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Orchard Street Sofa

43K views 151 replies 25 participants last post by  Bigrock 
#1 ·
Getting started

Some of you may recall that my son wants me to make a sofa for him that looked like a bow arm Morris chair. I haven't made a Morris chair yet, nor have I made anything resembling a bow arm, so I jumped at the chance. I found a FWW video series with Greg Paolini that does a nice job of illustrating the making of a bow arm Morris chair and I bought the plans from LV to get the profile for the arms. Greg (my son) found the sofa= he liked on Stickley's site. Therefore, this project will actually be a combination of these two.

I was fortunate to find some nicely figured 5/4 qswo and moved it into the shop about 5 weeks ago.

Furniture Wood Shelf Shelving Wood stain


I like to mark the planks with chalk to try to maximize the yield.

Handwriting Wood Rectangle Gas Font


Once that is done, I cut them to length.

Wood Automotive exterior Bumper Composite material Gas


Then it is off to the jointer to flatten one face and square an edge. Unfortunately, my photographer slept through this step, but, trust me, it happened. Next up is to cut the opposite edge square with the table saw.

Table Wood Flooring Floor Automotive tire


I had had enough fun by this point, so I restacked everything so it could move a bit if necessary. I also marked the names of the pieces on their ends to make it easier going forward.

Property Furniture Shelf Wood Shelving


That's all for today, thanks for stopping by!
 

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#2 ·
Getting started

Some of you may recall that my son wants me to make a sofa for him that looked like a bow arm Morris chair. I haven't made a Morris chair yet, nor have I made anything resembling a bow arm, so I jumped at the chance. I found a FWW video series with Greg Paolini that does a nice job of illustrating the making of a bow arm Morris chair and I bought the plans from LV to get the profile for the arms. Greg (my son) found the sofa= he liked on Stickley's site. Therefore, this project will actually be a combination of these two.

I was fortunate to find some nicely figured 5/4 qswo and moved it into the shop about 5 weeks ago.

Furniture Wood Shelf Shelving Wood stain


I like to mark the planks with chalk to try to maximize the yield.

Handwriting Wood Rectangle Gas Font


Once that is done, I cut them to length.

Wood Automotive exterior Bumper Composite material Gas


Then it is off to the jointer to flatten one face and square an edge. Unfortunately, my photographer slept through this step, but, trust me, it happened. Next up is to cut the opposite edge square with the table saw.

Table Wood Flooring Floor Automotive tire


I had had enough fun by this point, so I restacked everything so it could move a bit if necessary. I also marked the names of the pieces on their ends to make it easier going forward.

Property Furniture Shelf Wood Shelving


That's all for today, thanks for stopping by!
Looks like you are well on your way! That's a nice looking sofa, should be a really nice project.

Do you also do the leather seating and throw pillows?
 

Attachments

#3 ·
Getting started

Some of you may recall that my son wants me to make a sofa for him that looked like a bow arm Morris chair. I haven't made a Morris chair yet, nor have I made anything resembling a bow arm, so I jumped at the chance. I found a FWW video series with Greg Paolini that does a nice job of illustrating the making of a bow arm Morris chair and I bought the plans from LV to get the profile for the arms. Greg (my son) found the sofa= he liked on Stickley's site. Therefore, this project will actually be a combination of these two.

I was fortunate to find some nicely figured 5/4 qswo and moved it into the shop about 5 weeks ago.

Furniture Wood Shelf Shelving Wood stain


I like to mark the planks with chalk to try to maximize the yield.

Handwriting Wood Rectangle Gas Font


Once that is done, I cut them to length.

Wood Automotive exterior Bumper Composite material Gas


Then it is off to the jointer to flatten one face and square an edge. Unfortunately, my photographer slept through this step, but, trust me, it happened. Next up is to cut the opposite edge square with the table saw.

Table Wood Flooring Floor Automotive tire


I had had enough fun by this point, so I restacked everything so it could move a bit if necessary. I also marked the names of the pieces on their ends to make it easier going forward.

Property Furniture Shelf Wood Shelving


That's all for today, thanks for stopping by!
Thanks for sharing Art! It looks like a great project !! Can't wait for more!!
 

Attachments

#4 ·
Getting started

Some of you may recall that my son wants me to make a sofa for him that looked like a bow arm Morris chair. I haven't made a Morris chair yet, nor have I made anything resembling a bow arm, so I jumped at the chance. I found a FWW video series with Greg Paolini that does a nice job of illustrating the making of a bow arm Morris chair and I bought the plans from LV to get the profile for the arms. Greg (my son) found the sofa= he liked on Stickley's site. Therefore, this project will actually be a combination of these two.

I was fortunate to find some nicely figured 5/4 qswo and moved it into the shop about 5 weeks ago.

Furniture Wood Shelf Shelving Wood stain


I like to mark the planks with chalk to try to maximize the yield.

Handwriting Wood Rectangle Gas Font


Once that is done, I cut them to length.

Wood Automotive exterior Bumper Composite material Gas


Then it is off to the jointer to flatten one face and square an edge. Unfortunately, my photographer slept through this step, but, trust me, it happened. Next up is to cut the opposite edge square with the table saw.

Table Wood Flooring Floor Automotive tire


I had had enough fun by this point, so I restacked everything so it could move a bit if necessary. I also marked the names of the pieces on their ends to make it easier going forward.

Property Furniture Shelf Wood Shelving


That's all for today, thanks for stopping by!
Your off to a good start Art. Looking forward to the next phase.
 

Attachments

#5 ·
Getting started

Some of you may recall that my son wants me to make a sofa for him that looked like a bow arm Morris chair. I haven't made a Morris chair yet, nor have I made anything resembling a bow arm, so I jumped at the chance. I found a FWW video series with Greg Paolini that does a nice job of illustrating the making of a bow arm Morris chair and I bought the plans from LV to get the profile for the arms. Greg (my son) found the sofa= he liked on Stickley's site. Therefore, this project will actually be a combination of these two.

I was fortunate to find some nicely figured 5/4 qswo and moved it into the shop about 5 weeks ago.

Furniture Wood Shelf Shelving Wood stain


I like to mark the planks with chalk to try to maximize the yield.

Handwriting Wood Rectangle Gas Font


Once that is done, I cut them to length.

Wood Automotive exterior Bumper Composite material Gas


Then it is off to the jointer to flatten one face and square an edge. Unfortunately, my photographer slept through this step, but, trust me, it happened. Next up is to cut the opposite edge square with the table saw.

Table Wood Flooring Floor Automotive tire


I had had enough fun by this point, so I restacked everything so it could move a bit if necessary. I also marked the names of the pieces on their ends to make it easier going forward.

Property Furniture Shelf Wood Shelving


That's all for today, thanks for stopping by!
Hey Art,

I'm super-excited about your build. It's definitely in the sweet spot of my aesthetic. Looks like you're gonna have another epic project for your gallery. Thanks for taking the time to blog about it. I'm a new Dad so the few minutes on LJ every morning is my "Me" time.
 

