Synopsis: Charles Rohlfs made furnishings within the Arts and Crafts period that’s notable for its distinctive buildings, shapes, ornamentation, and carving particulars. Peter Marcucci has reproduced quite a few Rohlfs items, together with the waste container featured right here, which Marcucci determined to show into an umbrella stand by including an insert. The container has a hexagonal base that rests on six toes. Six panels and 6 uprights are connected to the bottom to type the construction. The insert is made up of six sides mitered collectively and a backside and a high with holes lower out for umbrellas.
I’ve spent a lot time over the previous couple of years researching and re-creating Charles Rohlfs furnishings. Most woodworkers are conversant in Arts and Crafts makers corresponding to William Morris, Greene and Greene, and Stickley. Charles Rohlfs, whereas widespread amongst artwork historical past and ornamental arts students, has not obtained the identical consideration from woodworkers. His work comprises many parts of Arts and Crafts furnishings however is ready aside by its distinctive buildings, shapes, ornamentation, and carving particulars.
I lately accomplished a re-creation of Rohlfs’s circa-1900 “Swish Writing Set,” which included a desk, chair, and waste container. To make it simpler to empty the container, I constructed an insert that may be lifted out. It occurred to me that if the insert have been modified, the container could possibly be used as a plant stand or an umbrella stand.
The umbrella stand I made can function an introduction to Rohlfs’s distinctive fashion, and I hope it would encourage you to tackle the re-creation of a few of Rohlfs’s different works or to include the fashion into your personal designs.
I’ll warn you now that Rohlfs used screws within the building of his furnishings, so I did the identical. Nevertheless, if utilizing screws in furnishings doesn’t sit proper with you, be happy to take away every screw, drill a bigger gap, and change the screw with a glued-in dowel.
Begin with the bottom clean
The container consists of a base, six uprights, six fretwork panels, and 6 toes. Begin by gluing up two boards to type a barely oversize, sq. clean for the bottom. You possibly can lay out the hexagon utilizing a compass. First, set the radius of the compass to 9 in. and draw an 18-in.-dia. circle. Then draw a straight line by means of the middle level of the circle. The place the straight line intersects the highest of the circle, insert the purpose of the compass—nonetheless set at 9 in.—and draw an arc that spans the circle. Repeat this course of from the purpose the place the vertical line intersects the underside of the circle. You need to now have 4 factors the place the arcs intersect the circle, and two factors the place the vertical line intersects the circle. With a straightedge, be a part of the intersection factors to create six sides, every 9 in. lengthy.
Proceed with the bottom structure
To determine the placement of the elements on the bottom and the pilot holes you’ll drill by means of it, draw a collection of 5 concentric circles throughout the giant one. You possibly can draw these as full circles or simply as hash marks throughout radius strains aimed toward every level of the hexagon. The innermost circle marks the internal fringe of the toes. The second circle marks the internal fringe of the uprights. The third and fourth circles mark the pilot holes for the screws that join the uprights to the bottom. The fifth circle marks the outer fringe of the uprights.
With the structure full, lower out the hexagon on the bandsaw. It’s essential to disassemble and reassemble the piece a number of occasions earlier than completion, and with six uprights connected to the factors of the hexagonal base, it may be arduous to maintain monitor of what goes the place. So I quantity every level of the hexagon, 1 by means of 6, with a small metallic quantity punch. The punched numbers survive reasonable sanding. Later, I quantity the uprights to match. To finish work on the bottom, drill and countersink the pilot holes for the screws that can join the uprights and the panels.
Click on right here to obtain the structure sample for the bottom
A set of six uprights
There are numerous strategies for shaping the uprights. I don’t have a CNC machine, and the router is one among my least favourite woodworking instruments, so I used a drill press and bandsaw.
First, I printed six copies of a paper sample and glued one to every upright clean. I started the shaping on the drill press by slicing holes with a Forstner bit on the tight inside curves within the design. I sawed out the remainder of the form on the bandsaw, slicing near however leaving the strains. Lastly, I used rasps, recordsdata, and sandpaper to take away the bandsaw marks and truthful the curves.
To put out pilot holes for the screws into the underside of the uprights, make a centerline alongside the underside of every upright with a marking gauge. Switch the spacing of the pilot holes on the bottom onto one upright. With dividers, switch the placement of the pilot holes from the primary upright to the opposite 5. Drill the holes and quickly screw every upright to the bottom.
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