The Desk

This will require a little more skill than the previous pieces, but if care be taken in the work, no great difficulty should be experienced. The general dimensions are: Height, 3 ft.; width, 2 ft., and depth, 14 in. Whitewood or red gumwood are best suited to secure a light, attractive desk. All except the wood used for the pieces previously described. The general dimensions are: Height, 3 ft.; width, 27 in.; depth, 12 in.

The ends are 2 ft. long, and 11 in. wide with the lower ends cut to the shape shown in the illustration; the height of this cut is 3 in. The top is 27 in. long and 12 in. wide and the board at the back is the same size. The shelf is 27 in. long, and 5 in. wide and rests on posts 1 in. square and 8 in. long. The posts are attached to the top by short pieces of | in. dowels, boring holes for same in both posts and top and setting up with glue.

The back board is attached to the cabinet by means of cleats 2 in. wide fastened with screws and long enough to reach 6 or 8 in. down on the back of the cabinet. The bottom of the closet is 24 in. long and 10$ in. wide, the under side set even with the upper edge of the openings in the ends.

A drawer may be made as shown or the whole space under the top may form a cupboard. If a drawer be made, it should be 24 in. long, 3 in. deep and 10 1/2| in.

wide A rectangular frame is made for the runs for the drawer, the front strip being 1 in. wide. This makes the size of the doors 16 in. high and 13 in. wide.

A strip about 1 in. square and 24 in. long is nailed to the under side of the back of the top piece, set in from the back edge $ in. and the back sheathed up with 1/2 in. sheathing. The ends of the sheathing are nailed at the top to the strip just mentioned, and at the lower ends to the bottom of the cupboard. Suitable knobs and catches are added to the cupboard doors and drawer pulls or knobs to the drawers.

The preferable finish to all the furniture described is weathered oak or dark brown stain and varnished, as the pieces are all in the old mission styl. A word of caution to those using stains for the first time is: Do not use too much stain. Apply a little at a time, and with a soft rag rub off the excess stain until the grain shows clearly. Dark stains are likely to conceal the grain after drying more than they appear to when moist.

Repairing Furniture

In the present article we will endeavor to show how some at least of the ills to which all articles of furniture are liable may be remedied, and we cannot do better than make a start with drawers, the constant wear and tear of these, to which in many cases, may be added ill usage, making them particularly liable to get out of order.

When new, the running corner of a drawer is, or should be, as Fig. 1, but sooner or later, according to the material, or whether fitted properly or not, the nails at the back and carefully uplifting away the runners, A Fig. 1, then cut away the sides to the extent of the groove in which the bottom slides, and fix On with nails and glue, rebated strips as B Fig. 2. These strips should be of hard wood, and it is necessary that they fit well at the joint, otherwise the glue will fai to hold properly, and it will not do to depend on the nails alone.

In case the foregoing method proves too difficult for some of our readers, we give in Fig. 3 an alternative, side wears off as shown by dotted lines, and when this wear has once commenced, it goes faster, until the drawer can only be used with difficulty, and the longer it is used in this condition,the worse job it is to repair satisfactorily.

The proper method of repair is shown in Fig. 2. First remove the drawer-bottom by withdrawing the in which the sides of the drawer are planed off: in the same way, but instead of fixing on rebated strips' the width of the side strips, as C, and after these are dry the grooved strips D are glued and screwed on inside the drawer, the bottom of the latter being reduced in size, so as to slide in these new grooves, as shown.

At all times when the drawers are worn as above, the bearers on which they run will he found to he in the same state as shown in Fig. 4, the remedy is to re-niove the worn part and renew, as shown in Fig. 5. This is, as a rule, comparative ly easy to do. but it is absolutely necessary that the top of the new hearer should he at the same height as the old one was when new.

In addition to the drawer runners and bearers being worn away, the front rail, where there i - one, is also likely to be affected. as at E. Fig. 6. To remedy this, cut away to an even depth and insert pieces of wood of the required thickness, covering them at the front by letting in pieces of veneer neatly, as F, Fig. 7. These latter will fit better if made slightly taper, as shown; they can then be drivcn in as a wedge.

