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Greene & Greene Gamble House Side Chair

89K views 286 replies 32 participants last post by  TungOil 
#1 ·
Material Preparation

Now that my Thorsen inspired dining table is complete (you can see the BLOG here), it is time to turn my attention to a set of chairs. Since I have never built a chair, I decided to enroll in the Gamble House Side Chair class at Marc Adams School of Woodworking in Indiana. Many will know the instructor, Bob Lang, who is not only a Lumber Jocks member but has authored several books and was editor of Popular Woodworking magazine for many years. The chair design is based on the side chairs in the living room of the Gamble house in Pasadena.

The school mailed out a cut list a few weeks ago so students could prepare the required stock prior to class. I had enough sapele left over from making the dining table, so there was no need for a trip to the hardwood dealer. Since Indiana is about a 10 hour drive from Eastern Pennsylvania, I decided to cut up enough material to make two complete chairs to be sure I had sufficient material to cover any mistakes.

Wood Floor Flooring Wood stain Hardwood


With my stock cut, I gathered up the required tools for class. This includes square chisels, a Dozuki saw, a plastic head hammer for inserting ebony plugs and a dental pick for cleaning out square plug holes. I also packed a cordless drill and a ROS along with my PPE.

I am looking forward to learning some new woodworking skills and hopefully coming away from the week with a nice chair. After that, I will be into chair production.
 

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#2 ·
Material Preparation

Now that my Thorsen inspired dining table is complete (you can see the BLOG here), it is time to turn my attention to a set of chairs. Since I have never built a chair, I decided to enroll in the Gamble House Side Chair class at Marc Adams School of Woodworking in Indiana. Many will know the instructor, Bob Lang, who is not only a Lumber Jocks member but has authored several books and was editor of Popular Woodworking magazine for many years. The chair design is based on the side chairs in the living room of the Gamble house in Pasadena.

The school mailed out a cut list a few weeks ago so students could prepare the required stock prior to class. I had enough sapele left over from making the dining table, so there was no need for a trip to the hardwood dealer. Since Indiana is about a 10 hour drive from Eastern Pennsylvania, I decided to cut up enough material to make two complete chairs to be sure I had sufficient material to cover any mistakes.

Wood Floor Flooring Wood stain Hardwood


With my stock cut, I gathered up the required tools for class. This includes square chisels, a Dozuki saw, a plastic head hammer for inserting ebony plugs and a dental pick for cleaning out square plug holes. I also packed a cordless drill and a ROS along with my PPE.

I am looking forward to learning some new woodworking skills and hopefully coming away from the week with a nice chair. After that, I will be into chair production.
Should be fun, good luck at the class.
 

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#3 ·
Material Preparation

Now that my Thorsen inspired dining table is complete (you can see the BLOG here), it is time to turn my attention to a set of chairs. Since I have never built a chair, I decided to enroll in the Gamble House Side Chair class at Marc Adams School of Woodworking in Indiana. Many will know the instructor, Bob Lang, who is not only a Lumber Jocks member but has authored several books and was editor of Popular Woodworking magazine for many years. The chair design is based on the side chairs in the living room of the Gamble house in Pasadena.

The school mailed out a cut list a few weeks ago so students could prepare the required stock prior to class. I had enough sapele left over from making the dining table, so there was no need for a trip to the hardwood dealer. Since Indiana is about a 10 hour drive from Eastern Pennsylvania, I decided to cut up enough material to make two complete chairs to be sure I had sufficient material to cover any mistakes.

Wood Floor Flooring Wood stain Hardwood


With my stock cut, I gathered up the required tools for class. This includes square chisels, a Dozuki saw, a plastic head hammer for inserting ebony plugs and a dental pick for cleaning out square plug holes. I also packed a cordless drill and a ROS along with my PPE.

I am looking forward to learning some new woodworking skills and hopefully coming away from the week with a nice chair. After that, I will be into chair production.
This is SO cool! I checked out the school's website. Interesting model also, where you bring the materials and tools. In Marc Spagnola's video about building his chair at William Ng, he said they had a whole bunch of jigs pre-made. Will you be making jigs for the rest of your chairs? I guess using your finished pieces as a "template". !I wish I could bump some chairs up on my list, but my wife and son would destroy them. Maybe when he's off at college. Until then, I'll live vicariously through you. Best of luck at the class!
 

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#4 ·
Material Preparation

Now that my Thorsen inspired dining table is complete (you can see the BLOG here), it is time to turn my attention to a set of chairs. Since I have never built a chair, I decided to enroll in the Gamble House Side Chair class at Marc Adams School of Woodworking in Indiana. Many will know the instructor, Bob Lang, who is not only a Lumber Jocks member but has authored several books and was editor of Popular Woodworking magazine for many years. The chair design is based on the side chairs in the living room of the Gamble house in Pasadena.

The school mailed out a cut list a few weeks ago so students could prepare the required stock prior to class. I had enough sapele left over from making the dining table, so there was no need for a trip to the hardwood dealer. Since Indiana is about a 10 hour drive from Eastern Pennsylvania, I decided to cut up enough material to make two complete chairs to be sure I had sufficient material to cover any mistakes.

Wood Floor Flooring Wood stain Hardwood


With my stock cut, I gathered up the required tools for class. This includes square chisels, a Dozuki saw, a plastic head hammer for inserting ebony plugs and a dental pick for cleaning out square plug holes. I also packed a cordless drill and a ROS along with my PPE.

I am looking forward to learning some new woodworking skills and hopefully coming away from the week with a nice chair. After that, I will be into chair production.
looking forward to following your journey making these chairs,based on what I saw you do with that table I have no doubt your gonna wow us again.hoping you have a ton of fun and wishing I was going with you tung,enjoy.
 

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#5 ·
Material Preparation

Now that my Thorsen inspired dining table is complete (you can see the BLOG here), it is time to turn my attention to a set of chairs. Since I have never built a chair, I decided to enroll in the Gamble House Side Chair class at Marc Adams School of Woodworking in Indiana. Many will know the instructor, Bob Lang, who is not only a Lumber Jocks member but has authored several books and was editor of Popular Woodworking magazine for many years. The chair design is based on the side chairs in the living room of the Gamble house in Pasadena.

The school mailed out a cut list a few weeks ago so students could prepare the required stock prior to class. I had enough sapele left over from making the dining table, so there was no need for a trip to the hardwood dealer. Since Indiana is about a 10 hour drive from Eastern Pennsylvania, I decided to cut up enough material to make two complete chairs to be sure I had sufficient material to cover any mistakes.

Wood Floor Flooring Wood stain Hardwood


With my stock cut, I gathered up the required tools for class. This includes square chisels, a Dozuki saw, a plastic head hammer for inserting ebony plugs and a dental pick for cleaning out square plug holes. I also packed a cordless drill and a ROS along with my PPE.

I am looking forward to learning some new woodworking skills and hopefully coming away from the week with a nice chair. After that, I will be into chair production.
Sounds like the chair making class will be quite an adventure. I'll be watching for your real time posts from there.
 

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#6 ·
Material Preparation

Now that my Thorsen inspired dining table is complete (you can see the BLOG here), it is time to turn my attention to a set of chairs. Since I have never built a chair, I decided to enroll in the Gamble House Side Chair class at Marc Adams School of Woodworking in Indiana. Many will know the instructor, Bob Lang, who is not only a Lumber Jocks member but has authored several books and was editor of Popular Woodworking magazine for many years. The chair design is based on the side chairs in the living room of the Gamble house in Pasadena.

The school mailed out a cut list a few weeks ago so students could prepare the required stock prior to class. I had enough sapele left over from making the dining table, so there was no need for a trip to the hardwood dealer. Since Indiana is about a 10 hour drive from Eastern Pennsylvania, I decided to cut up enough material to make two complete chairs to be sure I had sufficient material to cover any mistakes.

