The following quarter-sawed white-oak stock should be bought in the dimensions shown. This may be had, planed and cut to lengths, from Home Depot, Lowes, or your local lumber yard. It is best not to have them sandpapered in advance, as the very coarse sandpaper generally used, gives a bad surface for finishing. You will want to do this yourself
- 4 posts, 1-1/4 by 1-1/4 by 16-1/2 in., S-4-S.
- 4 rails, 3/4 by 3 by 10-1/4 in., S-2-S.
- 4 rails, 3/4 by 2 by 10-1/4 in., S-2-S.
- 12 slats, 3/8 by 2-1/4 by 9-1/2 in., S-2-S.
- 4 handle pieces, 1 by 1 by 2-1/2 in., S-4-S.
- 2 handle pieces, 1/2 by 1/2 by 6 in., S-4-S.
- 1 bottom, 3/8 by 9-1/2 by 9-1/2 in., S-2-S.
See that the posts are absolutely square cross section. Mark with a
pencil—not gauge - the chamfers on the ends of the posts and
plane them off.
Carefully mark the tenons on the ends of all the rails with a knife and
gauge lines. Be sure that the distance from the tenon shoulder at one
end of rail to the shoulder at the other end is exactly the same on each
rail. Cut the tenons, using a backsaw and chisel.
Arrange the pieces as they are to stand in the finished basket, and
number each tenon and mortise. Mark all the mortises on the posts, being
sure to keep the distances between the top and lower rail the same on
each post. Cut each mortise to fit the correspondingly numbered tenon.
Next, mark the mortises for the slats in the rails, allowing the whole
slat to go in 1/4 in.
The handles are next in order. The pieces going into the rail should be
fastened with a round 1/2-in. tenon cut on one end and glued in place. The crosspiece should
be mortised all the way through these pieces and held in place by a brad
from the under side.
Now put the whole basket together without gluing, in order that errors,
if any, may be detected.
If everything fits perfectly, the basket is ready to be glued. For best results hot glue should be used. First glue up two opposite sides with the slats in place. Clamps must be used. When these have set for at least 24 hours, the other rails and slats may be glued in place and clamped. It is a good idea to pin the tenons in place with two 1-in. brads driven from the inside.
The handles are then glued in place, using hand screws to hold them
until the glue sets. The bottom should rest on thin cleats, without
being nailed to them, so that it may be removed when the basket is to be
emptied of small papers, etc.
Before applying the stain, see that all glue spots are removed and all surfaces sanded to perfect smoothness. If a fumed finish is not desired,
any good stain may be used, after which a thin coat of shellac and two coats of wax should be applied. Allow plenty of time for drying between the coats.
Waste-Paper
Basket to Match Library Table
Detail of Waste-Paper Basket