Attachments

#6 ·
Getting started

Some of you may recall that my son wants me to make a sofa for him that looked like a bow arm Morris chair. I haven't made a Morris chair yet, nor have I made anything resembling a bow arm, so I jumped at the chance. I found a FWW video series with Greg Paolini that does a nice job of illustrating the making of a bow arm Morris chair and I bought the plans from LV to get the profile for the arms. Greg (my son) found the sofa= he liked on Stickley's site. Therefore, this project will actually be a combination of these two.

I was fortunate to find some nicely figured 5/4 qswo and moved it into the shop about 5 weeks ago.

Furniture Wood Shelf Shelving Wood stain


I like to mark the planks with chalk to try to maximize the yield.

Handwriting Wood Rectangle Gas Font


Once that is done, I cut them to length.

Wood Automotive exterior Bumper Composite material Gas


Then it is off to the jointer to flatten one face and square an edge. Unfortunately, my photographer slept through this step, but, trust me, it happened. Next up is to cut the opposite edge square with the table saw.

Table Wood Flooring Floor Automotive tire


I had had enough fun by this point, so I restacked everything so it could move a bit if necessary. I also marked the names of the pieces on their ends to make it easier going forward.

Property Furniture Shelf Wood Shelving


That's all for today, thanks for stopping by!
Thanks for all the favorable comments. I will try to live up to them.

Captain, it won't be long before you will wish for less "Me" time and more kid time.
 

Attachments

#7 ·
Getting started

Some of you may recall that my son wants me to make a sofa for him that looked like a bow arm Morris chair. I haven't made a Morris chair yet, nor have I made anything resembling a bow arm, so I jumped at the chance. I found a FWW video series with Greg Paolini that does a nice job of illustrating the making of a bow arm Morris chair and I bought the plans from LV to get the profile for the arms. Greg (my son) found the sofa= he liked on Stickley's site. Therefore, this project will actually be a combination of these two.

I was fortunate to find some nicely figured 5/4 qswo and moved it into the shop about 5 weeks ago.

Furniture Wood Shelf Shelving Wood stain


I like to mark the planks with chalk to try to maximize the yield.

Handwriting Wood Rectangle Gas Font


Once that is done, I cut them to length.

Wood Automotive exterior Bumper Composite material Gas


Then it is off to the jointer to flatten one face and square an edge. Unfortunately, my photographer slept through this step, but, trust me, it happened. Next up is to cut the opposite edge square with the table saw.

Table Wood Flooring Floor Automotive tire


I had had enough fun by this point, so I restacked everything so it could move a bit if necessary. I also marked the names of the pieces on their ends to make it easier going forward.

Property Furniture Shelf Wood Shelving


That's all for today, thanks for stopping by!
Nice looking stock, I can see some premium figure hiding in there.
 

Attachments

#8 ·
Getting started

Some of you may recall that my son wants me to make a sofa for him that looked like a bow arm Morris chair. I haven't made a Morris chair yet, nor have I made anything resembling a bow arm, so I jumped at the chance. I found a FWW video series with Greg Paolini that does a nice job of illustrating the making of a bow arm Morris chair and I bought the plans from LV to get the profile for the arms. Greg (my son) found the sofa= he liked on Stickley's site. Therefore, this project will actually be a combination of these two.

I was fortunate to find some nicely figured 5/4 qswo and moved it into the shop about 5 weeks ago.

Furniture Wood Shelf Shelving Wood stain


I like to mark the planks with chalk to try to maximize the yield.

Handwriting Wood Rectangle Gas Font


Once that is done, I cut them to length.

Wood Automotive exterior Bumper Composite material Gas


Then it is off to the jointer to flatten one face and square an edge. Unfortunately, my photographer slept through this step, but, trust me, it happened. Next up is to cut the opposite edge square with the table saw.

Table Wood Flooring Floor Automotive tire


I had had enough fun by this point, so I restacked everything so it could move a bit if necessary. I also marked the names of the pieces on their ends to make it easier going forward.

Property Furniture Shelf Wood Shelving


That's all for today, thanks for stopping by!
That nice pile of stickered wood looks to be enough for the sofa, two side chairs and a table. Ah maybe we don't want to give Greg any ideas ;)

Looking forward to seeing this build progress Art.
 

Attachments

#9 ·
Getting started

Some of you may recall that my son wants me to make a sofa for him that looked like a bow arm Morris chair. I haven't made a Morris chair yet, nor have I made anything resembling a bow arm, so I jumped at the chance. I found a FWW video series with Greg Paolini that does a nice job of illustrating the making of a bow arm Morris chair and I bought the plans from LV to get the profile for the arms. Greg (my son) found the sofa= he liked on Stickley's site. Therefore, this project will actually be a combination of these two.

I was fortunate to find some nicely figured 5/4 qswo and moved it into the shop about 5 weeks ago.

Furniture Wood Shelf Shelving Wood stain


I like to mark the planks with chalk to try to maximize the yield.

Handwriting Wood Rectangle Gas Font


Once that is done, I cut them to length.

Wood Automotive exterior Bumper Composite material Gas


Then it is off to the jointer to flatten one face and square an edge. Unfortunately, my photographer slept through this step, but, trust me, it happened. Next up is to cut the opposite edge square with the table saw.

Table Wood Flooring Floor Automotive tire


I had had enough fun by this point, so I restacked everything so it could move a bit if necessary. I also marked the names of the pieces on their ends to make it easier going forward.

Property Furniture Shelf Wood Shelving


That's all for today, thanks for stopping by!
That nice pile of stickered wood looks to be enough for the sofa, two side chairs and a table.
Bill, I wish I could stretch it that far. It is about 50 bdft and I will have some excess (if all goes well), but I think a small bench will be about the best I will be able to do.
 

Attachments

#10 ·
Getting started

Some of you may recall that my son wants me to make a sofa for him that looked like a bow arm Morris chair. I haven't made a Morris chair yet, nor have I made anything resembling a bow arm, so I jumped at the chance. I found a FWW video series with Greg Paolini that does a nice job of illustrating the making of a bow arm Morris chair and I bought the plans from LV to get the profile for the arms. Greg (my son) found the sofa= he liked on Stickley's site. Therefore, this project will actually be a combination of these two.

I was fortunate to find some nicely figured 5/4 qswo and moved it into the shop about 5 weeks ago.

Furniture Wood Shelf Shelving Wood stain


I like to mark the planks with chalk to try to maximize the yield.

Handwriting Wood Rectangle Gas Font


Once that is done, I cut them to length.

Wood Automotive exterior Bumper Composite material Gas


Then it is off to the jointer to flatten one face and square an edge. Unfortunately, my photographer slept through this step, but, trust me, it happened. Next up is to cut the opposite edge square with the table saw.

Table Wood Flooring Floor Automotive tire


I had had enough fun by this point, so I restacked everything so it could move a bit if necessary. I also marked the names of the pieces on their ends to make it easier going forward.

Property Furniture Shelf Wood Shelving


That's all for today, thanks for stopping by!
Do you also do the leather seating and throw pillows?

- David Taylor
David, this will be on a screened porch so they have ordered Sunsetter covered cushions.
 

