Chapter 9: Seattle Mirror Frame

The Seattle Frame was originally conceived as a business sign. It framed my logo and did duty at my booth when I went to shows. Its potential as a part of my portfolio only occurred to me after it stole the show.

Given its long narrow shape, the design’s obvious use would be as a mirror frame, either over a mantle or long sideboard. I had also entertained the idea of framing a sepia-toned archival city panorama of the Seattle skyline as seen from Elliot Bay. My search for a usable image has yet to yield something better than a waterfront panorama from the 1870s, which had been poorly “Photoshopped” (so to speak) at the time it was taken. I am still looking!

The design has definite elements of Greene & Greene, with the cloud-lifts and ebony pegs. But it also pays homage to Stickley, with the exposed tenons, and to Japanese influences with the tapered leg.

Before getting started, make a flexible guideedge from a piece of 1" angle aluminum about 40 inches long. Cut a series of band saw kerfs about one-inch apart on one of the faces. Follow up by pre-drilling ⁵⁄₃₂" screw holes in every other kerfed finger.

The Seattle Mirror Frame.

A. Lower Rail Template Layout

Layout for overall template shape.

Cut a piece of MDF or Baltic birch to 4⁷⁄₈" x 44¼. Referring to drawing A, lay out all the end points using a marking device capable of accuracy to within ¹⁄₆₄". An Incra marking rule is a good choice.

To create the two large arcs, bend the aluminum flexible guide-edge to connect the center and two end points. Strive for an evenly balanced arc. Temporarily secure with screws, then pencil in the resulting line. Use a rule to connect the end points of the short straight lines. Finish off the outline by using a Berol r-75 radius guide (or any object with a similar radius) to connect the cloud-lift end-points.

1. Angle aluminum with kerfs for laying out curves.

2. Lay out all the end points.

3. Use a radius guide to connect the end points

4. Route to the line with a flush trim bit and repeat for the other short straight lines.

5. Secure the aluminum flexible guide-edge to the large arcs and flush trim.

6. Use a spindle sander to sand to the line and fair-in to the connecting lines.

Once the layout is penciled in, the template can be cut to shape. Rough cut the entire outline to within approximately ¹⁄₁₆" of the line. Next, with a piece of scrap about 10" long, make a straight edge bearing guide. Line up the scrap-bearing guide to one of the short straight lines of the design and secure with screws. Route to the line with a flush trim bit and repeat for the other short straight lines. Be careful not to route into the cloud-lift when trimming the upper profile.

Now, line up the aluminum flexible guide-edge to one of the two large arcs and secure it with screws. On a router table with a top bearing flush trim bit, use the angled aluminum as a bearing guide and trim to the penciled line.

To form the cloud-lifts that connect the arch to the short horizontal lines, use a spindle sander to sand to the line and fair-in to the connecting lines. As a more consistent option, a master cloud-lift template can be utilized as described in my first book Greene & Greene: Design Elements for the Workshop.

To make the template for the top rail, (drawing B) cut out a piece of scrap material measuring 3¹⁄₈" wide by 63¾" long. Set up the router table with a ½" straight bit. Split the fence so that the out-feed side is flush with the cutting edge of the bit. The in-feed side should be back of the out-feed side by exactly ⁷⁄₁₆". Going back to the scrap template stock, mark a line 11 ¹⁹⁄₃₂" down from both ends. Now run each end of the template stock through the router table setup, stopping at the drawn line.

7. The out-feed side is flush with the cutting edge of the bit.

B. Top Rail Layout

Top rail layout for overall template shape, rabbet, and mortises.

C. Bottom Rail Mortises and Rabbet

Bottom rail layout for rabbet and mortises.

D. Leg Layout

Leg layout for overall shape, mortises and rabbet.

The rabbet for the bottom rail (see drawing C) needs to be wider because of the arch. To begin, set up a router table with a ³⁄₈" or larger straight bit. Adjust the height of the bit to exactly ³⁄₈". Be sure to test all the setups on scrap material first. Set the fence so that the bit’s farthest cut (outside edge) is 2". Several passes will be needed to achieve the 2" of width needed. After the first pass, move the fence forward and make another pass. Repeat this process until the rabbet is complete. If you are not comfortable with router table setups, it may become necessary to position a support piece on the out-feed side of the fence for the last pass.