Wood Floor Flooring Wood stain Hardwood


With my stock cut, I gathered up the required tools for class. This includes square chisels, a Dozuki saw, a plastic head hammer for inserting ebony plugs and a dental pick for cleaning out square plug holes. I also packed a cordless drill and a ROS along with my PPE.

I am looking forward to learning some new woodworking skills and hopefully coming away from the week with a nice chair. After that, I will be into chair production.
Is the Gamble House chair the style you plan to make to go around your table, or are you just learning the chair-making process with this class?
 

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#7 ·
Material Preparation

Now that my Thorsen inspired dining table is complete (you can see the BLOG here), it is time to turn my attention to a set of chairs. Since I have never built a chair, I decided to enroll in the Gamble House Side Chair class at Marc Adams School of Woodworking in Indiana. Many will know the instructor, Bob Lang, who is not only a Lumber Jocks member but has authored several books and was editor of Popular Woodworking magazine for many years. The chair design is based on the side chairs in the living room of the Gamble house in Pasadena.

The school mailed out a cut list a few weeks ago so students could prepare the required stock prior to class. I had enough sapele left over from making the dining table, so there was no need for a trip to the hardwood dealer. Since Indiana is about a 10 hour drive from Eastern Pennsylvania, I decided to cut up enough material to make two complete chairs to be sure I had sufficient material to cover any mistakes.

Wood Floor Flooring Wood stain Hardwood


With my stock cut, I gathered up the required tools for class. This includes square chisels, a Dozuki saw, a plastic head hammer for inserting ebony plugs and a dental pick for cleaning out square plug holes. I also packed a cordless drill and a ROS along with my PPE.

I am looking forward to learning some new woodworking skills and hopefully coming away from the week with a nice chair. After that, I will be into chair production.
I'm looking forward to this class, always good to learn new skills.

Skully- We were not asked to bring any MDF or plywood to make routing templates and jigs, but I'm hoping to get full size tracings of all of the jigs so I can reproduce them when I return home.

PPK- That is a good question. I like the Gamble house chair, but I like the Thorsen chair better. If you Google the Thorsen chairs you will see they have a different style crest rail and the back slats fit into a lower rail which is different from the Gamble chairs. So I'm on the fence at this point.
 

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#8 ·
Material Preparation

Now that my Thorsen inspired dining table is complete (you can see the BLOG here), it is time to turn my attention to a set of chairs. Since I have never built a chair, I decided to enroll in the Gamble House Side Chair class at Marc Adams School of Woodworking in Indiana. Many will know the instructor, Bob Lang, who is not only a Lumber Jocks member but has authored several books and was editor of Popular Woodworking magazine for many years. The chair design is based on the side chairs in the living room of the Gamble house in Pasadena.

The school mailed out a cut list a few weeks ago so students could prepare the required stock prior to class. I had enough sapele left over from making the dining table, so there was no need for a trip to the hardwood dealer. Since Indiana is about a 10 hour drive from Eastern Pennsylvania, I decided to cut up enough material to make two complete chairs to be sure I had sufficient material to cover any mistakes.

Wood Floor Flooring Wood stain Hardwood


With my stock cut, I gathered up the required tools for class. This includes square chisels, a Dozuki saw, a plastic head hammer for inserting ebony plugs and a dental pick for cleaning out square plug holes. I also packed a cordless drill and a ROS along with my PPE.

I am looking forward to learning some new woodworking skills and hopefully coming away from the week with a nice chair. After that, I will be into chair production.
This looks like a really interesting blog-I'll definitely follow along again!
 

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#9 ·
Marc Adams School, Day 1

Today was day one of the six day Gamble House side chair class at the Marc Adams school of Woodworking in Indiana. After 10 hours driving from Eastern Pennsylvania, I was happy to get a good night rest last evening and get started on this chair. Marc has a very large school and there are at least four classes going on simultaneously.

Our instructor, Bob Lang, was asked to fill in for George Knutson who was unable to teach the class as originally planned. Bob was able to get the original CAD files from Darrel Peart which he then used to create a 3D model of the chair in Sketch Up. This allowed Bob to check all of the joinery, etc. before we started cutting material. Bob changed a few dimensions from the original cut list, but not everyone received the update (including me). A few of my pieces are slightly different sizes from what Bob has drawn, but I think I can work around this.

After the obligatory shop safety discussion, we started by creating the routing template for the front apron, which has a cloud lift along the bottom. Once the template was completed, I routed the apron and cut my front legs to length.

Wood Rectangle Flooring Floor Wood stain


The chair uses loose tenon joinery. To cut the mortises we set up the JDS Multi-router.

Engineering Gas Machine Artisan Engineer


After cutting my mortises, I made up some tenon stock, then cut a few lengths so I could do a dry fit.

Rectangle Wood Door mat Grey Wood stain


The front leg assembly is as far as I can take it at this point.

Wood Rectangle Table Plant Floor


The back leg assembly requires four templates. The legs have a gentle arched shape above the seat. The crest rail is shaped with both a curve and a profile, and the rear apron also has a unique, almost scalloped profile that requires a template. Bob Lang was kind enough to plot full size drawings that we were able to affix to the MDF to facilitate making the templates.

Wood Automotive design Table Flooring Hardwood


Tomorrow we will continue making the back leg assembly.
 

Attachments

#10 ·
Marc Adams School, Day 1

Today was day one of the six day Gamble House side chair class at the Marc Adams school of Woodworking in Indiana. After 10 hours driving from Eastern Pennsylvania, I was happy to get a good night rest last evening and get started on this chair. Marc has a very large school and there are at least four classes going on simultaneously.

Our instructor, Bob Lang, was asked to fill in for George Knutson who was unable to teach the class as originally planned. Bob was able to get the original CAD files from Darrel Peart which he then used to create a 3D model of the chair in Sketch Up. This allowed Bob to check all of the joinery, etc. before we started cutting material. Bob changed a few dimensions from the original cut list, but not everyone received the update (including me). A few of my pieces are slightly different sizes from what Bob has drawn, but I think I can work around this.

After the obligatory shop safety discussion, we started by creating the routing template for the front apron, which has a cloud lift along the bottom. Once the template was completed, I routed the apron and cut my front legs to length.

Wood Rectangle Flooring Floor Wood stain


The chair uses loose tenon joinery. To cut the mortises we set up the JDS Multi-router.

Engineering Gas Machine Artisan Engineer


After cutting my mortises, I made up some tenon stock, then cut a few lengths so I could do a dry fit.

Rectangle Wood Door mat Grey Wood stain


The front leg assembly is as far as I can take it at this point.

Wood Rectangle Table Plant Floor


The back leg assembly requires four templates. The legs have a gentle arched shape above the seat. The crest rail is shaped with both a curve and a profile, and the rear apron also has a unique, almost scalloped profile that requires a template. Bob Lang was kind enough to plot full size drawings that we were able to affix to the MDF to facilitate making the templates.

Wood Automotive design Table Flooring Hardwood


Tomorrow we will continue making the back leg assembly.
this is a journey im looking forward to,i love g&g design and really want to do more of it in the future so i thank you for your great blogs.id love to go this school some day,although we have another great school close to me here which is the wiliiam ing school.see ya tomorrow.
 

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#16 ·
Marc Adams School, Day 2

Today we continued to work on the components for the back leg assembly. After tracing the outline of the components on the sapele using the templates, I roughed out the parts on the bandsaw. There is a significant amount of bandsaw work just in the parts for the back assembly alone.

