Fred’s Mission Style Table and Chairs

I just love the “masculine” elegance of Stickley-influenced design. The story does have a cool twist to it. The wood for the chairs is door casing from a south east Iowa farmhouse. A friend of mine had this 1905 farm house and it had a pile of extra door casing in the barn. When he sold the farm, he had me load up the door casing and take it home. I have moved it twice and finally found a good use for it. There were 2 coats of paint over the old varnish but there was some nice quartersawn white oak under it. The wood is probably close to 200 years old depending how old the tree was when it was made into millwork.

The design for the chairs is my interpretation of a Stickley chair that I found and liked. The table is the same design as the stair railing I built for my new house. The table is 42″x 96″ and the base is 22″x 72″. The legs are 4″ square using rabbets to make quartersawn face on all 4 sides. The stretchers for the table are 1″ stock and everything is mortise and tenon joints. The chairs are 18″ square and 18″ seat height. The backs are 48″ tall and 2 degree recline. The back has about 3/4″ of curve to it. The chairs are all built with mortise and tenon joints also. The seat is upholstered with a 2″ hi-density foam and vinyl. I have made tables in the past but this is the first time I have built chairs.

The finish schedule is as follows: Sand to 220 grit. Apply 1 coat of General Finishes Industrial Wiping Stain Special Walnut Color (Available from Jeff Jewitt). Sand to 400 grit–this knocks down the grain and lightens the rays. Apply 2nd coat of the GF Wiping Stain. Apply 1 coat of General Finishes Pre Cat 181 Urethane with HVLP conversion gun. Sand to 400 grit. Apply 2nd coat of GF Pre Cat 181. Sand with 0000 steel wool. Apply final coat of GF Pre Cat 181 Urethane.