To route the left leg, place a block on the out-feed side of the fence to stop the cut 13³⁄₁₆" from the top of the leg (4¾" from the bottom end). For the right leg the stop will need to be placed on the in-feed side of the fence (see drawing D). Use caution with this setup. The stock needs to be in solid contact with the fence, near the stop block, as it is slowly pivoted into the router bit.

14. To shape the legs, first lay out the reverse taper in pencil. Next, band saw close to the line, then finish off with the edge sander.

15. Use a spindle sander to remove material from the cloud-lifts to avoid blowout.

16. Attach the template to the backsides of the stock and route flush.

17. Mark out the ¼" radiuses.

The rabbet for the top rail (see drawing B) ends at 9³⁄₈" from either end, but given the long length of the piece, the previous method using a stop block is not practical. On both sides of the router fence, calculate and mark the point where the ends of the stock will stop when the 9³⁄₈" rabbet termination is reached. For safety, it is very important to start the cut by placing the stock solidly against the end of the in-feed fence and slowly pivoting into the router bit. If you are uncomfortable with the pivoting procedure to rabbet the legs and top rail, you can alternatively set up and use a hand held router with a rabbeting bit for this operation.

To shape the legs, first layout the reverse taper in pencil (see drawing D). Next, band saw close to the line, then finish off with the edge sander. For the upper and lower rails trace the shape from the templates to the stock, then bandsaw close to the line.

Before routing, use a spindle sander to remove as much material from the cloud-lifts as possible to avoid blowout. Next, set up a bottom bearing flush trim bit in the router table. Attach the templates to the backsides of the stock with double back tape or screws, and route flush. With no “run-out” for the bearing, you must rest the stock against a solid object and pivot it into the router bit. Again, if you are uncomfortable with the pivoting procedure, you can alternately clamp the parts to your bench and route flush with a hand held router, repositioning the clamps as necessary.

Finish off shaping by marking out the ¼" radiuses at the ends of the legs (see drawing D) and top rails (see drawing B). Waste most of the material away on the band saw and then sand to the line using an edge sander.

Next, set up a router with a ¹⁄₈" round-over bit and route all the face edges. If your method of making mortises produces round ends, now is the time to square the faux tenon holes. This can be done with a square hole punch or the hollow chisel from a mortiser.

18. Sanding to the ¼" radius lines at the ends of the legs.

19. If your method of making mortises produces round ends, now is the time to square the faux tenon holes.

20. Assemble the legs and rails after first sanding them to 220-grit.

The legs along with the top and bottom rails can now be sanded to 220-grit,then glued and clamped together. With the main body of the frame assembled, the corners of the backside rabbet can now be squared up with a chisel.

Next, verify the final distance between the top and bottom rails to be 12 ²⁵⁄₃₂". Check both sides, as it may not be the same. The joinery adds another ¾" to the overall length of the auxiliary posts, for a total dimension of 13 ¹⁷⁄₃₂". If your rail to rail measurement is not 12 ²⁵⁄₃₂", adjust the overall length to compensate and record the needed dimension for later use.

The auxiliary posts are attached to the frame by way of a stopped “T” halving joint. This joint will require a jig for a precisely positioned route out in the back side of the frame. As seen in drawing E, the jig is made from two pieces of ½" material, 3" wide and 9" long. These two pieces are joined by two more spacer pieces of ½" material that are ⁷⁄₈" wide with a 3" gap between them. Before attaching the registration plates, bevel back about ½" of material at one corner. This will allow the plates to precisely register even if the rabbetted corners have not been squared up correctly.

21. The corners of the backside rabbet can now be squared up with a chisel.

22. Gluing up the jig for the stopped “T” halving joint.

E. Stopped “T” Halving Joint Jig

23. Before attaching the registration plates, bevel back about ½" of the material at one corner.

24. Set up a router with a ⁵⁄₈" collar and a ½" up-cut spiral bit.

25. Square up the corners.

26. Run the faceside through first.

Next, set up a router with a ⁵⁄₈" collar and a ½" up-cut spiral bit. Set the depth so that the bit projects precisely ³⁄₈" past the registration plates. Register the jig against the corner of the backside rabbeted edge (the beveled corner should be positioned into the corner) and route out the joint.

If everything went as planned, the jig should have produced a routed notch that starts flush with the back face of the rabbet and goes ¼" deep and ¾" wide. The corners will be rounded and need to be squared up with a chisel.