Attachments

#11 ·
Getting started

Some of you may recall that my son wants me to make a sofa for him that looked like a bow arm Morris chair. I haven't made a Morris chair yet, nor have I made anything resembling a bow arm, so I jumped at the chance. I found a FWW video series with Greg Paolini that does a nice job of illustrating the making of a bow arm Morris chair and I bought the plans from LV to get the profile for the arms. Greg (my son) found the sofa= he liked on Stickley's site. Therefore, this project will actually be a combination of these two.

I was fortunate to find some nicely figured 5/4 qswo and moved it into the shop about 5 weeks ago.

Furniture Wood Shelf Shelving Wood stain


I like to mark the planks with chalk to try to maximize the yield.

Handwriting Wood Rectangle Gas Font


Once that is done, I cut them to length.

Wood Automotive exterior Bumper Composite material Gas


Then it is off to the jointer to flatten one face and square an edge. Unfortunately, my photographer slept through this step, but, trust me, it happened. Next up is to cut the opposite edge square with the table saw.

Table Wood Flooring Floor Automotive tire


I had had enough fun by this point, so I restacked everything so it could move a bit if necessary. I also marked the names of the pieces on their ends to make it easier going forward.

Property Furniture Shelf Wood Shelving


That's all for today, thanks for stopping by!
Do you also do the leather seating and throw pillows?

- David Taylor

David, this will be on a screened porch so they have ordered Sunsetter covered cushions.

- AandCstyle
Ah, I see. That'll be the nicest settin' porch sofa around!
 

Attachments

#12 ·
Getting started

Some of you may recall that my son wants me to make a sofa for him that looked like a bow arm Morris chair. I haven't made a Morris chair yet, nor have I made anything resembling a bow arm, so I jumped at the chance. I found a FWW video series with Greg Paolini that does a nice job of illustrating the making of a bow arm Morris chair and I bought the plans from LV to get the profile for the arms. Greg (my son) found the sofa= he liked on Stickley's site. Therefore, this project will actually be a combination of these two.

I was fortunate to find some nicely figured 5/4 qswo and moved it into the shop about 5 weeks ago.

Furniture Wood Shelf Shelving Wood stain


I like to mark the planks with chalk to try to maximize the yield.

Handwriting Wood Rectangle Gas Font


Once that is done, I cut them to length.

Wood Automotive exterior Bumper Composite material Gas


Then it is off to the jointer to flatten one face and square an edge. Unfortunately, my photographer slept through this step, but, trust me, it happened. Next up is to cut the opposite edge square with the table saw.

Table Wood Flooring Floor Automotive tire


I had had enough fun by this point, so I restacked everything so it could move a bit if necessary. I also marked the names of the pieces on their ends to make it easier going forward.

Property Furniture Shelf Wood Shelving


That's all for today, thanks for stopping by!
Ah, I see. That ll be the nicest settin porch sofa around!

- David Taylor
Thank you, I hope so. :)
 

Attachments

#13 ·
Getting started

Some of you may recall that my son wants me to make a sofa for him that looked like a bow arm Morris chair. I haven't made a Morris chair yet, nor have I made anything resembling a bow arm, so I jumped at the chance. I found a FWW video series with Greg Paolini that does a nice job of illustrating the making of a bow arm Morris chair and I bought the plans from LV to get the profile for the arms. Greg (my son) found the sofa= he liked on Stickley's site. Therefore, this project will actually be a combination of these two.

I was fortunate to find some nicely figured 5/4 qswo and moved it into the shop about 5 weeks ago.

Furniture Wood Shelf Shelving Wood stain


I like to mark the planks with chalk to try to maximize the yield.

Handwriting Wood Rectangle Gas Font


Once that is done, I cut them to length.

Wood Automotive exterior Bumper Composite material Gas


Then it is off to the jointer to flatten one face and square an edge. Unfortunately, my photographer slept through this step, but, trust me, it happened. Next up is to cut the opposite edge square with the table saw.

Table Wood Flooring Floor Automotive tire


I had had enough fun by this point, so I restacked everything so it could move a bit if necessary. I also marked the names of the pieces on their ends to make it easier going forward.

Property Furniture Shelf Wood Shelving


That's all for today, thanks for stopping by!
Looks like a neat project.
 

Attachments

#14 ·
Starting the Arms

I leaned heavily on the Paolini video for making the arms since bent lamination is a new adventure for me. He suggested resawing the laminations for the arms starting with the table saw them finishing cutting them with the band saw. My blanks were just about 1.125" thick and I wanted to get 3 lams from each blank, so I switched to a thin kerf blade.

Hood Wood Flooring Bumper Floor


Remember to keep the same side of the blank against the fence. I recommend a high fence to eliminate any chance of the stock tipping as it is being pushed through the blade. On to the band saw for the final cut for each lam.

Road surface Wood Asphalt Floor Flooring


After the lam is cut off, I needed to run the blanks through the planer to get a flat surface to push against the TS fence. Repeat the above until all the lams have been cut and planed to 1/4". While resawing with the TS wastes a bit more wood than I would like, it is a good way to prevent the BS blade from wandering-not that mine ever has. ;)

I stacked the lams to prevent any warping if possible and so far, so good.

Wood Vehicle Gas Composite material Motor vehicle


My next step was to make the bending form. Paolini drew a baseline on the plans and ticked off 1" increments, then measured the distance from the baseline to the bottom of the arm profile at each increment. Next he drew a new baseline on a 6" wide piece of particle board and again ticked off 1" increments and marked the appropriate height with lines perpendicular to the particle board base line. Then he connected the dots and cut about 1/8" outside that line with the BS. Finally, he faired the curve with a horizontal belt sander. I followed his guidance and you can see my rendition.

Wood Road surface Grey Asphalt Automotive tire


I think the photographer was out to lunch for the above segment. :/

After that, it is simply a matter of marking the 7 additional particle board strips and cutting the curves with the BS.

Table Rectangle Road surface Wood Automotive tire


Tire Wheel Automotive tire Wood Road surface


After they are all cut, glue and nail one of them to the original and run them across the router table with a bearing bit aligned with the faired piece.

Hood Wood Road surface Flooring Automotive tire


Wood Flooring Floor Bumper Gas


I gotta get a dependable photog!

Attach a stop at one end and on one side of the form and cover it with tape so the glue won't stick to the form. I used 1/4" melamine for the side.

Rectangle Wood Floor Composite material Flooring


Rectangle Wood Flooring Floor Material property


The hardest part of this was lugging the particle board form around, it must be about 50 pounds when complete. I had a few minutes before quitting time, so I cut the side slats to final length. I used a stop to ensure they were all the same length.

Wood Tool Creative arts Composite material Hardwood


More tomorrow if all goes well. Thanks for reading along.
 

Attachments

#15 ·
Starting the Arms

I leaned heavily on the Paolini video for making the arms since bent lamination is a new adventure for me. He suggested resawing the laminations for the arms starting with the table saw them finishing cutting them with the band saw. My blanks were just about 1.125" thick and I wanted to get 3 lams from each blank, so I switched to a thin kerf blade.

Hood Wood Flooring Bumper Floor


Remember to keep the same side of the blank against the fence. I recommend a high fence to eliminate any chance of the stock tipping as it is being pushed through the blade. On to the band saw for the final cut for each lam.

