Prairie Settle Sectional #1: Design

This is my first blog entry describing my summer woodworking project. My wife and I love Arts and Crafts furniture, and so we’ve decided to build ourselves a sectional settle inspired by these classic designs. I began with the Prairie Sofa described in Robert W. Lang’s book, “Shop Drawings for Craftsman Furniture” (Page 44). I then tweaked the measurements and proportions until I had a design that minimizes the number of distinct components and provides a lot of flexibility of arrangements.

I recently found this link to a similar design. A beautiful creation, indeed. However, I don’t have the “15 large” it would take to get one. Also, my design will allow us to add sections as time and budget permit.

The result (produced in Google Sketckup) can be seen below.

One assembly detail: Each leg will have a groove to accept a corbel. However, the corbels will actually be held in place with rare earth magnets. Fellow LJ Tim Pursell did a similar thing in one of his projects. This will permit easy removal and access to the hardware used to connect the individual sections. More assembly details will be added to future entries. Also, I will be asking LJ members for suggestions.

-- -- Jim E., Oswego, NY. Create, have fun, and work safely!