The auxiliary posts can now be made. Only two are needed, but cut a couple of extra pieces about 15" (1½" over size) in length to use in joinery setup. First, set up a table saw with a zero-clearance throat plate and a supplementary wood fence clamped in place. With a rip blade (all flat bottom teeth), set the height to exactly ³⁄₈". Now, move the fence up to, and just barely touching, the supplementary wood fence. The resulting cut should remove exactly ¹⁄₈" of material. Square up one end of one of the stock pieces, leaving it extra long. With a backup push block, run the face side through first to control blow out. Next, flip the piece 90 degrees to machine one edge, then 180 degrees to do the opposing edge. The resulting joint should be sort of a half lap tenon that measures ¼" thick by ³⁄₈" long. Adjust the blade height and fence as needed. Keep in mind that you may have to make further adjustments if your routed cavity in the frame differs from what was intended. Once all adjustments are correct, go ahead and run the parts.

To finish off the frame assembly, put a ¹⁄₈" round-over on the long face edges of the auxiliary post, then sand them to 220-grit and glue them in place.

27. The half lap tennon.

28. The auxiliary posts glued in place.

29. Sand until the pencil line is removed.

The frame has now taken on a definable form and appears to be nearly complete. But important details still await. The design requires 10 ebony plugs, 2 at ³⁄₈", 6 at ³⁄₁₆", and 2 at ¼". The plugs sit proud of the surface and display a soft pillowed face. They imply an active role in the joinery, although they seldom play any actual part in construction. For details on ebony plugs, see Chapter 4.

There are two sizes of exposed, faux tenons for this project: ³⁄₈" x 2¹⁄₈" and ³⁄₈" x 1¹¹⁄₁₆".

You should first verify that the openings you have match these sizes, and then, if necessary, adjust the sizes of the faux tenon stock accordingly. As with the ebony pegs, mill the stock out in long lengths. Next, using a router table, put a ¹⁄₈" round over on the end of the stock. With a pencil, mark a line down the center of the routed end. Starting with 150-grit and using a seesaw motion, sand until the pencil line is removed. Continue sanding using progressively higher grits until a grade of 320 is reached. Smooth out the transition points with your thumb backing the sandpaper in a sort of flapping motion. When complete, the rounded end should smoothly transit and show no discernible facets. Cut the finished tenon end off at about a ½-inch and bevel the insertion end. To insert the faux tenons, spread a little glue around the perimeter of the hole with a toothpick then gently tap them in place with a plastic headed mallet. The tenon ends should be about ³⁄₁₆" proud of the surface.

30. Smooth out the transition points.

31. The finished faux tenon.

Reference drawing F to layout the location for the ebony plugs. The holes are easy to produce using an appropriately sized square hole punch (available from Lee Valley Tools). To use the punch, center it on the pencil marks that represent the hole’s location. Use a small square to insure proper alignment, and then tap on the tool just enough to register the points and make it stay put. With the tool still in place, use a regular twist bit that is ³⁄₆₄" under the size of the punch to drill out the hole to a depth of ³⁄₈". Do not use a brad point bit as it will cause damage to the bit. Now remove the drill and punch the tool to a depth of about ³⁄₈" with a steel hammer. Between hammer blows stop to wiggle the tool slightly, this will aid in the removal. Additionally, treating the tool end with a lubricant such as Dri-Cote will further aid in easy removal.

F. Layout for Ebony Pegs

32. Insert the faux tenons using a plastic headed mallet.

33. Use a small square to insure proper alignment.

34. Use a twist drill to drill out the hole.

35. Punch the tool to a depth of about ³⁄₈" with a steel hammer.

36. Use a “back up” piece when punching the plug holes for the auxiliary posts.

37. Seating the plug.

Before removing the tool from the wood, re-insert the drill and drill to the same depth as before; this will remove the debris created by the punch. As the punch is pulled out, make an effort not to move it side to side, as this will enlarge the hole.

Machining the plug holes for the auxiliary posts will require a ³⁄₈" “back up” piece to reduce the chance of blowing out the hole on the backside. Left over stock from the “faux tenon” stock should be just about the right thickness. Whatever back up piece is used it must take up the negative space left by the rabbet.

The hollow chisel from a mortising machine may also be used in a similar fashion to produce the holes, but its use for this purpose will damage it for use in a mortising machine.

Before setting in the plugs and tenon ends, take this chance to go over the piece one last time with 220-grit sandpaper. Hold the piece up to the light in a variety of directions in order to see any scratches or dents that need to be taken care of.

