DIY Network

Gilded Three-Panel Screen: Stock and Joinery From "Wood Works" episode WWK-610

	This three-panel screen features frame and panel construction and panels gilded with copper leaf.
	The copper-gilded panels feature a textured patina finish.

In this episode of DIY Wood Works, host David Marks builds an elegant and stunning three-panel screen.

The six-foot folding screen features frame and panel construction with mortise and loose-tenon joinery. The frame is made from solid mahogany. Each panel of the screen is made from 1/4-inch masonite, primed white, then painted with red-Japan paint.

The panel is then gilded with copper leaf. To oxidize the metal leaf we apply mild acids like sulfurated pot-ash, creating a lovely patina that radiates light greens, red, magenta and light blue colors. Once the patina process is complete, the panels are sealed with a vinyl sealer and lacquer finish.

Each panel is held in place with a strip of wood and brass screws on the backside, while the front side has trim strips glued in place, and mitered at the corners. Finally, antiqued metal hinges join the three sections of this eye-catching folding screen.

In this first segment, work gets underway with preparing the stock for therails and stiles and creating the joinery.

Materials:

Mahogany stock
MDF for templates and mockup
Table saw
Jointer
Drum sander
Hand-held router
Table router
Sharp chisel
Straight-edge
Carpenter's pencil
Safety glasses or goggles

Safety Alert: Always wear safety goggles or safety glasses, and follow proper safety precautions, when working with wood, power-tools, saws, drills, routers, etc.

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Figure A

Stock and Joinery

Note: Each of the three panels is identical. This demonstration only shows the construction of a single panel. Build the other two by following the same procedures.

• The parts for the frame were machined out of four-quarter mahogany stock. They were milled to 3/4" thick (figure A).

• Once all of the stock is cut to final dimension, examine and match the grain patterns of each rail and stile so that the grain "flows" around the frame. Use chalk to designate the top and bottom rail stock, then mark the ends that will be joined together.
  

• As seen on the prototype, the top rail is 17-1/2" long by 2-1/4" wide. The bottom rail (figure B) is a bit wider, at 3-1/4". The stiles are 72" tall by 2-1/4" wide.

• Once the frame is constructed, the top-rail has a 1-1/4" step-down (figure C), while the bottom rail has a rise of 3-3/4".

  Figure B

  Figure C

  
  

  
  
  

• Lay out the mortise marks on the ends of the top and bottom rail-stock (figure D) and on the ends of the stiles (figure E). All of the mortises should be 1-3/4" long and centered in the ends of the stock.

  Figure D

  Figure E

  
  

  
  
  

• Use a plunge router and 1/4" carbide router-bit to make the mortises (figure F). We clamped the stiles in a tail-vise alongside another board. The additional board supports the router and provides a reference for the fence.

• When cutting the mortises in the ends of the rails (figure G), we taped a board onto the end of the workbench so that the fence of the router has a reference point.

• Make matching tenons for the mortises. The tenons should be just shy of 2-1/2" long by 1-3/4" wide by 1/4" thick. Round the ends of the tenons to match the mortises. Small kerf cuts in the sides of the tenons, running lengthwise, will provide the glue an escape channel during glue-up, relieving pneumatic pressure and making it easier to insert the tenons.

  Figure F

  Figure G

  
  

  
  
  

• Before gluing up the frame stock, lay out and cut a rabbet for the trim (that will later hold the panel in place) on one side of each piece of the frame stock. At the router table, cut a rabbet 1/4" deep and 1/16" wide on the inside edge of the top and bottom rail-stock (figure H).

• Since stop-rabbets will be cut in the stiles, dry-fit the frame and mark the boundaries where the top and bottom rails join the stiles (figure I).

• Using the same set-up at the router table, cut the rabbet -- stopping just shy of the marks. The excess can be removed later using a sharp chisel.

  Figure I

  Figure H

  
  

RESOURCES :

Woodworking Techniques: Best Methods for Building Furniture from Fine Woodworking
Author: Editors of Fine Woodworking magazine
Publisher: Taunton Press
ISBN: 1561583456

David Marks Website
David Marks, DIY's Wood Works host, is a master woodworker. For more information on cut sizes and project details, please contact him via his Website at www.djmarks.com

Woodworker's Guide to Wood: Softwoods, Hardwoods, Plywoods, Composite, Veneers
Model: 080836878
Author: Rick Peters
(2000)
Sterling Publishing Co. Inc.
Website: www.sterlingpub.com

Fine Woodworking
A magazine devoted to high-quality craftsmanship in woodworking.
The Taunton Press Inc.
Website: www.taunton.com