Wood Hardwood Table Lumber Flooring


The crest rail is the most time consuming part to make. The mortises for the floating tenons were made first using the multi-router, while the part was still square. Next, I affixed the template to the blank with double sided tape. Using a Forstner bit, I bored holes where there was an inside radius. After the holes were bored through, I cut the curves for the front and back of the piece on the bandsaw, then taped the offcuts back in place to bandsaw the profile.

Wood Gas Auto part Musical instrument Plywood


The back apron also has a profile which I roughed out on the bandsaw as well. Even in the rough bandsawn state, the parts are starting to take shape nicely.

Wood Brick Building material Composite material Rectangle


I began smoothing the parts with a spokeshave and block plane before moving on to final cleanup using my ROS.

Wood Rectangle Automotive exterior Composite material Flooring


Tomorrow we will continue getting the back leg components fabricated and ready for assembly.
 

Attachments

#17 ·
Marc Adams School, Day 2

Today we continued to work on the components for the back leg assembly. After tracing the outline of the components on the sapele using the templates, I roughed out the parts on the bandsaw. There is a significant amount of bandsaw work just in the parts for the back assembly alone.

Wood Hardwood Table Lumber Flooring


The crest rail is the most time consuming part to make. The mortises for the floating tenons were made first using the multi-router, while the part was still square. Next, I affixed the template to the blank with double sided tape. Using a Forstner bit, I bored holes where there was an inside radius. After the holes were bored through, I cut the curves for the front and back of the piece on the bandsaw, then taped the offcuts back in place to bandsaw the profile.

Wood Gas Auto part Musical instrument Plywood


The back apron also has a profile which I roughed out on the bandsaw as well. Even in the rough bandsawn state, the parts are starting to take shape nicely.

Wood Brick Building material Composite material Rectangle


I began smoothing the parts with a spokeshave and block plane before moving on to final cleanup using my ROS.

Wood Rectangle Automotive exterior Composite material Flooring


Tomorrow we will continue getting the back leg components fabricated and ready for assembly.
That is a considerable amount of work to complete just one piece of the chair. Still, it helps to see the steps of the process for future reference and not having to figure out the sequence on your own. Very timely blog for me to read since I will be making chairs for my desks later this winter. I can see that the plans will need to be fully developed before starting to reduce the chance of making major mistakes.
 

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#22 ·
Marc Adams School, Day 3

After cleaning up the parts with the ROS, I dry fit the back assembly to see how everything fit.

Wood Floor Flooring Automotive design Automotive exterior


With that much of the chair dry fit, we moved on to fabricating the angled side aprons. The first step is to lay out the mortises on the back and front legs. The front legs have an angled face that has not been cut yet, so the front face cant be used to locate the mortise. I must locate the mortise from the inside edge of the leg. To do this, I work out the location by laying out the back leg mortise first . I lay out the rear leg mortise with the proper offset, then measure from the back of the leg so I can locate the mortise on the front leg.

Brown Table Rectangle Wood Font


Since these joints also use floating tenons, we set up the miter saw at the correct angle and used a stop to be sure our pieces were cut identical and to the proper length. After cutting the aprons to length, we set up the multi-router to cut the angled mortises. I then pattern routed the cloud lift in the bottom of the aprons. With the side aprons complete, it was time for a quick dry fit to be sure everything looked good before proceeding.

Jeans Wood Floor Window Hardwood


The next step is to prepare the bottom stretchers. After dimensioning my material, I lay out the angled through mortise in each side stretcher.

Table Wood Rectangle Tool Wood stain


To cut this mortise, we set up the hollow chisel mortiser. By supporting the work piece with a wedge at the correct angle, we were able to bore the angled mortises.

Table Furniture Shelf Wood Rectangle


Next I fit the first angled through tenon. After laying out the tenon, I cut the shoulders with a hand saw then cut away most of the waste for the cheeks on the bandsaw.

Brown Wood Rectangle Wood stain Hardwood


Back at the bench I cleaned up the tenon with a chisel and fine tuned the fit with a sanding block.

Wood Hardwood Wood stain Plank Table


Tomorrow I will fit the remaining through tenon on the bottom stretcher and pattern route the cloud lifts.
 

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#23 ·
Marc Adams School, Day 3

After cleaning up the parts with the ROS, I dry fit the back assembly to see how everything fit.

Wood Floor Flooring Automotive design Automotive exterior


With that much of the chair dry fit, we moved on to fabricating the angled side aprons. The first step is to lay out the mortises on the back and front legs. The front legs have an angled face that has not been cut yet, so the front face cant be used to locate the mortise. I must locate the mortise from the inside edge of the leg. To do this, I work out the location by laying out the back leg mortise first . I lay out the rear leg mortise with the proper offset, then measure from the back of the leg so I can locate the mortise on the front leg.

Brown Table Rectangle Wood Font


Since these joints also use floating tenons, we set up the miter saw at the correct angle and used a stop to be sure our pieces were cut identical and to the proper length. After cutting the aprons to length, we set up the multi-router to cut the angled mortises. I then pattern routed the cloud lift in the bottom of the aprons. With the side aprons complete, it was time for a quick dry fit to be sure everything looked good before proceeding.

Jeans Wood Floor Window Hardwood


The next step is to prepare the bottom stretchers. After dimensioning my material, I lay out the angled through mortise in each side stretcher.

Table Wood Rectangle Tool Wood stain


To cut this mortise, we set up the hollow chisel mortiser. By supporting the work piece with a wedge at the correct angle, we were able to bore the angled mortises.

Table Furniture Shelf Wood Rectangle


Next I fit the first angled through tenon. After laying out the tenon, I cut the shoulders with a hand saw then cut away most of the waste for the cheeks on the bandsaw.

Brown Wood Rectangle Wood stain Hardwood


Back at the bench I cleaned up the tenon with a chisel and fine tuned the fit with a sanding block.

Wood Hardwood Wood stain Plank Table


Tomorrow I will fit the remaining through tenon on the bottom stretcher and pattern route the cloud lifts.
Interesting blog thanks.
 

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#30 ·
Marc Adams School, Day 4

Today I finished up the second tenon for the lower stretcher, then cut mortises with the Domino 500. This was my first time using the Domino. Once set up it's a fool-proof method for cutting the mortises.

Wood Rectangle Flooring Bench Hardwood


I did another quick dry assembly to be sure the lower stretcher parts fit together nicely.

Wood Rectangle Composite material Hardwood Flooring


With the lower stretcher out of the way, I start working on the curved back slats. The back slats will be assembled with dominos, have angled ends where they meet the apron and crest rail (compound angles in the case of the two smaller ones), are curved and have a profile cut.

I start with the center back slat. To get the angles for the ends correct and cut to the proper length, Bob Lang worked out a clever solution using what is basically an MDF story stick. I use a scrap of MDF and carefully transfer the angle from the dry assembled chair to the MDF and cut on the miter saw. I carefully trim away the MDF until the part matches my layout lines. Once I have the proper length worked out on the MDF scrap, I cut the angled ends into the real part in sapele.

Next I layout and bandsaw the curved faces. When the curves are complete, I temporarily tape the cutoff back in place and bandsaw the profile.

Wood Rectangle Composite material Hardwood Gas


I originally thought the crest rail was going to be the most work on this chair, but I was wrong. Clearly the back slats are going to be the most difficult part of this project.

Next step- cut the dominos for the center slat then make the side slats.
 

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#31 ·
Marc Adams School, Day 4

Today I finished up the second tenon for the lower stretcher, then cut mortises with the Domino 500. This was my first time using the Domino. Once set up it's a fool-proof method for cutting the mortises.

Wood Rectangle Flooring Bench Hardwood


I did another quick dry assembly to be sure the lower stretcher parts fit together nicely.

Wood Rectangle Composite material Hardwood Flooring


With the lower stretcher out of the way, I start working on the curved back slats. The back slats will be assembled with dominos, have angled ends where they meet the apron and crest rail (compound angles in the case of the two smaller ones), are curved and have a profile cut.

