chairs (AIP) - Update Dec 23

[cerdeira]

Hi.

I've started building a set of 6 chairs some couple of months ago. Been to lazy to take WIP shots, but finally decided to document the AIP (Assembing
In Progress) stage.

The chairs are made of ash I've sourced at a bargain price, but happened to have a lot of defects (some nasty hidden black spots) and produce a lot of wastage.

It's been a hell of a challenging project, where almost every joint is angled at some point. The lack of squareness and reference points called for some careful planning, and a bit of trial and error. Fortunately I've managed to keep goof ups at a minimum (mostly a couple of tenons needing shimming)

Here are the photos:

components ready for assembly

Back crest detail. I had a go at carving a simple geometrical motif. I'm not much happy with the result though.

Crest, splats and middle rail assembled. The splats are floating tenons without shoulders, to avoid unsightly gaps. There's also no need in gluing them.

Detail of the back rails. Notice that the tenons are in the same direction as the tangent to the curve at the shoulder, hence the back stiles/legs will not be parallel to each other. This will add extra complexity for the benefit of a stronger mechanical joint of the lateral seat rails, as we'll see.

The fact that the curved back legs are not parallel to each other, means that the rail's tenons will have out of square shoulders.

Assembly of the back legs and rails. The wood pads used in clamping are tapered to acommodate the angled legs.

Detail of one of the back rail's seat tenon. It is mitred at the end where it will meet the lateral seat rail.

Detail of the angled tenons for the lateral rails.

Dry assembling the lateral seat rails. The back was already glued up. Because the back legs are angled, the mortices will not be parallel but will lean towards each other on the front of the chair. That means the joint will act somehow as a dovetail adding mechanical strenght to the most stressed point of a chair.

Detail of the front leg assembly. Hauched tenons were used. This must be he last stage of glue-up. If I had done this prior to driving in the tenons in the back leg mortices, the fact that they're angled would render it impossible to complete the assembly. (I hope i was clear)

Dry assembly of the complete chair frame.

Actual glue up. Oops, I must have been cursing and raving quite a bit since my mom just popped in to check what's going on.

 

[newt]

Cerdeia, a very nice solid looking chair, the angled joints look tricky but you have managed it. I have been told you really have not been tested in woodwork until you make a chair, well done. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Mcluma]

I think that they came out pretty well

I must agree with you about the carving, a more straight contemporary carving would have suited these chairs better

I like the lines on the chair.

What is the seat going to be ...Beige leather???

 

[OPJ]

Wow, I really like the look of this and also look forward to seeing them finished. What finish are you going for?

 

[woodbloke]

Cerdeia, a very nice solid looking chair, the angled joints look tricky but you have managed it. I have been told you really have not been tested in woodwork until you make a chair, well done. Thanks for sharing.

Agreed Pete, there's a tale in there for the telling :wink: - Rob

 

[mailee]

Some beautiful work there. Would like to see a posting once they are finished. I could possibly be making some shortly.

 

[Benchwayze]

Cerdeia, a very nice solid looking chair, the angled joints look tricky but you have managed it. I have been told you really have not been tested in woodwork until you make a chair, well done. Thanks for sharing.

So I was told too Newt. I would add a good sawhorse to that pearl of wisdom!

I have always liked the drop-in seat variant of design, my only reservation being the waste of timber, when cutting out the rear legs.
But looking at the 12 foot oak boards I have....

Cerdeia, that looks great so far. A couple of ?'s if I may...

Are you including two carver-chairs in the set?
What are you using to cover the seats please?

Regards

John

 

[Rknott2007]

Very nice!
I made 4 chairs for the kitchen about 2years ago, its surprising how many set ups i needed! I made one on its own first as a prototype, followed by the remaining 3 at once, the 3 took the same amount of time as the prototype.

 

[newt]

I don't think we get enough info on chairs, I suspect, because it is a bit tricky. This is a good WIP thread but it would help if there could be more detail on joints. I guess jigs come into there own when making chairs. A chair ought to be a target project for us if we want to really test ourselves, many do not and that's ok. Some stories on chair making disasters would be interesting.

 

[Modernist]

Very nice work. I like the solid design too with pleasing proportions.