Road surface Wood Asphalt Floor Flooring


After the lam is cut off, I needed to run the blanks through the planer to get a flat surface to push against the TS fence. Repeat the above until all the lams have been cut and planed to 1/4". While resawing with the TS wastes a bit more wood than I would like, it is a good way to prevent the BS blade from wandering-not that mine ever has. ;)

I stacked the lams to prevent any warping if possible and so far, so good.

Wood Vehicle Gas Composite material Motor vehicle


My next step was to make the bending form. Paolini drew a baseline on the plans and ticked off 1" increments, then measured the distance from the baseline to the bottom of the arm profile at each increment. Next he drew a new baseline on a 6" wide piece of particle board and again ticked off 1" increments and marked the appropriate height with lines perpendicular to the particle board base line. Then he connected the dots and cut about 1/8" outside that line with the BS. Finally, he faired the curve with a horizontal belt sander. I followed his guidance and you can see my rendition.

Wood Road surface Grey Asphalt Automotive tire


I think the photographer was out to lunch for the above segment. :/

After that, it is simply a matter of marking the 7 additional particle board strips and cutting the curves with the BS.

Table Rectangle Road surface Wood Automotive tire


Tire Wheel Automotive tire Wood Road surface


After they are all cut, glue and nail one of them to the original and run them across the router table with a bearing bit aligned with the faired piece.

Hood Wood Road surface Flooring Automotive tire


Wood Flooring Floor Bumper Gas


I gotta get a dependable photog!

Attach a stop at one end and on one side of the form and cover it with tape so the glue won't stick to the form. I used 1/4" melamine for the side.

Rectangle Wood Floor Composite material Flooring


Rectangle Wood Flooring Floor Material property


The hardest part of this was lugging the particle board form around, it must be about 50 pounds when complete. I had a few minutes before quitting time, so I cut the side slats to final length. I used a stop to ensure they were all the same length.

Wood Tool Creative arts Composite material Hardwood


More tomorrow if all goes well. Thanks for reading along.
Great stuff Norm!! ....I mean Art !! Lol
 

Attachments

#27 ·
Kinda got stuck today

Today was to be a big day, I planned to do my first bent lamination. The form was ready to go as were the lams and I even had auxiliary help (aka LOML) lined up if needed. Paolini recommends using plastic resin glue, but I checked with a buddy that does a lot of bending and he indicated that TiteBond III would be fine. So that is what I used and tomorrow morning I will find out for myself.

Wood Building Flooring Gas Engineering


Gas Wood Machine Cylinder Shotgun


Actually, this first stage went easier than I had antictpated and no auxiliary help was required. :) If there are any OCD readers here, I used 32 clamps. Tomorrow morning will either be agony or ecstasy. haha

Then I started work on the legs. I needed to laminate two pieces together to get started and because I was short on clamps, I choose to glue all 4 legs together at one time and used cauls to maximize the pressure.

Wood Flooring Floor Tool Hardwood


Then I waited about 30-45 minutes for the glue to cure. After the legs were out of the clamps, I needed to square up the edges a bit.

Brown Wood Beige Grey Flooring


If you look closely, you might be able to see that the two edges aren't perfectly aligned. A couple passes over the jointer fixed that. My next step was to glue the veneer to the edge grain so as to have ray flecks on all 4 sides. Again, more gluing with only 2 clamps.

Wood Table Tool Floor Flooring


I leave the veneers wide to ensure complete coverage and clean up the edges with a flush trimming bit on the router table.

Wood Rectangle Wood stain Hardwood Flooring


Then cut them to the required length.

Wood Automotive tire Gas Tool Composite material


My main learning here is that all these glue ups kinda got me stuck today. I should have started the arms asap while I still had other things I could do. I really need to get the legs done before I can do much more and the arm glue up limited my leg processing ability.

I have the second arm to glue tomorrow, but the legs will be readied for mortising permitting me to make some progress, I hope!

Til then and thanks for reading and any comments/questions.
 

Attachments

#28 ·
Kinda got stuck today

Today was to be a big day, I planned to do my first bent lamination. The form was ready to go as were the lams and I even had auxiliary help (aka LOML) lined up if needed. Paolini recommends using plastic resin glue, but I checked with a buddy that does a lot of bending and he indicated that TiteBond III would be fine. So that is what I used and tomorrow morning I will find out for myself.

Wood Building Flooring Gas Engineering


Gas Wood Machine Cylinder Shotgun


Actually, this first stage went easier than I had antictpated and no auxiliary help was required. :) If there are any OCD readers here, I used 32 clamps. Tomorrow morning will either be agony or ecstasy. haha

Then I started work on the legs. I needed to laminate two pieces together to get started and because I was short on clamps, I choose to glue all 4 legs together at one time and used cauls to maximize the pressure.

Wood Flooring Floor Tool Hardwood


Then I waited about 30-45 minutes for the glue to cure. After the legs were out of the clamps, I needed to square up the edges a bit.

Brown Wood Beige Grey Flooring


If you look closely, you might be able to see that the two edges aren't perfectly aligned. A couple passes over the jointer fixed that. My next step was to glue the veneer to the edge grain so as to have ray flecks on all 4 sides. Again, more gluing with only 2 clamps.

Wood Table Tool Floor Flooring


I leave the veneers wide to ensure complete coverage and clean up the edges with a flush trimming bit on the router table.

Wood Rectangle Wood stain Hardwood Flooring


Then cut them to the required length.

Wood Automotive tire Gas Tool Composite material


My main learning here is that all these glue ups kinda got me stuck today. I should have started the arms asap while I still had other things I could do. I really need to get the legs done before I can do much more and the arm glue up limited my leg processing ability.

I have the second arm to glue tomorrow, but the legs will be readied for mortising permitting me to make some progress, I hope!

Til then and thanks for reading and any comments/questions.
Art, I think you are supposed to use plenty of clamps for bent laminations. Maybe try that next time.
Ha! Wow that's a lot of clamps!
 

Attachments

#34 ·
Ecstasy!!

Yesterday I attempted my first bent lamination and the results (at least for the first arm) were more than satisfactory for me. I took off all the clamps after waiting a full 24 hours, and pried the arm off the bending form. It seemed to retain the desired shape without any noticeable spring back. I scraped the glue off one edge and ran that through jointer. After that I ripped it to just over finished width on the TS then cleaned that edge on the jointer.





I needed to get the legs to their final dimensions, so I planed the thick veneers down to 1/8" giving a finished size of 2.25" x 2.25" and cut the legs to their appropriate lengths. The back legs are 2" shorter than the front legs.



On to final dimensions for the side rails. They also needed to be jointed, planed and sawed.





Finally, it was time to begin cutting the mortises. :) I use a Mortise-Pal because it is quick and accurate. Sadly, the Mortise-Pal is no longer manufactured, but a Domino would be an excellent substitute. ;)







I didn't have any tenons ready to go, so I made them. I plane the stock to just over the desired size, 1/2" for these, then run them through the drum sander until the corners just slip into the mortises. After that, I cut them to the proper width (5" here) and round the edges with a round over bit (duh) on the router table.





Wood Rectangle Siding Flooring Material property


Here is a test fit:

Wood Rectangle Floor Wood stain Hardwood


Sometimes, in spite of my best efforts, the tenons need a further bit of adjustment which I do with a combo sander.

