The piano bench shown is best made of black walnut or oak and should be
finished in the natural color for walnut, but stained some rich brown
for oak.
The following pieces will be needed:
1 top, 1 by 15-1/2 by 38-1/2 in., S-2-S.
2 legs, 1 by 14-1/2 by 20-1/2 in., S-4-S.
2 rails, 7/8 by 3-3/4 by 36-1/2 in., S-2-S.
1 stretcher, 3/4 by 4-1/4 by 37 in., S-2-S.
The keys can be secured from the waste that will be cut off from the
other parts.
Square up the top in the usual manner to the size indicated in the
working drawing. In a similar manner square up the stretcher to width
and length.
There will be no need to square the ends of the rails as they are to be
cut off on a slant. Square up the sides or edges and then lay off and
cut the slanting ends, smoothing them with the plane. Lay off and work
the shape on their under edges.
[Illustration: Detail of the Piano Bench]
The ends are best laid off by means of a template or pattern for which a
piece of rather heavy paper will do. Lay off the main dimensions on a
center line. Sketch in the curve of the edge after the slant has been
laid out. Lay out the form at the bottom, then fold the paper along the
center line and trace the other half. With this pattern lay off the
outline upon the wood. For convenience in laying out the grooves for the
rails and the mortise for the tenon on the stretcher, it is well to work
a face edge upon each leg and allow this to remain until these joints
have been made and the parts fitted. The shape at the bottom of the leg
is merely suggestive and may be modified as desired.
Lay out and work the tenons on the stretcher. Then lay out and work the
grooves upon the rails. Each side of each rail is grooved 1/8 in, to
allow the leg to be recessed. This is done to give the bench the bracing
that is needed to make it stand firmly. Work the grooves in the legs and
the mortises for the rails.
[Illustration: Piano Bench in Quarter-Sawed Oak]
It should be noted that the mortise for the key in the stretcher must be
laid out before the shoulders and cheeks of the tenon on which the
mortise is made are cut off. Otherwise there would be no place to put
the gauge in marking the sides of the mortise for the key.
Thoroughly scrape all the parts and then assemble them. No glue is
needed. The rails are held in place by dowel pins, the heads of which
are allowed to project slightly and rounded so as to give an ornamental
effect. The top is attached by means of small angle irons or by means of
blocks and screws fastened to the corners made by top and rails.