 

[Benchwayze]

I agree with Newt. Here's summat that helped me:

Draw the seat plan, full size, on a sheet of thin ply/mdf. The angles are easily transposed to the job with a sliding bevel.

It isn't the complete answer, but it does guarantee tenons, (or dowels) and shoulders are at the correct angle.

John

 

[Green]

Brilliant stuff.

Thanks for sharing. Inspiring thread.

 

[cerdeira]

Hi there.

Here's a followup of the building process. I haven't give much thought on the
seats themselves on the outset, but they happened to be a little tricky to fit, as you'll see.

here are the photos. I hope these will also answer some of the questions made.

glueing corner blocks. they were made from construction treated timber
offcuts I had laying around. These blocks will reinforce the joints somewhat
and provide a way to screw the seat in place

After a failed attempt at upholstering, I've decided to go with a spartan look,
and just made a laminated wooden seat 15 mm thick. Now you can spot a
major cock up: the back of the seat, being shaped like a wide dovetail, would
not go through the space between the back legs, so I had to cut a small
corner to fit it in. I saved the offcuts to glue them later after the seat is assembled.

Te seat screwed in place. I've made fairly large (6mm) holes so that the
screws (4mm gauge) have some play to acommodate the wooden seat
expansion and contraction, but I'm a bit concerned that it may not be nough.
Time will tell.

Queuing for finish. I'm planing to apply a Maloof type finish (1/3 turps, 1/3
tung oil, 1/3 glossy polyurethane varnish). Since the chairs might end up
being used in a kitchen and depending of the build up of this mix, I may
brush a final coat of semi-gloss poly varnish.

That's all for now. Thanks for looking.

 

[MikeG.]

Quick.....undo those screws!!

Even with over-sized holes I don't think that you have given the seat enough chance to expand and contract.....and it will want to. This can only result in cracking, I reckon.

I have to say it seems a pity you couldn't make the upholstery work, because these would have looked so much better and been much more comfortable with a padded seat. Shame, as the rest of the chairs are so good looking.

Lovely job.

Mike

 

[Steve Maskery]

Mike's right (as usual) you are asking for trouble screwing the seats down.
You need a slot in the inside of the rails and then use buttons to hold down a seat like that. It would have been best to rout such a groove before assembly, but you can do it retrospectively with a Domino, or even with a biscuit jointer.

I'd also warn against a Maloof finish. Danish oil on ash turns a nasty brassy colour over time. DAMHIKT. You'd be better with, hmmm, don't really know, I'm not an expert in finishing. Certainly AC lacquer would be good (but you'd need spraying facilities), super-blonde shellac would be good, no special tools required. I'm using hard-wax oils these days (Osmo and Chestnut) but I've not tried them on ash.

Otherwise, that is a very nice job. Not easy and well-executed.

Cheers
Steve

 

[MikeG.]

Steve's right, (as usual!). Danish oil discolours the ash over time, turning it pee-yellow/ orange. Consider Osmo Poly-X, or Rustins Plastic Coating to keep the blonde colouring.

As for the buttons.......you can keep the front of the seat screwed into place, but have buttons on the back edge, or better still, towards the back edge of the sides.

Mike

 

[woodbloke]

Some stories on chair making disasters would be interesting.

I was working a few years ago in the trade and a job came in to make 8 modern versions of these. The boss turned it down so we didn't get the job. I subsequently moved to a new place and guess what?
Yup, I had eight carvers to make in maple with red leather seats. Fortunately they were sprayed black so it hid a multitude of sins :shock: Each chair was allocated 22.5 hours to make (not inc finishing) and in the end it took two of us twice as long to get them done.
Chairs is tricky :wink: however you slice it - Rob

 

[Benchwayze]

Talking of ash, I need a reliable Midlands supplier now that Venables has gone.

John

 

[OPJ]

In my experience, Osmo's Polyx oil will darken ash (and most other timbers) but not the same extent as Danish oil.

 

[woodbloke]

In my experience, Osmo's Polyx oil will darken ash (and most other timbers) but not the same extent as Danish oil.

I've just put some (matt Osmo) on an oak picture frame...seems to be good, doesn't appear to darken it too much - Rob