Mission Bookcase
You can build this Bookcase the same way the original Craftsman-style furniture was designed to be built — with a combination of machinery and handwork.
This bookcase is a good example of straightforward Mission-style furniture, with sturdy mortise and through tenon construction, square pegs, and shop-made door pulls. When Gustav Stickley started designing furniture like this in the early 1900s, he had the “common man” in mind. Out with the ornate — furniture should be simple and functional. The result was the Mission style (sometimes called “Craftsman” style furniture). But Stickley was not just concerned with design. Furniture also had to be built in the tradition of the master craftsman. His furniture was built with a combination of machinery and handwork. That’s what I like most about this bookcase. It’s built in the same tradition. Heavy and repetitive tasks (cutting, planing, and drilling) can be done by machine, while the finer details (the through tenons, square pegs, and door dividers) require careful handwork. The whole process reflects Stickley’s concern for quality and craftsmanship.
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What You Get:
- 16 pages of step-by-step instructions
- More than 100 photos, illustrations and exploded views
- Cutting diagrams & Materials list
- Retail sources for hardware and supplies
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Similar Woodsmith Plans
Imperial Plans
The United States Customary System of Units (USCS or USC), more commonly referred to as the English or Imperial system, is the standard set of units for our plans. It uses inches and feet for measurement. This is the one you probably want if you are in the United States, and it is the one we have traditionally offered on this website.
Metric Plans
The International System of Units (SI), more commonly referred to as the metric system, is the alternative set of units that we have available for some of our plans. It uses millimeters, centimeters, and meters for measurement. This is the one you probably want if you are outside the United States. These plans are provided by our business partner, Australian Woodsmith, and are based on the original Woodsmith plan. However, dimensions and other elements of the plan may vary between the metric and standard versions. Be sure to double-check the plan before building.
Premium Plans
All of the information that you need to build our plans can be found in the standard plan. However, if you want even more granular detail to make your job easier, you should consider our premium plans. These come with additional shop diagrams that we drew when creating the prototypes. Shop drawings are not available for every plan.