Wood Gas Wood stain Hardwood Flooring


This is the first completed joint.

Rectangle Textile Wood Grey Beige


And this is the first end.

Wheel Wood Tire Floor Flooring


This was a great day. The arm looks as good as I hoped it would and I think I made a lot of progress with no major challenges. Life is good!
 

Attachments

#35 ·
Ecstasy!!

Yesterday I attempted my first bent lamination and the results (at least for the first arm) were more than satisfactory for me. I took off all the clamps after waiting a full 24 hours, and pried the arm off the bending form. It seemed to retain the desired shape without any noticeable spring back. I scraped the glue off one edge and ran that through jointer. After that I ripped it to just over finished width on the TS then cleaned that edge on the jointer.

Wood Gas Automotive exterior Vehicle door Audio equipment


Wood Bumper Hood Floor Flooring


I needed to get the legs to their final dimensions, so I planed the thick veneers down to 1/8" giving a finished size of 2.25" x 2.25" and cut the legs to their appropriate lengths. The back legs are 2" shorter than the front legs.

Wood Bumper Automotive exterior Rectangle Font


On to final dimensions for the side rails. They also needed to be jointed, planed and sawed.

Wood Hardwood Gas Automotive exterior Wood stain


Wood Office equipment Bumper Gas Machine


Finally, it was time to begin cutting the mortises. :) I use a Mortise-Pal because it is quick and accurate. Sadly, the Mortise-Pal is no longer manufactured, but a Domino would be an excellent substitute. ;)

Gas Engineering Wood Machine Flooring


Wood Skyscraper Rectangle Wood stain Font


Table Wood Interior design Flooring Floor


I didn't have any tenons ready to go, so I made them. I plane the stock to just over the desired size, 1/2" for these, then run them through the drum sander until the corners just slip into the mortises. After that, I cut them to the proper width (5" here) and round the edges with a round over bit (duh) on the router table.

Wood Bumper Table Gas Flooring


Wood Automotive design Automotive exterior Font Art


Wood Rectangle Siding Flooring Material property


Here is a test fit:

Wood Rectangle Floor Wood stain Hardwood


Sometimes, in spite of my best efforts, the tenons need a further bit of adjustment which I do with a combo sander.

Wood Gas Wood stain Hardwood Flooring


This is the first completed joint.

Rectangle Textile Wood Grey Beige


And this is the first end.

Wheel Wood Tire Floor Flooring


This was a great day. The arm looks as good as I hoped it would and I think I made a lot of progress with no major challenges. Life is good!
Sweet!! It is fun to see it come together like that. Question…by submitting this blog, do you find yourself being more careful; if that's the word; in your craftsmanship to find perfection? Keep up the good work! It is fun also to see all the tools you have in your shop! Take care!!
 

Attachments

#43 ·
Yes, I have a pair of arms

I removed the second arm from the bending form, cleaned up one edge and cut it to width and jointed the sawn edge. I am ecstatic to report that the arms match! Admittedly, there is a 1/16" variance, but since they will be at opposite ends of the sofa (about 80" apart), I am not concerned. :)

Wood Rectangle Flooring Floor Wood stain


Today was all about mortises and tenons. Since I use a Mortise-Pal, I set it to width and then mark the center lines of the mortises I need to cut. Here are the side rails:

Wood Rectangle Flooring Floor Table


And, here are the side slats:

Rectangle Wood Grey Beige Art


Below are the results on the rails.

Wood Gas Hardwood Wood stain Machine tool


I sand the edges that will receive the slat tenons before cutting the slats to final length because sanding can change the dimensions causing unsightly gaps. DAMHIKT

Wood Wood stain Hardwood Gas Musical instrument accessory


Once that is out of the way, I assemble the framework and hold one end of the slat against the rail.

Brown Table Wood Rectangle Grey


Then mark the opposite end. Sorry, my photog wasn't willing to lend a hand. Hopefully, this is understandable as is.

Wood Rectangle Flooring Floor Wood stain


Once the tenons were prepared (same process as yesterday), I got to dry fit everything.

Wood Rectangle Floor Wood stain Flooring


Brown Table Rectangle Wood Flooring


You might be able to see a 1/64" gap, but I think (hope), the clamps will eliminate it during the gluing phase. Finally, for today, here are the two ends.

Natural material Wood Outdoor furniture Wood stain Hardwood


Please be patient, the paint is almost dry. haha
 

Attachments

#44 ·
Yes, I have a pair of arms

I removed the second arm from the bending form, cleaned up one edge and cut it to width and jointed the sawn edge. I am ecstatic to report that the arms match! Admittedly, there is a 1/16" variance, but since they will be at opposite ends of the sofa (about 80" apart), I am not concerned. :)

Wood Rectangle Flooring Floor Wood stain


Today was all about mortises and tenons. Since I use a Mortise-Pal, I set it to width and then mark the center lines of the mortises I need to cut. Here are the side rails:

Wood Rectangle Flooring Floor Table


And, here are the side slats:

Rectangle Wood Grey Beige Art


Below are the results on the rails.

Wood Gas Hardwood Wood stain Machine tool


I sand the edges that will receive the slat tenons before cutting the slats to final length because sanding can change the dimensions causing unsightly gaps. DAMHIKT

Wood Wood stain Hardwood Gas Musical instrument accessory


Once that is out of the way, I assemble the framework and hold one end of the slat against the rail.

Brown Table Wood Rectangle Grey


Then mark the opposite end. Sorry, my photog wasn't willing to lend a hand. Hopefully, this is understandable as is.

Wood Rectangle Flooring Floor Wood stain


Once the tenons were prepared (same process as yesterday), I got to dry fit everything.

Wood Rectangle Floor Wood stain Flooring


Brown Table Rectangle Wood Flooring


You might be able to see a 1/64" gap, but I think (hope), the clamps will eliminate it during the gluing phase. Finally, for today, here are the two ends.

Natural material Wood Outdoor furniture Wood stain Hardwood


Please be patient, the paint is almost dry. haha
Great stuff. I admire your precision with layouts. Do you square out the mortises or just round over the slats to fit?
This just gets better with each new entry.
 

Attachments

#51 ·
Progressing to the leg tenons

Today I began the most difficult stage to date. In order to make the leg tenons it was necessary to cut the upper side rails to match the shape of the arms. Paolini demonstrated a method that used a template, but I am getting ahead of myself.

I started today by cutting the arms to length. Paolini showed how he determined the proper angle for cutting the through mortises using the level in a combination square and I used that method to determine that the front end of my arms needed to be elevated 4". Here you can see my support method.

Wood Flooring Floor Hardwood Bumper


I clamped the back end down and supported it when cutting the opposite end.

Wood Floor Flooring Hardwood Wood stain


The Paolini template requires that you measure up from the bottoms of the feet to the appropriate location on the legs and mark them to be at the proper height for the top of the upper rail.

Table Wood Rectangle Grey Floor


Then mark those locations on the template blank.

Table Rectangle Wood Ruler Office ruler


After that you need to draw the curve of your arms onto the blank and band saw it and fair the curve with a sander.