Inserting an ebony plug requires a little more care than the faux tenons. It is very easy to tap just a little too much and send the shoulder of the plug into the hole. Ideally the shoulder should stop just a few thousands shy of the hole. It is better to error on the side of leaving the plug just a bit too high. Use a plastic headed mallet to carefully seat the plug.

If you in fact have tapped the plug too far in, or for some other reason the plug needs to be removed, it is not difficult to do. First, use a center punch to establish a positive point starting point for a brad point bit. With a bit much smaller than the hole, drill out the center of the plug. Next, use a very small chisel to chip away from the drilled hole until a larger chisel can be used to finish it off. The last bit of plug should just cleanly fall away from the walls of the hole, no matter how long the plug has been in place.

An original finishing schedule relating to furniture from the Thorsen House (Greene & Greene 1908-10) calls for the use of Bichromate of Potash, also known as potassium dichromate. This is some nasty stuff and if a long life is part of your master plan, then this chemical reagent should be avoided. Potassium dichromate has been given a health hazard rating of “extreme” (causes cancer), a reactivity rating of “severe” (contact with oxidizable substances may cause extremely violent combustion), and a contact rating of “extreme” (pain and severe burn can occur).

Since long life is higher on my priority list than adherence to traditional methods, I have opted for an alternative finish.

The techniques and processes I use in furniture making evolve over time. Sometimes a better method is found and other times change is forced upon me. When I wrote my first book, Greene & Greene: Design Elements for the Workshop, I listed an aniline dye, English Brown Mahogany #43, for coloring the wood. Little was I to know that said aniline dye was about to be “no longer available.” This precipitated numerous emails and phone calls from my readers asking for an alternative. What started out as misfortune turned into good fortune! I not only found an alternative, but an improved process as well.

Dye stains from General Finishes come in several colors and can be infinitely mixed to achieve the desired results. There is no pigment so it is actually a water based dye. I found that mixing 7 parts Orange Dye with 4 parts of Medium Brown Dye produces a beautiful brown with orange overtones. It is highly advisable to practice the entire finishing process on scrap material before committing it to your finished project.

To start the process, raise the grain with a wet rag. When dry, scuff sand with 600-grit. The idea here is not to sand too heavily. Wet the surface again. If the grain does not rise this time, you can proceed to the dye application. If the grain rises, repeat the scuff sanding process until the grain does not rise.

38. Using a stain applicator.

While the General Finishes product will streak, it seems to be more user friendly in this regard than traditional aniline dyes. In order to mitigate any streaking or pooling that may occur, I like to apply three applications of the dye stain. Each succeeding coat will diminish undesirable elements left over from the previous coat. In between coats, minor touch-ups can be done with 600-grit sandpaper and a very light touch.

With a little practice, an even application can be achieved using a stain applicator such as a terry cloth covered sponge. Saturate the applicator with the dye and squeeze to apply. Wipe off any pooling and use compressed air to blow any excess out of the nooks and crannies.

For the top-coat, use General Finishes Arm-R-Seal satin. Be aware that improperly stored oily rags can spontaneously combust. Do not follow the instructions given on the label. Instead, apply the first liberal coat with a brush, then wait about ten minutes or until it starts to tack up, then wipe completely dry. Again, blow out any excess material from the nooks and crannies. The important thing here is to wipe the surface absolutely dry. When the first rag becomes saturated with finish, replace it with a new, unused, dry rag. Repeat this until the new rag remains dry and picks up no finish. This process takes a minimum of three coats and most often more, sometimes as many as seven or eight coats for a horizontal surface. With each additional coat the finish will set up a little faster. At some point it may become necessary to restrict the application to a smaller area in order to remove the finish before it sets up. If the finish does set up before it can be removed, simply apply more finish to loosen it up. In the end this will produce a satiny smooth finish. There is no need to sand between coats.

I normally do not apply a wax, but on the occasions when it is called for I prefer to use Renaissance Wax. Use this wax sparingly, not only because it is pricey, but also because not much is needed. Follow the instructions on the tin. Only do small areas at a time. If it dries and streaks before you can wipe it clean, use a little 0000-steel wool to correct it.

When the piece is finished, have a ¼" plate mirror installed, or if you have an appropriate image or art work to use, have ¹⁄₈" glass cut. To hang the mirror, use a 12" aluminum French cleat available at Woodcraft under the name “Hangman Heavy Duty Mirror and Picture Frame Hanger.”

With the frame finished and hung in place, enjoy it, and hopefully in the very distant future pass it down to the next generation.

39. Keep the nooks and crannies clean.