edge. Some straight hazel, fir, or other sticks are next selected and split; these are nailed round the edges of the back, and round the opening at the centre. The pieces round the opening overlap the edges about ¼ in., to form a rebate for the glass. The bare spaces at the sides and top may be covered in the following manner: Take a piece of brown elm bark and run a saw into it. Catch the sawdust, and, after warming the wood, cover it with thin glue.
Fig. 3.—Small Easel in Rustic Work.Sprinkle the brown sawdust on the glued surface, and sufficient will adhere to cover the deal and give the frame a rustic appearance. Cork-dust or filings may be used instead of sawdust. Bunches of fir or larch cones are nailed to the corners, as illustrated; these should be pared at the back with knife or chisel to a flat surface. The outer edge of the shelf is finished with an edging of short lengths of split stick nailed on. The general construction of the bracket, and the method of fixing the glass, will be clear from Fig. 2, which is a section through the centre.
 Fig. 4.—Method of Attaching Support to Easel. |
 Fig. 5—Mitred Joint. |
A small easel for photographs, or, if constructed larger, for a fire-screen, is shown by Fig. 3. It is made entirely of round sticks. Fig. 4 illustrates the method of attaching the back support—namely, by means of a couple of staples, which may be made out of a hairpin. In jointing round sticks together, the joints may be mitred by notching a V-shaped piece out of one stick and cutting the other to fit (Fig. 5); or a mortise and tenon, as represented by Fig. 6, may be used.
In making the easel (Fig. 3), the top and bottom bars are mitred to the sides, and the central upright to the top and bottom bars. The joints are secured by either brads or panel pins. Care must be taken to bore for the nails with a bradawl, as nothing looks worse than splits in the work. The upright piece in the centre of the top bar may be secured by driving a long panel pin into the lower upright through the top bar, filing the head to a point to form a dowel, and driving the top piece on with a hammer.
Fig. 6.—Mortise and Tenon Joint.
Fig. 7.—Rustic Flower Holder for Table Decoration.Where a small stick is joined to a larger one, as in the case of the filling-in pieces, a flat may be made with a knife or chisel on the larger stick, and the smaller one cut to fit and nailed on. In making a small easel, only a single stick attached to the centre upright will be required to form a back support, but for a larger one it will be preferable to frame it as shown by Fig. 3.
Fig. 8.—Rustic Flower Holder Complete, with Cocoanut Vase in Position.The finished articles may be either stained and varnished or left plain. Cherry sticks look well if the bark is left the natural colour, and the ends, where exposed, cleaned off and varnished without being stained. Some sticks improve in colour if rubbed over with a rag moistened with linseed oil.
If a stain is required, one that is sold in bottles would be suitable, but a little vandyke brown, ground in water, and applied with a sponge, answers the purpose. Sometimes, as in the case of the table top (see Fig. 42, p. 36), it is a good plan to stain the wood before nailing on the pattern work, or there will be danger, if the sticks are dark in colour, of the lighter wood showing through.
If the rustic work is intended to be placed out of doors, it should be given two or three coats of hard outside varnish.
The rustic flower-holder for table decoration, shown by Fig. 7, consists simply of a gipsy tripod formed with six rustic sticks, put together in the form shown, and tied with a length of bass. There is no attempt made at finish, but the sticks must be firmly tied together at the joints, and the ends of the bass can be left, either hanging loose or tied in a bow. The holder for the flowers is a cocoanut shell, which has been sawn in two, so as to leave one part a sort of cup or egg shape; three holes are bored with a bradawl at equal distances round the edge, and it is suspended from the tripod with three more pieces of the bass, which completes the arrangement. Of course, any small receptacle can be used in place of the cocoanut shell, but that, perhaps, carries out the rustic appearance the best, and is very easily obtained. Fig. 8 is an attempt to show the tripod when decorated.