Knobs on drawers and cupboards have often a tendency to work loose, especially when screwed in as in section Fig. 8. A. simple and effective remedy is to remove the knob and cut off the screwed portion, also clear out the hole in the drawer and glue in a well-fitting ,ply of hardwood. When this is dry, clean off level with the surface of the drawer front both inside and out, and then fix on the knob with a long slight screw, as Fig. 9, just touching the face of the.knob with glue to prevent it working off by unscrewing.

The turned feet with which chests of diawers are often fitted have a bad habit of getting loose, owing to the shoddy method of fixing. The foot proper i>. as a rule, fitted into a block of soft wood, which speedily splits off and off comes the foot. The remedy is. make a block of hard wood, as Fig. 10. screwing through it into the foot with three screws G,' and then fixing to the chest with four screw's at the corners, as 11. This is shown sectionally iu Fig.11, and it will be found a firm, substantial job.

Instead of the turned feet, two shaped pieces at right angles are sometimes used, and as these are too often simply glued on, they will not stand much rough usage. They may he, however, lmpreved by screw-ing through the angle block, as in Fig. 12, andean also be prevented from leav ing the chawers by fixing with screws as Fig. 13, or with another angle block, as Fig. 14, using glue as well in each case.

Castors have a bad habit of becoming loose and after being re-screwed a few times, there is no wood left to fix to. An effective remedy for this to cut off what is left of the spigot, bore down 'nto the leg and insert a piece of wood with a new spigot tinned on the and, as Fig. 15; if this latter is made to lit and fill the socket of the castor entirely. I here will be no difficuliy after, the whole of the original fault lying in the lact that when the castors are fitted at first, the wood does not fill them, thus allowing a certain amount of free play, which increases more and more, putting all the strain on the small screws.

Table legs are apt to work loose where they join the rails, either through the pins becoming l.acturd. or through the. leg splitting at the pin holes; in either case they must be forced together and glued, inserting new pins if required, and to prevent a recurrence of the trouble-, angle blocks should he fixed on the inside. Fig. 10 shows the positiou of the fault, and Fig. 17 the remedy.

• On removing heavy furniture, especially wardrobes, it is often found that the doors or drawers will not work as they should do in their new position, rubbing at-the top or bottom, and much surprise is often felt that it-should-be so. The cause is in the lightly varying level of the floors, and the remedy is a simple one. Fig. 18 shows a wardrobe in position; now if the left-hand door rubs at the bottom, it is probable that the right hand'one will rub at the top, and instead of planing both to make them right, we simply insert a chisel under the plinth at I, so as to lift it up, and when the doors swing clean a wedge inserted,between the plinth and the floor will make them right. The same remedy applies to chests of drawers and boxes, these, latter often locking easily when .emp'y, put when filled will not do so, the reason being that the weight of the contents brings the bottom of the box to the floor, displacing the each of the lock slightly, a fault which a slight wedge will correct at. once, farmore quickly than altering the catch itself.

Tables which are made with a central pillar, from which branch out three claw legs, are often a nuisance owing to the claws giving way and leaving the stem. If these are turned up, the claws will be seen to be dovetailed in, as Fig. 19, and the wood holding the dovetails being only side grain. will stand very little strain, hence the fault. The remedy is to replace the claws neatly as possible, and fix each one with a thin brass or iron strap, as in Fig, 10. All the straps may be fixed with one central screw into the stem, also two small screws, and they must be bent to the shape of the claw and screwed firmly to it. as shown, and this will eflectually cure the fault. In addition to tables, music stools are often in need of such a remedy, as above.

Explanation Of Drawings

Fig 1. Drawer rainier wore away.

2. New runner fined.

3. Alternative met hod of fitting runner. 4 Bearer for drawer worn away.

5. New bearer lifted,

0. Front rail worn away.

7. Front raii repaired.

8. Usual method of inserting drawer knob. 0. To fetix drawer knob.

10. Kelixing loot to chest of drawers.

11. Sectional detail of Fig 10.

12. Strengthening shaped foot.

13. Fixing shaped foot.

14. Alternative method of fixing shaped foot. 15. Inserting new spigot for castor.

16. Faulty joint in frame of table. 17. Sireligtliening frame of table.

18. Readjusting wardrole door.

19. Me hod of fixing, claw legs to central stem.

20. Strengthening claw legs.