I start with the center back slat. To get the angles for the ends correct and cut to the proper length, Bob Lang worked out a clever solution using what is basically an MDF story stick. I use a scrap of MDF and carefully transfer the angle from the dry assembled chair to the MDF and cut on the miter saw. I carefully trim away the MDF until the part matches my layout lines. Once I have the proper length worked out on the MDF scrap, I cut the angled ends into the real part in sapele.

Next I layout and bandsaw the curved faces. When the curves are complete, I temporarily tape the cutoff back in place and bandsaw the profile.

Wood Rectangle Composite material Hardwood Gas


I originally thought the crest rail was going to be the most work on this chair, but I was wrong. Clearly the back slats are going to be the most difficult part of this project.

Next step- cut the dominos for the center slat then make the side slats.
Tung,
are the dominoes supposed to fit that loose on the sides? (first pic) I've never used dominoes… it looks pretty slick if I ever got a bunch of extra money to spend on one of those things… The chair is looking awesome!
 

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#36 ·
Marc Adams School, Day 5

Today I finished up the center back slat by cutting the mortises for the dominos. Most of the mortises could be cut with the Domino machine, but the two mortises on the underside of the crest rail had to be cut by hand since the domino machine would not fit inside the opening. To cut these mortises I first drilled out the majority of the waste on the drill press then cleaned up the mortise with a chisel.

Wood Line Floor Wall Automotive exterior


With the mortises cut I tested the fit of the center back slat. It took quite a bit of fitting to get the mitered ends just right. I'm starting to see why the original chairs used housed mortises for these parts.

Wood Building Composite material Engineering Flooring


I moved on to the side slats. These slats are mirror images of each other and have a compound angle cut on the end. To make the layout more challenging, the slats are slightly angled to follow the curve of the crest rail. Once I was happy that I had established the correct compound angles for the cuts using a scrap of MDF, I then transferred the angles to the sapele for the cuts on the final parts.

With the final length established and cutting completed, I used the templates to lay out the curve and profile of each back slat. At the bandsaw I first cut the front and back curves, then taped the waste pieces back in place to cut the profile.

I brought the rough pieces to the edge sander to clean up the bandsawn edges, cut the domino mortises and did another dry assembly.

Wood Table Workbench Hardwood Flooring


I am very surprised at how much work it is to fit the back slats. Bringing together three curved pieces, two of which have compound angle end cuts and getting all of the joints to fit without any gaps is tedious work to say the least. But I'm very happy with the results so far.

Tomorrow is the last day of class. We will not have a full day but should get to routing the center back slat for the ebony bars and talk about installing the ebony plugs and cutting the final angle on the front legs.
 

Attachments

#37 ·
Marc Adams School, Day 5

Today I finished up the center back slat by cutting the mortises for the dominos. Most of the mortises could be cut with the Domino machine, but the two mortises on the underside of the crest rail had to be cut by hand since the domino machine would not fit inside the opening. To cut these mortises I first drilled out the majority of the waste on the drill press then cleaned up the mortise with a chisel.

Wood Line Floor Wall Automotive exterior


With the mortises cut I tested the fit of the center back slat. It took quite a bit of fitting to get the mitered ends just right. I'm starting to see why the original chairs used housed mortises for these parts.

Wood Building Composite material Engineering Flooring


I moved on to the side slats. These slats are mirror images of each other and have a compound angle cut on the end. To make the layout more challenging, the slats are slightly angled to follow the curve of the crest rail. Once I was happy that I had established the correct compound angles for the cuts using a scrap of MDF, I then transferred the angles to the sapele for the cuts on the final parts.

With the final length established and cutting completed, I used the templates to lay out the curve and profile of each back slat. At the bandsaw I first cut the front and back curves, then taped the waste pieces back in place to cut the profile.

I brought the rough pieces to the edge sander to clean up the bandsawn edges, cut the domino mortises and did another dry assembly.

Wood Table Workbench Hardwood Flooring


I am very surprised at how much work it is to fit the back slats. Bringing together three curved pieces, two of which have compound angle end cuts and getting all of the joints to fit without any gaps is tedious work to say the least. But I'm very happy with the results so far.

Tomorrow is the last day of class. We will not have a full day but should get to routing the center back slat for the ebony bars and talk about installing the ebony plugs and cutting the final angle on the front legs.
tung this is one great magical mystery tour buddy,and I'm glad to be along for the ride!thank you for all the time you take to document this journey!
 

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#44 ·
Marc Adams School, Day 6

Today was the last day of class. Bob Lang covered several points on installing the ebony plugs and bars in the center back slat. Bob also did a detailed demonstration on techniques for doing the Greene & Greene style round overs, which have some nuance beyond simply running a quarter round bit over the exposed edges. Often the protruding corners on G&G furniture have an extra amount of rounding, almost giving the piece a worn appearance. It is s subtle detail that could go unnoticed if not pointed out.

Some of my class mates used the class made template to route the slots for the ebony bars in their back slat. I elected to pack up early and deal with the remaining work at home so I could get a head start on the 10 hour drive back to Pennsylvania.

Overall this was an awesome class. Bob did a great job bringing us through the fabrication and construction of the chair components and assembly process. His full size drawings and detailed instructions helped assure we were successful. Marc Adams runs a first class school. The facilities are well maintained with plenty of excellent equipment to work with. Even though we didn't finish our chairs during the 6 days, I really didn't expect that we would. There is simply too much work involved in a G&G piece to complete in such a short time frame.

Next step is to get started on the full set of twelve.
 
#45 ·
well tung I don't envie what lies ahead making all those chairs I do envie all the experience you gained this week and will carry with you the rest of your life.im sad for you ending this incredible journey you've takin us on and thank for taking the time time to do it my friend.take a rest and get back to work showing us what you've learned.thank you.
 
#51 ·
Planning the Construction of 12 Chairs

Since returning from the Gamble House chair class at Marc Adams, I have been thinking through the construction process for a full set of 12 chairs. In the class, we performed many of the operations with hand tools which can be time consuming and lead to variation in the parts, especially across 12 chairs. We also used the Domino 500 for several of the joints, which I don't own.

One aspect of the project I have been pondering is cutting and cleaning up of the curves on the wide faces of the back seat apron, crest rails and back slats. In class, we roughed these in using the bandsaw, then cleaned them with various hand tools. I'm not very good with hand tools, so this is a very time consuming process for me that will lead to irregularity in the finished parts. As I spent time researching and thinking through various ways to machine cut these parts, I developed and then rejected several ways that I might accomplish this.

My first thought was to utilize my shaper to pattern cut the parts to templates. This is the same concept used when pattern routing parts, only with bigger tooling. The advantage of utilizing the shaper over a router for this operation is that the larger shaper cutters leave a much smoother finished surface when complete. My first thought was to simply stack rabbeting cutters, which would work but might lead to tear out issues since some of the cuts climb the grain slightly. I then investigated helical shaper cutters like the Byrd Shelix, which would leave a much smoother surface than a straight cutter but are costly. Ultimately I could not come up with a good way to cut all of my parts in a single pass since my shaper spindle is not tall enough. In addition, the shaper cutter required to cut such a large surface would be very dangerous to use, even with a sturdy sled. I abandoned the idea of pattern shaping.

As I browsed the internet for alternative ways to consistently shape these parts, I came across a few people that had adapted spindle sanders to follow patterns. The concept of bandsawing away the majority of the waste and abrasively cleaning the parts up to a template appealed to me as being a safe way to get consistent, smooth results for these large parts (albeit a bit slow). The 6" tall spindles also have sufficient reach to shape the entire face of my parts.