The rustic hall-stand shown by Figs. 9 to 11 was made actually from branches and twigs of an old apple tree. The uprights and principal cross-pieces are 7/8 in. thick, and the criss-cross pieces are ½ in. thick. The bottom is made of four pieces 1½ in. thick. The longer ones measure 1 ft. 8 in., and the shorter ones 1 ft. 2 in.; they are nailed together in such a manner that the ends at the two front corners each cross and project 2½ in. The front uprights are 2 ft. high, the back ones 2 ft. 2 in.; the longer cross-pieces are 1 ft. 8 in., the shorter 11 in. The ends intersect and project 3 in. at each of the front corners; only the longest piece projects 3 in. at the back corners, the shorter pieces being cut off flush with the frame to allow of the stand fitting close to a wall.
 Fig. 9. |
 Fig. 10. |
| Figs. 9 and 10.—Front and Side Elevations of Rustic Hall Stand. |
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| Fig. 11.—Plan of Rustic Hall Stand, showing Umbrella Pan. |
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These cross-pieces are nailed to the uprights to allow the top ends of the latter to project 2 in. above them, this bringing the measurement of the oblong inner framework to 1 ft. 10 in. by 1 ft. 2 in. The thin pieces are nailed on as shown in Fig. 9, being interlaced as much as possible. The back of the stand is treated in a similar manner. The whole of the wood is used as rough as possible, the bark being retained, with the knots, etc.; the ends are, however, pared off smooth with a chisel. Two coats of varnish finish the stand, save for the addition of a receptacle to catch the drainings from umbrellas, and for this the stand illustrated has a painted baking-tin A (Fig. 11).
Fig. 12.
Fig. 13.The rustic stool (Figs. 12 and 13) is intended to be made in pairs, and placed one on each side of the umbrella-stand above described, each supporting a plant, such as a fern or palm. The top of each stool is cut from 9 in. square 1-in. wood (wood from an old box answers well), and is sawn into an octagonal shape. A double row of pieces of apple, maple, or some other wood with good bark, is nailed around the edges, thicker pieces being used at the bottom than at the top to give a graduated appearance. The entire top is then covered with straight pieces of stick, selected for the beauty of their bark. All pieces are nailed on with cut brads. The four legs are formed of 1-in. apple-wood 9 in. long. They are bevelled at the top to fit a square block of wood, 2 in. thick and 3 in. long, which is firmly secured to the top by two screws. This piece of wood should be fastened to the top before the rustic rods are placed in position. Two 2½-in. wire nails through each of the legs hold them quite securely to the central block. Portions of rustic wood, from ¼ in. to 3/8 in. in diameter, are then nailed across the legs, as shown in Fig. 12, the ends being allowed to cross each other and project about 1 in. all ways. The whole stool, when finished, stands 10½ in. high, and is so strong that it will support a heavy man with safety. The block of wood to which the legs are attached should be stained to match the rustic wood; permanganate of potash solution will effect this. Finally, two coats of clear varnish give a good finish to the work.
Fig. 14.—Window Box.Window boxes are illustrated by Figs. 14 to 16. That shown by Fig. 14 is made from a raisin box obtained from a grocer. Such boxes are not costly, and to buy and knock these up for rough uses is often more economical than buying new material.
 Fig. 15.—More Elaborate Window Box. |
 Fig. 16.—Cross Section of Window Box in Position. |
Take care that the boards are stout enough to hold the brads firmly. The box measures about 21 in. by 7 in. by 7 in., and is wholly covered with mosaic of dark and light strips in panels. Strips are also nailed on the upper edges.
The more elaborate window box (Figs. 15 and 16) can be made of a size to fit the window for which it is intended. A few holes should be bored in the bottom for drainage, and the front board is cut to the shape shown and the rustic ornament is nailed to the box and forms no part of the construction. In Fig. 16 wedge pieces are shown fitted to the stone sill to bring the box level; it is kept in position by two metal angle-pieces screwed both to the wood sill and to the back of the box.
The rustic-work flower stand (Fig. 17) may be 3 ft. high by 3 ft. 6 in. long by 9 in. wide. For the legs, select four curved saplings 3 ft. 3 in. long by 2½ in. in diameter; and as some difficulty may be experienced in obtaining them with the natural curves sufficiently alike, artificial methods of bending must be resorted to. Therefore get the saplings from 2 ft. to 3 ft. longer than the finished length, and bend them to shape by means of the Spanish windlass as shown in Fig. 18Fig. 19