FURNITURE FOR THE SUMMER COTTAGE 



Describing the Construction of Simple Cottage Furniture of Substan- 

 tial Design and Finish 



By Ralph P. Windoes 



Instructor of Manual Training, Davenport High School, Davenport, la. 



Illustrations from drawings made by the author. 



/COTTAGE furniture, to be perfectly 

 ^^ successful, must be substantial and 

 capable of withstanding all sorts of 

 weather conditions. It must also be neat 

 in appearance, and comfortable. With 

 these thoughts in mind, the author is pre- 

 senting detail drawings of a porch swing, 

 arm chair and rocking chair, with the 

 hope that many craftsmen will utilize 

 them in the construction of their sum- 

 mer cottage furniture. 



Plain red oak is recommended for the 

 lumber, as it is much cheaper than quar- 

 ter sawed and just as strong if the pieces 

 are properly built. Cypress might be 

 substituted, but, being a softer wood, it 

 would not stand up under the "roughing" 

 as well as the oak. 



PORCH SWING. 



For the porch swing will be needed the 

 following stock, planed and sandpapered 

 to dimensions at the mill : 



2 pcs. 1^" x 



2 pcs. i?4" x 



3 pcs. %" x 5 



1 pc. %" x 4 



2 pcs. %" x 5 

 2 pcs. % 



2 pcs. y & 



1 24" x 2754", back posts. 

 K" x i6^", front posts. 

 x 59", long rails. 

 x S9", long rails. 

 x 24", end rails 



x S" x 27", arms. 

 x 2 I / 2 " x 2iy 2 ", seat supports. 



6 pcs. y 2 " x $y 2 " x 11", back slats. 

 4 pcs. y 2 " x $y 2 " x 12", end slats, 

 ii pcs. l / 2 " x i l / 2 " x 57", seat slats. 

 4 iron brackets with hooks attached, 

 i set porch swing chains. 



Begin the construction, as usual, with 

 the posts. Square up the stock, and cut 

 the mortises in them. Cut their cor- 

 responding tenons on the rails and clamp 

 up dry. Fit the back slats into place and 

 glue this much up. The arms are de- 

 tailed, and are screwed into place. The 

 end slats are mortised into the arms and 

 the top edge of the end rails. 



A detail of the seat support is also 

 given. These are screwed into the end 

 rails from the inside. The slats are 

 nailed onto these pieces, leaving a slight 

 crack between each slat. 



Regarding a waterproof finish for the 

 swing. A wax and shellac finish will 

 serve, but a spar varnish over properly 

 filled grain is much better. Detailed, this 

 is applied as follows : 



ist. One coat of oil stain, of the 

 chosen color, carefully wiped off as ap- 

 plied. Let it stand twenty- four hours. 



2nd. One coat of paste wood filler, 

 thinned out with benzine and rubbed 

 into the grain with the finger tips. Wipe 



361 