I decided to test the concept with a drill press mounted sanding drum before investing in a spindle sander. I bored a clearance hole in some scrap MDF slightly larger than the drum. After rounding the outside edge I had a quick and dirty pattern follower that will follow an offset template.

Brown Wood Flooring Wood stain Floor


I attached a template to a scrap of sapele with some double sided tape. The template rides face down on the table, against the pattern follower. After a few minutes sanding, I had a well shaped part, offset slightly from the template, without the usual irregularity associated with freehand use of a spindle sander.

Table Wood Wood stain Hardwood Chair


With my concept proven, I stopped at Woodcraft to pick up a spindle sander. I need the tool in hand to get exact measurements of the sanding sleeves and throat plates so I can design my pattern follower and determine the offset for the templates.

Hat Tints and shades Composite material Cylinder Circle


The 2 inch sanding sleeves are actually 2-1/16 outside diameter. The opening in the plate is 2-3/8. I'd like to use a 1/4 inch offset for my templates so my pattern follower will need an outside diameter of 2-9/16. I can turn a follower on the lathe that will press into the opening in the plate. I ordered a short length of 2 inch ID x 2-3/4 inch OD UHMW-PE tubing from McMaster Carr to fabricate the pattern follower from, but it could be made from a piece of hardwood or plywood as well.

With my process for shaping the large parts worked out, I start working through the process flow for each part. With complex projects, I mentally work through the process steps to make each part, sketching as I go. I find that even rough sketches help me to visualize the proper order to do the operations to get the best result. As I sketch, I'm thinking through the templates I will need as well as any tooling or special materials and I note them along the side. By thinking through the steps I can identify errors in my process order that might make a later operation difficult or impossible, all before I cut any material. Here, I am working through the process steps to make the back legs and back seat apron.

Handwriting Book Font Office supplies Line


Next Steps: Fabricate a pattern follower for the spindle sander, finish developing my process flow diagrams and finalize the templates in CAD.
 

Attachments

#52 ·
Planning the Construction of 12 Chairs

Since returning from the Gamble House chair class at Marc Adams, I have been thinking through the construction process for a full set of 12 chairs. In the class, we performed many of the operations with hand tools which can be time consuming and lead to variation in the parts, especially across 12 chairs. We also used the Domino 500 for several of the joints, which I don't own.

One aspect of the project I have been pondering is cutting and cleaning up of the curves on the wide faces of the back seat apron, crest rails and back slats. In class, we roughed these in using the bandsaw, then cleaned them with various hand tools. I'm not very good with hand tools, so this is a very time consuming process for me that will lead to irregularity in the finished parts. As I spent time researching and thinking through various ways to machine cut these parts, I developed and then rejected several ways that I might accomplish this.

My first thought was to utilize my shaper to pattern cut the parts to templates. This is the same concept used when pattern routing parts, only with bigger tooling. The advantage of utilizing the shaper over a router for this operation is that the larger shaper cutters leave a much smoother finished surface when complete. My first thought was to simply stack rabbeting cutters, which would work but might lead to tear out issues since some of the cuts climb the grain slightly. I then investigated helical shaper cutters like the Byrd Shelix, which would leave a much smoother surface than a straight cutter but are costly. Ultimately I could not come up with a good way to cut all of my parts in a single pass since my shaper spindle is not tall enough. In addition, the shaper cutter required to cut such a large surface would be very dangerous to use, even with a sturdy sled. I abandoned the idea of pattern shaping.

As I browsed the internet for alternative ways to consistently shape these parts, I came across a few people that had adapted spindle sanders to follow patterns. The concept of bandsawing away the majority of the waste and abrasively cleaning the parts up to a template appealed to me as being a safe way to get consistent, smooth results for these large parts (albeit a bit slow). The 6" tall spindles also have sufficient reach to shape the entire face of my parts.

I decided to test the concept with a drill press mounted sanding drum before investing in a spindle sander. I bored a clearance hole in some scrap MDF slightly larger than the drum. After rounding the outside edge I had a quick and dirty pattern follower that will follow an offset template.

Brown Wood Flooring Wood stain Floor


I attached a template to a scrap of sapele with some double sided tape. The template rides face down on the table, against the pattern follower. After a few minutes sanding, I had a well shaped part, offset slightly from the template, without the usual irregularity associated with freehand use of a spindle sander.

Table Wood Wood stain Hardwood Chair


With my concept proven, I stopped at Woodcraft to pick up a spindle sander. I need the tool in hand to get exact measurements of the sanding sleeves and throat plates so I can design my pattern follower and determine the offset for the templates.

Hat Tints and shades Composite material Cylinder Circle


The 2 inch sanding sleeves are actually 2-1/16 outside diameter. The opening in the plate is 2-3/8. I'd like to use a 1/4 inch offset for my templates so my pattern follower will need an outside diameter of 2-9/16. I can turn a follower on the lathe that will press into the opening in the plate. I ordered a short length of 2 inch ID x 2-3/4 inch OD UHMW-PE tubing from McMaster Carr to fabricate the pattern follower from, but it could be made from a piece of hardwood or plywood as well.

With my process for shaping the large parts worked out, I start working through the process flow for each part. With complex projects, I mentally work through the process steps to make each part, sketching as I go. I find that even rough sketches help me to visualize the proper order to do the operations to get the best result. As I sketch, I'm thinking through the templates I will need as well as any tooling or special materials and I note them along the side. By thinking through the steps I can identify errors in my process order that might make a later operation difficult or impossible, all before I cut any material. Here, I am working through the process steps to make the back legs and back seat apron.

Handwriting Book Font Office supplies Line


Next Steps: Fabricate a pattern follower for the spindle sander, finish developing my process flow diagrams and finalize the templates in CAD.
We also used the Domino 500 for several of the joints, which I don t own.

- TungOil
I can't help you with the rest of your challenges, but this one is an easy fix :)
 

Attachments

#66 ·
Pattern Sander Setup and Bandsaw Upgrade

With my pattern sanding technique proven and a length of UHMW-PE tubing delivered I got to work making a bushing for the spindle sander. I roughed out a 1" piece of tubing to start.

Adhesive Wood Lighting Rectangle Line


There is just enough clearance between the sanding drum and the table insert to fit a bushing. I turned the bushing on the lathe to a nice press into the existing table insert.

Wood Computer keyboard Gas Font Circle


The bushing provide a 1/4" offset from the sanding drum which will make design of the patterns easier.

Table Audio equipment Gas Cylinder Drink


A nice property of UHMW-PE is that it is extremely low friction. This will allow the patterns to glide smoothly along the bushing and also facilitate insertion and removal of the bushing from the table plate.

The spindle sander project kept me busy while I was waiting on delivery of a new bandsaw. My trusty 12" Craftsman served me well over the years, but it was time to upgrade to something with more capacity for this project. Every part on these chairs is touched by the bandsaw except the two front legs and the small lower connecting stretcher. Some of the parts, like the center back slat, are 5 inches thick. A Bigger saw was definitely needed.

I researched a few options on bandsaws. I was looking for something larger than a 14" saw, but not so big that it would be difficult to get into my basement workshop or take up too much room. The Powermatic PM1500 was on my very short list, especially after working on one while at the Marc Adams school a few weeks ago. As luck would have it, SCM put the Minimax saws on sale right around the time that I called to get pricing, putting the MM16 in the same price range as the PM. With larger capacities nearly everywhere, including a 4.8 hp motor, the choice was pretty easy.

About a week after placing my order I received a call from the freight hauler that my crate was ready to pick up. The crate nearly filled my 8 foot utility trailer and had a shipping weight of nearly 800 lbs! I was starting to get worried about getting this thing into my shop.