Automotive tire Wood Asphalt Road surface Flooring


Automotive tire Wood Asphalt Road surface Flooring


Bumper Wood Automotive exterior Gas Musical instrument accessory


Then you use the template to draw the curves onto the upper rails, band saw them and fair them. That all worked fine.

Here is one arm being held against its rail.

Rectangle Wood Beige Flooring Floor


The next step is to use the template to mark the curves on both sides of the legs. For some reason that didn't work well for me, so I just laid the arms on edge and used them as the template. That worked for me.

Wood Rectangle Beige Wood stain Composite material


Wood Flooring Wood stain Hardwood Rectangle


After marking the curve on both sides of the legs, you square a line across the fronts and backs of the legs. Here is the two corners of one of mine.

Wood Wood stain Material property Hardwood Wooden block


Wood Wooden block Hardwood Rectangle Wood stain


Once that is complete you cut the shoulders of the tenons on the table saw. Note that you only actually cut one shoulder to the line and that is the one facing the front chair. The remaining shoulders are cut with a chisel.

Wood Rectangle Flooring Floor Wood stain


Then use a dado to remove most of the waste.

Wood Composite material Hardwood Flooring Plywood


I got all the legs to this stage.

Wood Wood stain Flooring Hardwood Plywood


I will be in a much better position to gauge my success after cutting the arm through mortises, hopefully tomorrow.

Thanks for reading.

P.S. I was asked how I treat the edges of the floating tenons. I round them with a round over bit on the router table and fine tune them with a disk sander. Here are the ones I cut today when cutting the curves on the top rails.

Table Wood Flooring Tree Wooden block


Brown Wood Beige Grey Floor
 

Attachments

#52 ·
Progressing to the leg tenons

Today I began the most difficult stage to date. In order to make the leg tenons it was necessary to cut the upper side rails to match the shape of the arms. Paolini demonstrated a method that used a template, but I am getting ahead of myself.

I started today by cutting the arms to length. Paolini showed how he determined the proper angle for cutting the through mortises using the level in a combination square and I used that method to determine that the front end of my arms needed to be elevated 4". Here you can see my support method.

Wood Flooring Floor Hardwood Bumper


I clamped the back end down and supported it when cutting the opposite end.

Wood Floor Flooring Hardwood Wood stain


The Paolini template requires that you measure up from the bottoms of the feet to the appropriate location on the legs and mark them to be at the proper height for the top of the upper rail.

Table Wood Rectangle Grey Floor


Then mark those locations on the template blank.

Table Rectangle Wood Ruler Office ruler


After that you need to draw the curve of your arms onto the blank and band saw it and fair the curve with a sander.

Automotive tire Wood Asphalt Road surface Flooring


Automotive tire Wood Asphalt Road surface Flooring


Bumper Wood Automotive exterior Gas Musical instrument accessory


Then you use the template to draw the curves onto the upper rails, band saw them and fair them. That all worked fine.

Here is one arm being held against its rail.

Rectangle Wood Beige Flooring Floor


The next step is to use the template to mark the curves on both sides of the legs. For some reason that didn't work well for me, so I just laid the arms on edge and used them as the template. That worked for me.

Wood Rectangle Beige Wood stain Composite material


Wood Flooring Wood stain Hardwood Rectangle


After marking the curve on both sides of the legs, you square a line across the fronts and backs of the legs. Here is the two corners of one of mine.

Wood Wood stain Material property Hardwood Wooden block


Wood Wooden block Hardwood Rectangle Wood stain


Once that is complete you cut the shoulders of the tenons on the table saw. Note that you only actually cut one shoulder to the line and that is the one facing the front chair. The remaining shoulders are cut with a chisel.

Wood Rectangle Flooring Floor Wood stain


Then use a dado to remove most of the waste.

Wood Composite material Hardwood Flooring Plywood


I got all the legs to this stage.

Wood Wood stain Flooring Hardwood Plywood


I will be in a much better position to gauge my success after cutting the arm through mortises, hopefully tomorrow.

Thanks for reading.

P.S. I was asked how I treat the edges of the floating tenons. I round them with a round over bit on the router table and fine tune them with a disk sander. Here are the ones I cut today when cutting the curves on the top rails.

Table Wood Flooring Tree Wooden block


Brown Wood Beige Grey Floor
That looks tricky. Why couldn't you adjust your miter fence to the proper angle for the sides? I had to do something like that with the ding room chair build. Soldier on mate!
 

Attachments

#57 ·
Mostly chiseling

I began today by sharpening my chisel. This shouldn't be a big job, but white oak is a killer. I hadn't sharpened it after the book case project so it definitely needed some attention. Once that was done, I cut the sides on one of the legs. It worked well, but was slower going than I would have liked.

Tool Wood Office supplies Hand tool Metalworking hand tool


Therefore, I took Mark's suggestion (Thanks, Mark) and cut very close to the lines on the sides of the legs with the TS then pared to the lines. This was much faster and I don't think I gave up any accuracy.

Wood Bumper Gas Automotive exterior Screw


With that step out of the way, it was time to attack the through mortises. I followed Paolini's procedures for all this to lay out the locations for the mortises in the arms. I laid the end on its side and laid the arm across the tenons.

Wood Floor Flooring Hardwood Machine tool


Then marked the sides of the tenons on the edge of the arm from underneath.

Wood Finger Hand tool Thumb Hardwood


These lines were squared across the top and bottom of the arm.

Table Wood Rectangle Flooring Floor


The inside edge of the tenon is 1" from the edge of the arm and the outside edge of the tenon is 2½" from the edge.

Black Wood Rectangle Flooring Floor


Then I marked the diagonals of the squares to locate the centers.

Wood Rectangle Flooring Floor Wood stain


This is done on both the tops and the bottoms. It is easier to drill down at a 90° angle than some unknown angle so Paolini shows how to "level" a curved piece. Loosely clamp the arm in your vise and align your combination square with the vertical line from the tenon sides. Then tip the arm one way or the other until the bubble is centered.

Wood Wood stain Hardwood Gas Automotive tire


Tire Bicycle part Automotive tire Bumper Bicycle wheel


Then drill a small hole down through the arm to ensure the center is properly located on both sides. This is the bottom of one. I was pretty close, but no bull's eye.

Brown Wood Rectangle Beige Flooring


A word or warning, the arms are left and right, so DO NOT mark and drill your arms on the same sides like I almost did. I had it marked and was ready to drill the pilot hole before the realization hit me. Whew!!!

Then a 1.375" bit is used to remove the bulk of the waste from the mortises. My photog was on break so there aren't any pix of this. :( Be careful with this step because the forstner bit likes to wander. DAMHIKT

However, he returned and here are the arms with drilled holes.

Table Wood Composite material Wood stain Hardwood


I sharpened the chisel again, then my final step for today was to begin chiseling out the mortises. I put the blue tape on the lines to give me a little shoulder to hold the chisel against. I find that easier than just trying to hold the chisel on the lines. Also, I put the arm on the bending form (with some scrap under the arm) because I thought it would give good support.

Wood Flooring Floor Hardwood Table


I got 3 of the mortises cut half way through today.
 

