Arts & Crafts Woodworking Projects: 11 New Designs in the Stickley Tradition (Paperback)

by Robert E. Belke (Author) "The Arts and Crafts Movement originated in England during the second half of the nineteenth century..." (more)
Key Phrases: revolving bookrack, roundover router bit, golden oak stain, Crafts Woodworking Projects, New York, Gustav Stickley (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
& 8 pages of 12 color photos & 118 drawings & 8 x 11. Furniture and accessories designed by an expert. Detailed, step-by-step plans The Projects: & Desk Box & Room Divider & CD Holder & Revolving Bookrack & Coatrack & Coffee Table & Valet Stand & Sofa Table & Cheval Mirror & Bunk Bed & Morris Chair and Footstool There is a current renewal of interest in Arts and Crafts furniture, particularly the Mission Oak style of Gustav Stickley. The eleven projects in this book are not replicas, but new pieces designed in the manner of Stickley and his Arts and Crafts contemporaries. Step-by-step plans and instructions, as well as sections on techniques and finishing, make construction easy. Robert E. Belke is a furniture maker and author. He lives in Liverpool, New York.

About the Author
Robert E Belke

Product Details

• Paperback: 112 pages
• Publisher: Stackpole Books; 1st edition (July 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0811726622
• ISBN-13: 978-0811726627
• Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 8.3 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,130,375 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

46 of 48 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars GOOD INSTRUCTIONS FOR UGLY NEO-MISSION DESIGNS, December 30, 1999

By	Donald C. Thompson (Miami, Florida, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

We each have our own tastes, and I find most of the projects in this book ugly and/or ill-proportioned. The best piece, a "Sofa Table" (I'd call it a sideboard), isn't bad, but if you look at it, and then look at pictures of authentic Stickley pieces, the Belke piece is just... a little "off." The morris chair is positively hideous, and there are some odd little pieces included to fill out the book (a CD holder? a box?) that don't look much like anything except high school shop work. You know, the sort of stuff that you'd be proud of if your 14-year-old son made it.

The plans seem well-drawn, and there are plenty of drawings of the separate pieces of the projects to make it clear where all of the joinery is located.

So often we find that the books with good furniture have rotten plans, and the books with poor furniture have great plans.

Here are the projects:

Desk Box

CD Holder

Coatrack

Valet Stand

Cheval Mirror (with *TURNED* posts)

Room Divider (frame & panel screen)

Revolving Bookrack

Coffee Table (spindle ends)

Sofa Table

Morris Chair and Footstool

Bunk Beds

26 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Very Weak Book, August 3, 2000

By	Wayne Cease (Atlanta, GA USA) - See all my reviews

This is a weak Arts & Crafts furniture book. Many of the plans are simple and pseudo "Arts & Crafts" pieces (a CD holder?). There are a couple of nice plans, but that's it.

The drawings look like they are from a budget CAD program, but that aside are quite detailed and informative.

I would recommend looking at another book, such as "Classic Arts & Crafts Furniture You Can Build" by Andy Schultz or "The Furniture of Gustav Stickley : History, Techniques, Projects". Those are two really nice books, with excellent plans.

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good, but not for the beginner, January 21, 2000

By	Smaug "Jeremy" (Round Lake Beach, IL United States) - See all my reviews

The furniture in here is absolutely beautiful, but don't bother unless you have some serious equipment like a table saw w/dado set, and a drill press. (Or a lot of patience and accuracy with hand tools.)