Tire Wheel Automotive tire Motor vehicle Tread


Luckily, the shipping crate was very substantial and accounted for about 200 lbs. of the weight. Even so, moving this saw was not going to be a 2 man job. With the help of my neighbors backhoe and some clever rigging we were able to lower it down my outside stairs into the shop.

Gas Engineering Machine tool Toolroom Service


Next steps: clean and tune up the MM16, finish designing and order my routing templates in AutoCAD to be CNC cut and pick up another load of Sapele.
 

Attachments

#67 ·
Pattern Sander Setup and Bandsaw Upgrade

With my pattern sanding technique proven and a length of UHMW-PE tubing delivered I got to work making a bushing for the spindle sander. I roughed out a 1" piece of tubing to start.

Adhesive Wood Lighting Rectangle Line


There is just enough clearance between the sanding drum and the table insert to fit a bushing. I turned the bushing on the lathe to a nice press into the existing table insert.

Wood Computer keyboard Gas Font Circle


The bushing provide a 1/4" offset from the sanding drum which will make design of the patterns easier.

Table Audio equipment Gas Cylinder Drink


A nice property of UHMW-PE is that it is extremely low friction. This will allow the patterns to glide smoothly along the bushing and also facilitate insertion and removal of the bushing from the table plate.

The spindle sander project kept me busy while I was waiting on delivery of a new bandsaw. My trusty 12" Craftsman served me well over the years, but it was time to upgrade to something with more capacity for this project. Every part on these chairs is touched by the bandsaw except the two front legs and the small lower connecting stretcher. Some of the parts, like the center back slat, are 5 inches thick. A Bigger saw was definitely needed.

I researched a few options on bandsaws. I was looking for something larger than a 14" saw, but not so big that it would be difficult to get into my basement workshop or take up too much room. The Powermatic PM1500 was on my very short list, especially after working on one while at the Marc Adams school a few weeks ago. As luck would have it, SCM put the Minimax saws on sale right around the time that I called to get pricing, putting the MM16 in the same price range as the PM. With larger capacities nearly everywhere, including a 4.8 hp motor, the choice was pretty easy.

About a week after placing my order I received a call from the freight hauler that my crate was ready to pick up. The crate nearly filled my 8 foot utility trailer and had a shipping weight of nearly 800 lbs! I was starting to get worried about getting this thing into my shop.

Tire Wheel Automotive tire Motor vehicle Tread


Luckily, the shipping crate was very substantial and accounted for about 200 lbs. of the weight. Even so, moving this saw was not going to be a 2 man job. With the help of my neighbors backhoe and some clever rigging we were able to lower it down my outside stairs into the shop.

Gas Engineering Machine tool Toolroom Service


Next steps: clean and tune up the MM16, finish designing and order my routing templates in AutoCAD to be CNC cut and pick up another load of Sapele.
Wow that's an upgrade!!!! said the jealous LJ reader ;+)

I just upgraded my 15 year old 12" Delta bandsaw. I bought a new blade, special order to get the 82" size it needs.

That is a really slick idea with the UHMW tubing (pun intended). I wasn't aware that you could get UHMW in tubes. I'm definitely filing that clever spindle sander insert idea away for future reference.
 

Attachments

#73 ·
CAD Templates and Pattern Sanding Test

With the new bandsaw tuned up and cutting nicely I got to work designing the templates needed to make the chairs. I worked through the steps to make each part, designing pattern routing/sanding templates to aid each step. Each part has several templates to be used to route the shape, mortises, etc.

Rectangle Azure Mesh Aqua Material property


I ended up with 46 templates overall, a lot more than I expected. I sent the files off to the local CNC shop for quoting.

While waiting for my templates I decided to test out my pattern sanding rub collar using a template for the back seat rail.

Rectangle Wood Office ruler Font Ruler


Starting with a sapele scrap, I traced a portion of the full size pattern and headed to the bandsaw.

Wood Automotive design Chair Vehicle door Automotive exterior


After rough cutting just outside the line, I attached the template to the part with double sided tape. The rub collar requires an offset of 1/4", which I designed into each CNC template. For this test, I just used the full size template and set it back about 1/4". After a little time at the sander, I had a finished part that matched the template exactly.

Wood Finger Ruler Rectangle Wood stain


Satisfied that my pattern sanding technique will work, I placed an order for a load of quarter sawn Sapele. Working in AutoCAD, I determined that I could get all of the components for a chair from a single 8/4 board as long as it is at least 9" wide and 10' long. This required a special order from my hardwood supplier, who agreed to bring in some wood for me to pick through.

Next Steps: Pick up the sapele when it arrives and get my CNC templates on order.
 

Attachments

#74 ·
CAD Templates and Pattern Sanding Test

With the new bandsaw tuned up and cutting nicely I got to work designing the templates needed to make the chairs. I worked through the steps to make each part, designing pattern routing/sanding templates to aid each step. Each part has several templates to be used to route the shape, mortises, etc.

Rectangle Azure Mesh Aqua Material property


I ended up with 46 templates overall, a lot more than I expected. I sent the files off to the local CNC shop for quoting.

While waiting for my templates I decided to test out my pattern sanding rub collar using a template for the back seat rail.

Rectangle Wood Office ruler Font Ruler


Starting with a sapele scrap, I traced a portion of the full size pattern and headed to the bandsaw.

Wood Automotive design Chair Vehicle door Automotive exterior


After rough cutting just outside the line, I attached the template to the part with double sided tape. The rub collar requires an offset of 1/4", which I designed into each CNC template. For this test, I just used the full size template and set it back about 1/4". After a little time at the sander, I had a finished part that matched the template exactly.

Wood Finger Ruler Rectangle Wood stain


Satisfied that my pattern sanding technique will work, I placed an order for a load of quarter sawn Sapele. Working in AutoCAD, I determined that I could get all of the components for a chair from a single 8/4 board as long as it is at least 9" wide and 10' long. This required a special order from my hardwood supplier, who agreed to bring in some wood for me to pick through.

Next Steps: Pick up the sapele when it arrives and get my CNC templates on order.
Wow, that is a lot of templates. What drafting program are you using?

Finding a local lumber supplier like you have has been my biggest problem. The local sawmills have domestics only and that is limited to cherry, walnut, maple, oak, poplar, etc. Any online order has ~$200 shipping costs since the wood ships via truck.

I'm starting chairs for the various desks I built, but the plans I bought from Fine Wood Working (Kevin Rodel chair) don't appear to be all that involved. After seeing your post here, I just hope I'm not naively assuming they will be fairly easy to build.

I'm definitely going to "borrow" your sanding technique for the curved portions of the chairs.
 

Attachments

#86 ·
A Lumber Mill Run

The Sapele that I ordered arrived at Hearne Hardwoods earlier in the week. I need about 300 bf for this set of chairs. I can get all of the components for a single chair from one 8/4 board as long as it is at least 9" wide and 10' long, so I need at least 12 boards. Ed at Hearne brought in 400 bf of wide 8/4 quarter sawn Sapele for me to select my boards from. The boards are all 16-18 foot lengths, and 10"+ wide.

Forklift truck Wheel Tire Vehicle Automotive tire


At 16 to 18 feet long these boards are too big for my trailer and wood rack. I had the mill cut them to 11 foot lengths for easier transport and handling in the shop. At 11 feet they hang off my utility trailer a bit front and back.

Tire Wheel Vehicle Tread Wood


I also received the quote for the CNC cut templates, a very reasonable $345. The templates will be made from 1/2" MDF and should be ready in about 2-3 weeks.

While I wait for the templates, I will start roughing out my chair parts on the bandsaw.
 