Attachments

#58 ·
Mostly chiseling

I began today by sharpening my chisel. This shouldn't be a big job, but white oak is a killer. I hadn't sharpened it after the book case project so it definitely needed some attention. Once that was done, I cut the sides on one of the legs. It worked well, but was slower going than I would have liked.

Tool Wood Office supplies Hand tool Metalworking hand tool


Therefore, I took Mark's suggestion (Thanks, Mark) and cut very close to the lines on the sides of the legs with the TS then pared to the lines. This was much faster and I don't think I gave up any accuracy.

Wood Bumper Gas Automotive exterior Screw


With that step out of the way, it was time to attack the through mortises. I followed Paolini's procedures for all this to lay out the locations for the mortises in the arms. I laid the end on its side and laid the arm across the tenons.

Wood Floor Flooring Hardwood Machine tool


Then marked the sides of the tenons on the edge of the arm from underneath.

Wood Finger Hand tool Thumb Hardwood


These lines were squared across the top and bottom of the arm.

Table Wood Rectangle Flooring Floor


The inside edge of the tenon is 1" from the edge of the arm and the outside edge of the tenon is 2½" from the edge.

Black Wood Rectangle Flooring Floor


Then I marked the diagonals of the squares to locate the centers.

Wood Rectangle Flooring Floor Wood stain


This is done on both the tops and the bottoms. It is easier to drill down at a 90° angle than some unknown angle so Paolini shows how to "level" a curved piece. Loosely clamp the arm in your vise and align your combination square with the vertical line from the tenon sides. Then tip the arm one way or the other until the bubble is centered.

Wood Wood stain Hardwood Gas Automotive tire


Tire Bicycle part Automotive tire Bumper Bicycle wheel


Then drill a small hole down through the arm to ensure the center is properly located on both sides. This is the bottom of one. I was pretty close, but no bull's eye.

Brown Wood Rectangle Beige Flooring


A word or warning, the arms are left and right, so DO NOT mark and drill your arms on the same sides like I almost did. I had it marked and was ready to drill the pilot hole before the realization hit me. Whew!!!

Then a 1.375" bit is used to remove the bulk of the waste from the mortises. My photog was on break so there aren't any pix of this. :( Be careful with this step because the forstner bit likes to wander. DAMHIKT

However, he returned and here are the arms with drilled holes.

Table Wood Composite material Wood stain Hardwood


I sharpened the chisel again, then my final step for today was to begin chiseling out the mortises. I put the blue tape on the lines to give me a little shoulder to hold the chisel against. I find that easier than just trying to hold the chisel on the lines. Also, I put the arm on the bending form (with some scrap under the arm) because I thought it would give good support.

Wood Flooring Floor Hardwood Table


I got 3 of the mortises cut half way through today.
Looks like it is going well! Looking forward to seeing the completed project.
 

Attachments

#64 ·
A very short day

I wasn't able to spend a lot of time on this today so this is a very short post. I apologize and will try to do better tomorrow. :)

I finished chiseling out the arm mortises.

Table Wood Rectangle Desk Flooring


Thanks for reading!
Yea that's the crummy part, I've found. Once you get started and start making good progress you want to keep going. All that other stuff keeps getting in the way. I found I have to donate at least 2 days a week to the Mrs….Or else??
 

Attachments

#67 ·
Its finally starting to look like a sofa

First of all, my photographer apologizes for the lack of pix today. His excuse is that he was so enthralled by the work that he forgot to take pix of the various steps.

You may recall that yesterday, I got the square mortises cut in the arms so the first agenda item today was to fit the tenons to the mortises. I used a spoke shave, a chisel (sharpened again) and a block plane to shave the tenons down to size and to enlarge the mortises as needed. As Willie pointed out yesterday, this is a fairly time consuming part of the project. I am not happy with my results, but I will not make another set of arms so all the world can see another of my opportunities for improvement. There is about 1/32" gap on the tenon sides. I think this was caused by removing the waste with a 1.375" Forstner bit in a hand held drill. It worked for Paolini, but I will try something different in the future. :(

Here is the spoke shave in action:

Wood Hand tool Hardwood Wood stain Tool


And here are the arms in position.

Wood Rectangle Hardwood Flooring Composite material


Once the sofa ends were under control, it was time to make the mortises for the front and back rails. Due to the size of the legs (2¼" and the mortises being 1½") there was interference. There are various options to address this issue and I chose to put the side tenon in place when cutting the mortises for the front and back rails. I clamped the leg with the side tenon in place to cut the front and back mortises. Hopefully, that will be visible here.

Wood Flooring Floor Wood stain Hardwood


A down side of using the MortisePal (or any plunge router jig) on long pieces is that you end up cutting those mortises while holding the router at an angle. However, the MortisePal was up to the task and I didn't feel any safety concerns and the mortises were good.

Wood Tool Flooring Machine tool Electrical wiring


I had to make some more floating tenons, but I have already shown the process I use. After completing that, it was time for a dry fit.

Wood Hardwood Wood stain Creative arts Varnish


Property Wood Interior design Architecture Flooring


Overall, I am satisfied with the project, excepting the arm mortises, but I am thinking about possible tactics to minimize their visual impact.

Thanks for reading.
 

Attachments

#68 ·
Its finally starting to look like a sofa

First of all, my photographer apologizes for the lack of pix today. His excuse is that he was so enthralled by the work that he forgot to take pix of the various steps.

You may recall that yesterday, I got the square mortises cut in the arms so the first agenda item today was to fit the tenons to the mortises. I used a spoke shave, a chisel (sharpened again) and a block plane to shave the tenons down to size and to enlarge the mortises as needed. As Willie pointed out yesterday, this is a fairly time consuming part of the project. I am not happy with my results, but I will not make another set of arms so all the world can see another of my opportunities for improvement. There is about 1/32" gap on the tenon sides. I think this was caused by removing the waste with a 1.375" Forstner bit in a hand held drill. It worked for Paolini, but I will try something different in the future. :(

Here is the spoke shave in action:

Wood Hand tool Hardwood Wood stain Tool


And here are the arms in position.

Wood Rectangle Hardwood Flooring Composite material


Once the sofa ends were under control, it was time to make the mortises for the front and back rails. Due to the size of the legs (2¼" and the mortises being 1½") there was interference. There are various options to address this issue and I chose to put the side tenon in place when cutting the mortises for the front and back rails. I clamped the leg with the side tenon in place to cut the front and back mortises. Hopefully, that will be visible here.

Wood Flooring Floor Wood stain Hardwood


A down side of using the MortisePal (or any plunge router jig) on long pieces is that you end up cutting those mortises while holding the router at an angle. However, the MortisePal was up to the task and I didn't feel any safety concerns and the mortises were good.

Wood Tool Flooring Machine tool Electrical wiring


I had to make some more floating tenons, but I have already shown the process I use. After completing that, it was time for a dry fit.

Wood Hardwood Wood stain Creative arts Varnish


Property Wood Interior design Architecture Flooring


Overall, I am satisfied with the project, excepting the arm mortises, but I am thinking about possible tactics to minimize their visual impact.

Thanks for reading.
One word….Sweet!!
 

