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by
Dave Bond
photos: Roger Yip
illustration: Len Churchill |
UKRAINIAN BENCH |
| Build
a piece of Western-Canadian history from a hardy group of immigrants
for your front hall |
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| This
compact bench makes your entryway welcoming. It's
perfect for taking a seat while you put on your
shoes or pet the dog |
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|
From 1891
to the beginning of World War I, many Ukrainians took advantage
of a Canadian government program designed to populate the Western
provinces. Escaping cultural persecution and economic repression,
the new settlers brought agricultural and manufacturing skills,
and they applied them fervently in the new land. Favouring a
“peasant baroque” style, early Ukrainian-Canadian
woodworkers enjoyed ornamenting their pieces with both carvings
and painted icons, often religious or political, and multi-colour
finishes. This Ukrainian bench, collected in Saskatchewan, features
a whimsical back that shows the joy that went into building
the piece.
I
reproduced this decorative little hall bench from a very grainy
photo (right). Because I knew only the outer dimensions of the
piece, I spent a lot of time adjusting the size of the pieces
to come up with the right proportions. Some elements of the
finished product vary slightly from the original, but the result
is a comfortable, functional piece, perfect for the front hall.
To test how the piece would look
as a whole, I built a full-size mock-up from scraps before I
started on the real thing. That let me sit down and try it out
to get a sense of how the finished project would feel. The mock-up
also allowed me to adjust sizes of the individual parts to replicate
the original more closely.
Choose Your Materials
I chose #2 kiln-dried white pine because it’s inexpensive,
easily available in my part of the country and a pleasure to
work with. The original bench was probably made with pine as
well, although early Ukrainian furniture was often made with
spruce, birch, fir or poplar.
Since most of the bench parts
are small, you can cut around many of the knots, substantially
upgrading the quality of lumber that actually makes it into
your project. I milled the legs and arms from 2" x 2"
stock planed down to 1 3/4" square. This allows sufficient
dimensions for the joinery while making the legs look slender.
I tried 2" x 2" stock originally, but found it looked
too thick. The reeded rail pieces are dressed from one-inch
rough stock, finished down to 7/8" x 2 3/4". Don’t
use conventional 3/4" wood here if you’re building
from pine. The extra thickness adds necessary strength to these
high-stress components. Prepare pieces for the arms, legs and
reeded rails now, leaving some waste wood beyond the dimensions
listed.
Cut all four legs to a finished
length of 27", then taper each one so the bottom ends are
1 3/8" x 1 3/8". Apply these tapers to each side of
the legs, beginning 10" up from the floor. You can use
a taper jig on a tablesaw or bandsaw to cut these, but there’s
another option too. If you mark out the taper with pencil ahead
of time, a sharp hand plane will make quick work of the job.
You’ll need a 3/32"
bullnose router bit to create the reeded details on the rails.
You’ll also need a table-mounted router with an extra-high
fence to support the stock as it’s milled on edge. I also
strongly suggest the use of feather boards to keep the work
tight against the fence and table. Without these, any tiny movement
will cause unsightly ripples in the reeding. Prepare some scrap
wood to the same dimensions as your rails. You’ll need
these to arrive at critical machine adjustments. |
| YOU
WILL NEED |
| PART |
SIZE
(T x D x L) |
QTY. |
| Legs |
1
3/4" x 1 3/4" x 27" |
4 |
| Arms |
1
3/4" x 1 3/4" x 15 3/4" |
2 |
| Side
rails |
7/8"
x 2 3/4" x 16" |
4 |
| Front/back
rails |
7/8"
x 2 3/4" x 42 3/4" |
4 |
| Seat
support strips |
7/8"
x 7/8" x 39 3/4" |
2 |
| Seat
slats |
7/8"
x 3 7/8" x 13 7/8" |
12 |
| Side
scroll pieces |
3/8"
x 3 x 13 1/2" |
2 |
| Back
scroll piece |
3/8"
x 3 1/4" x 20" |
1 |
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PART 1 | PART 2 | PART
3 |
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