Attachments

#87 ·
A Lumber Mill Run

The Sapele that I ordered arrived at Hearne Hardwoods earlier in the week. I need about 300 bf for this set of chairs. I can get all of the components for a single chair from one 8/4 board as long as it is at least 9" wide and 10' long, so I need at least 12 boards. Ed at Hearne brought in 400 bf of wide 8/4 quarter sawn Sapele for me to select my boards from. The boards are all 16-18 foot lengths, and 10"+ wide.

Forklift truck Wheel Tire Vehicle Automotive tire


At 16 to 18 feet long these boards are too big for my trailer and wood rack. I had the mill cut them to 11 foot lengths for easier transport and handling in the shop. At 11 feet they hang off my utility trailer a bit front and back.

Tire Wheel Vehicle Tread Wood


I also received the quote for the CNC cut templates, a very reasonable $345. The templates will be made from 1/2" MDF and should be ready in about 2-3 weeks.

While I wait for the templates, I will start roughing out my chair parts on the bandsaw.
Nice looking load of lumber. I went to the "Wood Store" Saturday, which for me is my kiln out back!

I bet that sapele mills up really nice.
 

Attachments

#92 ·
Roughing It

The sapele has been in the shop for a week acclimating and my CNC cut templates will not be ready for a while, so I got busy roughing out parts. I started with the largest parts, the back legs. A leg blank 7 inches wide will allow me to cut both back legs for a chair from a single board, helping with grain and color match. Several of the boards were a bit over 14" wide, allowing me to get two pairs of legs from each cut length.

Rectangle Wood Floor Composite material Gas


To be sure I have spare material in case of an error, I cut enough parts for 14 chairs. I ripped the wide stock to 7" widths on the bandsaw, then joined one face and edge before planing to final thickness.

Wood Flooring Floor Hardwood Wood stain


As I started planing the stock to thickness, some internal compression damage was revealed on several pieces. All of the damage was located where the lumber had been stickered in the yard. In the image below you can still see some of the sticker stain next to the damaged area.

Wood Rectangle Table Slope Hardwood


I went back to the lumber pile to rough out some additional replacement boards. With these boards planed to thickness, they are as far as I can take them until I get the templates.

Wood Flooring Floor Wood stain Hardwood


Most of the damaged boards were salvaged later to make smaller parts such as the front legs (that's why we always start with the biggest parts first, right?). In some cases the grain was not running parallel to the edge of the board, requiring me to lay out the parts parallel to the grain and true up on the bandsaw and jointer. Truing up in this way helps avoid the diagonal grain seen in the top leg below, which will be used for setup only.

Grille Wood Rectangle Automotive exterior Bumper


As I was working I kept a pair of diagonal cutters in my pocket to remove stray staples from the lumber yard. I don't cut the staples, but I find the diagonals get a good bite making them easier to remove.

Wood Natural material Composite material Tints and shades Brick


Next I roughed out the stock for the back slats. Ideally the center slat and two outside slats should come from the same board and be kept in sequence. It's going to be a real challenge to keep all of the parts properly labeled and oriented as I make these parts.

Brown Rectangle Wood Flooring Floor


With the two largest parts roughed out, I moved on to cutting the stock for the smaller parts. The crest rail and lower back seat rail are made from 8/4 stock. The side seat rails and front rail finish up at 7/8" thick so I will resaw the 8/4 stock to get two parts from each blank. The poplar blanks will be used as setup pieces.

Wood Flooring Floor Wood stain Hardwood


The majority of the parts are rough cut at this point, with the exception of the lower stretcher components. These parts are small and can be easily cut from the drop offs left over from roughing out the main chair parts.

Outdoor bench Wood Outdoor furniture Rectangle Art


Next step: Finish roughing out the remaining parts then joint and plane to size in preparation for pattern routing and sanding.
 

Attachments

#93 ·
Roughing It

The sapele has been in the shop for a week acclimating and my CNC cut templates will not be ready for a while, so I got busy roughing out parts. I started with the largest parts, the back legs. A leg blank 7 inches wide will allow me to cut both back legs for a chair from a single board, helping with grain and color match. Several of the boards were a bit over 14" wide, allowing me to get two pairs of legs from each cut length.



To be sure I have spare material in case of an error, I cut enough parts for 14 chairs. I ripped the wide stock to 7" widths on the bandsaw, then joined one face and edge before planing to final thickness.



As I started planing the stock to thickness, some internal compression damage was revealed on several pieces. All of the damage was located where the lumber had been stickered in the yard. In the image below you can still see some of the sticker stain next to the damaged area.



I went back to the lumber pile to rough out some additional replacement boards. With these boards planed to thickness, they are as far as I can take them until I get the templates.



Most of the damaged boards were salvaged later to make smaller parts such as the front legs (that's why we always start with the biggest parts first, right?). In some cases the grain was not running parallel to the edge of the board, requiring me to lay out the parts parallel to the grain and true up on the bandsaw and jointer. Truing up in this way helps avoid the diagonal grain seen in the top leg below, which will be used for setup only.



As I was working I kept a pair of diagonal cutters in my pocket to remove stray staples from the lumber yard. I don't cut the staples, but I find the diagonals get a good bite making them easier to remove.



Next I roughed out the stock for the back slats. Ideally the center slat and two outside slats should come from the same board and be kept in sequence. It's going to be a real challenge to keep all of the parts properly labeled and oriented as I make these parts.



With the two largest parts roughed out, I moved on to cutting the stock for the smaller parts. The crest rail and lower back seat rail are made from 8/4 stock. The side seat rails and front rail finish up at 7/8" thick so I will resaw the 8/4 stock to get two parts from each blank. The poplar blanks will be used as setup pieces.



The majority of the parts are rough cut at this point, with the exception of the lower stretcher components. These parts are small and can be easily cut from the drop offs left over from roughing out the main chair parts.



Next step: Finish roughing out the remaining parts then joint and plane to size in preparation for pattern routing and sanding.
You certainly have been busy. I can certainly relate to using the scrap for making the smaller pieces for the chairs.

I'm curious if you are keeping track of the hours spent working on a project this large. That band saw looks very impressive as well.
 

Attachments

#102 ·
CNC Templates and Begin Back Leg Fabrication

My routing templates arrived Friday from the millwork shop so I headed out to pick them up. A few of the corners were damaged in transport, so I unwrapped everything to take a closer look.

Wood Office equipment Machine Box Automotive exterior


After inspecting the templates closely I was relieved to find that the damaged corners were all in non critical areas. It's a good thing I made my routing templates a bit long on the ends to have a little lead in.

Time to get to work. For this project, I plan to fabricate the back assembly first, then cut the angled side rails and finish up with the front assembly. By working in this order, I can adjust the length of the front rail to account for any errors that might accumulate during fabrication and be assured of tight fitting joints.

I start by laying out the back legs. I trace the full size template onto the leg blanks. For darker woods like walnut and sapele, I use a white fabric pencil for my layout lines for visibility. I cut enough parts for fourteen chairs leaving four extras in case of mistakes.

Table Furniture Rectangle Wood Wood stain


I head to the bandsaw to rough out the back legs.

Wood Machine tool Machine Gas Hardwood


While cutting out the blanks, I came across hidden checking on four of the parts. There goes all of my spares! Any mistakes going forward will require me to make more parts.

Wood Rectangle Hardwood Publication Flooring


After hardening the edge of the routing template with some thin CA Glue, I affix the template to the poplar set up piece and make a test cut at the router table.

Wood Comfort Automotive design Flooring Beige


With my test blank completed, I moved on to pattern routing the legs. This is a large piece at 43 inches long and each part takes quite a while to pattern route.

This is a tricky cut, even with a spiral carbide cutter, due to the end grain and tight radius at the top of the leg. Not surprisingly I lost several parts while routing the top of the leg. Cutting against the grain, even with a spiral cutter, is always iffy.