Attachments

#75 ·
Another under-productive day

My non-woodworking life keeps interfering with my woodworking life. Grrr!

However, all was not lost. I did get to the lumber store and picked up some supplies for a future project. :) I finally got into the shop about 2pm. I started working on the back rest. Since the sofa base was set up yesterday, I started working my way from the legs to the center. First, I needed to make 2 spacers. I milled some stock to the proper dimensions, then drilled a couple 0.625" holes it it.

Normally, the pic would be here, but I got this error message: "Oops! Application error occurred while processing this page. Email has been sent to us with the error report. We will try to resolve it as soon as possible."

I guess I will try to continue this tomorrow, maybe whatever the issue is will be resolved by then. It must be that kind of a day. Ahem!
 
#78 ·
And we're back.......

Unfortunately, I can't remember what I did yesterday, much less 3 days ago.

Okay, where was I? I made the spacers for where the back rest abuts the back legs. I milled some stock to 1.5" wide by 9/16" thick, then drilled the 5/8" holes.

Jig grinder Milling Drilling Wood Line


And cut them to 1.5" square

Wood Line Gas Flooring Bumper


Then rounded them with the combo sander

Wood Table Wooden block Wood stain Gas


Automotive tire Wood Automotive exterior Gas Hardwood


They aren't perfectly round, but they won't be seen and I suspect that over time humidity would change their shapes anyhow.

With the spacers out of the way, I continued with the back rest. I now know exactly how long it needs to be, so I cut the rails to length, sanded the slat side edges and fit them with the stiles.

Wood Composite material Flooring Beige Wood stain


Time for a minor victory celebration!!
 

Attachments

#79 ·
More mortises and tenons

Or, don't you just love making Arts & Crafts style furniture? :D

Since the back rest frame looked to be mostly square, it was time to make the back slats. I cut them to length and knocked off the end mortises.

Automotive tire Wood Rectangle Road surface Table


Followed by the edge mortises in the rails, which go a little faster.

Table Furniture Wood Desk Wood stain


I needed to make another batch of floating tenons, then fit them to the slat and rail mortises.

Wood Beam Composite material Wood stain Building material


Wood Outdoor bench Outdoor furniture Wood stain Varnish


Wood Infant bed Wood stain Hardwood Varnish


This completed the major assemblies.

Wood Wood stain Table Hardwood Flooring


Whew!!! :)
 

Attachments

#80 ·
More mortises and tenons

Or, don't you just love making Arts & Crafts style furniture? :D

Since the back rest frame looked to be mostly square, it was time to make the back slats. I cut them to length and knocked off the end mortises.

Automotive tire Wood Rectangle Road surface Table


Followed by the edge mortises in the rails, which go a little faster.

Table Furniture Wood Desk Wood stain


I needed to make another batch of floating tenons, then fit them to the slat and rail mortises.

Wood Beam Composite material Wood stain Building material


Wood Outdoor bench Outdoor furniture Wood stain Varnish


Wood Infant bed Wood stain Hardwood Varnish


This completed the major assemblies.

Wood Wood stain Table Hardwood Flooring


Whew!!! :)
Art, Way Cool work.

Will the back be at a fixed angle?

Thanks-Terry
 

Attachments

#86 ·
Seat supports, etc

Now that the frame is complete, I made the seat supports from soft maple. I added 1" x 1" ledgers to the front and back rails (no pix, ahem) and cut the pieces for the seat supports. These will have rubber webbing with about an inch between each strip. I will attempt to get pix when that is installed.

Table Desk Wood Wood stain Flooring


Then glued the frames:

Wood Rectangle Floor Wood stain Hardwood


Followed by the test fit:

Wood Flooring Floor Hardwood Rectangle


I sawed and sanded the leg tenons ends to their pyramid shape. There is some burning from the disk sander, but I will sand that out during the final sanding. I really should have asked Willie how he did such a perfect job with his (see pic #2).

Brown Rectangle Wood Floor Flooring


This gets me current. Thanks for being patient with me.
 

Attachments

#87 ·
Seat supports, etc

Now that the frame is complete, I made the seat supports from soft maple. I added 1" x 1" ledgers to the front and back rails (no pix, ahem) and cut the pieces for the seat supports. These will have rubber webbing with about an inch between each strip. I will attempt to get pix when that is installed.

Table Desk Wood Wood stain Flooring


Then glued the frames:

Wood Rectangle Floor Wood stain Hardwood


Followed by the test fit:

Wood Flooring Floor Hardwood Rectangle


I sawed and sanded the leg tenons ends to their pyramid shape. There is some burning from the disk sander, but I will sand that out during the final sanding. I really should have asked Willie how he did such a perfect job with his (see pic #2).

Brown Rectangle Wood Floor Flooring


This gets me current. Thanks for being patient with me.
Gee Whiz Art!! About time you got off yer butt and did some thing. :) You project is really taking shape know. That really looks sharp on the dry fit. Sanding dust (not saw dust) and a wee bit of glue will fix any slight gaps you may have. Lay down a bi to masking tape along each edge to prevent the glue/dust mixture from stain ing the restive the material and clean ohh excess before it sets.
Keep up the good work.
 

Attachments

#91 ·
A break in the action

I am getting near the end of the project and it seems to be going slower and slower. More on that at the end of this post.

I located the pivot holes in the back legs for the back rest.

Wood Wood stain Flooring Rectangle Floor


Cut the pyramids at the tops of the back rest stiles.

Table Wood Rectangle Flooring Wood stain


And sanded the corbels to get then ready to attach to the arms.

Pneumatic tool Automotive tire Wood Scale Floor


Now, I have to work on a couple other projects. We currently have 2 tiny "master" closets and a spare bedroom closet that we are combining into one decent sized closet. The spare bedroom is only used as an office. That work begins today and I need to make "cubbies" to go on one wall. That should be done by the end of this week. Then we are going to watch the grand daughters during their Spring Break. When we return, I will replace the current carpeting in the master bedroom and new closet with 3/4" maple flooring, probably about another week.

So, to make a long story even longer, it will be 3 weeks before I will be able to get back to the sofa.

Thanks for all the great comments and for reading along.
 

Attachments

#92 ·
A break in the action

I am getting near the end of the project and it seems to be going slower and slower. More on that at the end of this post.

I located the pivot holes in the back legs for the back rest.

Wood Wood stain Flooring Rectangle Floor


Cut the pyramids at the tops of the back rest stiles.

Table Wood Rectangle Flooring Wood stain


And sanded the corbels to get then ready to attach to the arms.

Pneumatic tool Automotive tire Wood Scale Floor


Now, I have to work on a couple other projects. We currently have 2 tiny "master" closets and a spare bedroom closet that we are combining into one decent sized closet. The spare bedroom is only used as an office. That work begins today and I need to make "cubbies" to go on one wall. That should be done by the end of this week. Then we are going to watch the grand daughters during their Spring Break. When we return, I will replace the current carpeting in the master bedroom and new closet with 3/4" maple flooring, probably about another week.

So, to make a long story even longer, it will be 3 weeks before I will be able to get back to the sofa.

Thanks for all the great comments and for reading along.
Thanks for the fix Art. Good luck with your projects. Looking forward to your next post…
 

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