Thread: Designing a (Bell Brothers) 'Queen Anne' style bookcase

I know its Christmas and you've all got extra time in the shop, but is no one here? Where's the tumbleweed smilie when you need it?

Anyway, did some more thinking today, and came up with some developments. Another (slightly less rough) sketch. This one's in three sections, the main section is the bookcase carcase, which is panels jointed with rabbets and dados. The drawers gone out the window, so just shelves. The top is separate, with a carved back rail screwed on. The third section is the base - basically four rails with legs in corners - with the front and side rails carved. I'm assuming these are morticed and tenoned?

Still looking for some advice on getting 300mm boards... I'm thinking of going to Wood n You to get the timber as I don't have a jointer or thicknesser. They've got tas oak up to 200 but not 300, so I'll need to join two 165s to get to 300. I could tongue and groove them, but is that a good idea? or do I need to find 300mm boards? Or join them some other way?

Richard,
I can't help a lot with the technicalities, but that style seemed to be common around Australia during the 50's and 60's and into the 70's and 80's in Qld

I have the remains of some of my 50's bedroom furniture from the 50's made in Melbourne in that style. The wardrobe and bed head were Tasmanian myrtle and it was all glued up from boards narrower than 300 mm, even then. I thought the Bell Bros stuff would also be some sort of hardwood and wonder what is actually under that paint.

Somehow it seems the dry Australian timbers don't have the same cross grain movement that is a feature of the designs we read about from North America made from maple and apple. The Queen Anne style cabinet carcases we see are just flat panels of jointed boards pretty much screwed and nailed together, no frame and panel or mortice and tenon joints.

Gluing up boards is pretty common. Even in the old days there were lots of descriptions for rubbing joints and letting the boards just lay together without clamps to set. Today I believe using modern pva adhesives it's not really necessary to rub the joints , but jointing the boards together with a #7 or #8 plane is what they were designed for and matches the edges for getting a good glue line. As for worrying about using t&g, biscuits or dominos, that's pretty much only useful for alignment, not strength of joint.

The smaller panels I have done this way I have just jointed and rested against 75x35 set against a wall on a slight angle. Let gravity do the clamping.

I haven't looked for a while, but there used to be reasonably cheap clear hoop pine available around SEQ that would be suitable for gluing up for painting.

Thanks, Fuzzie. I hadn't thought of hoop pine, but it would be good - our house has hoop pine floors and I think the VJ walls too. I'll look around for a supplier.

The chest of drawers definitely has a lot of screws holding it together! I can't see any m&ts, but there are a few places they could be, but they wouldn't be necessary either.

Your point about aussie hardwoods not moving as much as US or European woods is interesting. I'd love to see some testing.

Given you're in Windsor, take a look at Finlaysons in East Brisbane. Probably not the cheapest around, but they will have every available size and profile.