Hood Motor vehicle Automotive design Wood Bumper


Since I have no spares left, I head back to the lumber rack and rough out several more blanks and pattern route replacements. After all the dust settled I end up with eight damaged leg blanks- four with checking and four damaged while routing. I'm down to a single spare leg at this point.

In preparation for laying out and cutting the mortises I arrange the legs on my shop cart, flipping then into pairs of right and left legs. Most of the leg pairs are matched from the same board, but due to the damaged pieces unfortunately not all of the legs could be matching pairs.

Wood Outdoor furniture Automotive design Automotive exterior Hardwood


Next steps- lay out and cut the mortises, then move on to the back seat rail.
 

Attachments

#103 ·
CNC Templates and Begin Back Leg Fabrication

My routing templates arrived Friday from the millwork shop so I headed out to pick them up. A few of the corners were damaged in transport, so I unwrapped everything to take a closer look.

Wood Office equipment Machine Box Automotive exterior


After inspecting the templates closely I was relieved to find that the damaged corners were all in non critical areas. It's a good thing I made my routing templates a bit long on the ends to have a little lead in.

Time to get to work. For this project, I plan to fabricate the back assembly first, then cut the angled side rails and finish up with the front assembly. By working in this order, I can adjust the length of the front rail to account for any errors that might accumulate during fabrication and be assured of tight fitting joints.

I start by laying out the back legs. I trace the full size template onto the leg blanks. For darker woods like walnut and sapele, I use a white fabric pencil for my layout lines for visibility. I cut enough parts for fourteen chairs leaving four extras in case of mistakes.

Table Furniture Rectangle Wood Wood stain


I head to the bandsaw to rough out the back legs.

Wood Machine tool Machine Gas Hardwood


While cutting out the blanks, I came across hidden checking on four of the parts. There goes all of my spares! Any mistakes going forward will require me to make more parts.

Wood Rectangle Hardwood Publication Flooring


After hardening the edge of the routing template with some thin CA Glue, I affix the template to the poplar set up piece and make a test cut at the router table.

Wood Comfort Automotive design Flooring Beige


With my test blank completed, I moved on to pattern routing the legs. This is a large piece at 43 inches long and each part takes quite a while to pattern route.

This is a tricky cut, even with a spiral carbide cutter, due to the end grain and tight radius at the top of the leg. Not surprisingly I lost several parts while routing the top of the leg. Cutting against the grain, even with a spiral cutter, is always iffy.

Hood Motor vehicle Automotive design Wood Bumper


Since I have no spares left, I head back to the lumber rack and rough out several more blanks and pattern route replacements. After all the dust settled I end up with eight damaged leg blanks- four with checking and four damaged while routing. I'm down to a single spare leg at this point.

In preparation for laying out and cutting the mortises I arrange the legs on my shop cart, flipping then into pairs of right and left legs. Most of the leg pairs are matched from the same board, but due to the damaged pieces unfortunately not all of the legs could be matching pairs.

Wood Outdoor furniture Automotive design Automotive exterior Hardwood


Next steps- lay out and cut the mortises, then move on to the back seat rail.
nice progress,have fun buddy.
 

Attachments

#112 ·
Back Leg Mortises and Back Seat Rail

Now that the back legs are routed to shape, I move on to cutting the mortises. I start with the back seat rail mortises. The back seat rail sits flush with the inside of the back leg, so it makes sense to cut both mortises using the same setup to assure the parts fit perfectly flush.

I first lay out the mortise on the end of the back seat rail setup piece, which is made from poplar. The Leigh FMT jig only requires that the center of the mortise be marked with cross hairs, but as a double check I layout the full mortise to verify size and location along with the mortises for the back slats and the final profile of the rail.

Next I lay out the matching mortise on the leg and verify that everything is aligned correctly.

Table Furniture Desk Wood Pen


The Leigh FMT jig is equipped with toggle clamps and a stop that, once setup, allow multiple parts to be made very quickly with perfect repeatability.

Table Wood Milling Workbench Machine tool


The cross hairs that mark the center of the mortise are used in conjunction with the 'targeting sight' on the FMT to very accurately locate the center of the mortise.

Wood Rectangle Gas Fixture Metal


First, I cut all of the mortises on the ends of the back seat rails. All mortising is done before I bandsaw the back scalloped profile to provide large flat clamping surfaces.

Table Furniture Cabinetry Wood Rectangle


Next, I route the matching mortises in the back legs utilizing the same setup in the FMT, assuring a perfectly flush fit. Since the mortises are near the center of the back leg, I must use the extension feature of the FMT to create a stop with a scrap block of wood and a clamp.

Table Wood Office equipment Desk Electronic instrument


The legs are mortised in mirror image pairs, so two setups are required on the FMT to make sets of left and right legs.

Wood Folk instrument Musical instrument Hardwood Machine


With the back seat rail mortises complete, I move on to creating the mortises for the crest rails. These mortises are cut at an angle into a curved section of the leg, so the FMT jig will not work easily for these mortises.

To solve this problem, I use a jig made from two CNC machined templates. Together they form a jig for routing the mortise. One template has an oversize slot that matches a router bushing. The other template has a leg shaped opening that positions the leg to properly mortise. This image shows the bottom of the jig with a leg fit in place, ready to be flipped over to route the mortise.

Wood Toy airplane Flooring Floor Toy


The template is designed to be used for both the left and right hand legs by simply switching the locating template to the other side. After a little fine tuning of the opening in the template to allow my router bushing to clear smoothly, I cut all of the mortises.

Wood Boats and boating--Equipment and supplies Hardwood Flooring Wood stain


The remaining mortises on the back legs for the side seat rails and lower stretchers are parallel to the front face. These will be cut later.

Next I build a mortising jig to cut the four mortises on the top of the back seat rail that will be used for the back seat slats. Since two of these mortises are angled, the FMT would be difficult to use. I build the jig from a CNC cut template that locates all four mortises.

Drill Wood Power tool Machine Engineering


The finished mortises are quick to cut using the jig.

Wood Wooden block Rectangle Wood stain Hardwood


With all of the mortises cut in the back seat rail, I bandsaw the scalloped outer profile.

Wood Rectangle Wood stain Hardwood Plank


To prepare for pattern sanding the profile, I assemble another jig using a toggle clamp and CNC cut template. The template mounts to the bottom of the jig and is 1/4" undersize to account for the pattern follower mounted on the spindle sander.

Wood Tool Hardwood Vehicle Flooring


The pattern sanding technique does a nice job cleaning up the bandsaw marks and developing the final shape on the rails. Due to the height of the part, the top 1/8" of the seat rail does not get sanded. It is easily cleaned up using a spiral pattern bit in the router table after the sanding is completed.

Wood Gas Composite material Saw Tool


The back seat rails are now ready for final sanding.

Tire Wheel Wood Vehicle Automotive tire


I do a quick test fit to verify everything looks correct.

Wood Rectangle Composite material Plank Hardwood


So far so good!

Next step: fabricate the crest rails.
 

Attachments

#113 ·
Back Leg Mortises and Back Seat Rail

Now that the back legs are routed to shape, I move on to cutting the mortises. I start with the back seat rail mortises. The back seat rail sits flush with the inside of the back leg, so it makes sense to cut both mortises using the same setup to assure the parts fit perfectly flush.

I first lay out the mortise on the end of the back seat rail setup piece, which is made from poplar. The Leigh FMT jig only requires that the center of the mortise be marked with cross hairs, but as a double check I layout the full mortise to verify size and location along with the mortises for the back slats and the final profile of the rail.

Next I lay out the matching mortise on the leg and verify that everything is aligned correctly.

Table Furniture Desk Wood Pen


The Leigh FMT jig is equipped with toggle clamps and a stop that, once setup, allow multiple parts to be made very quickly with perfect repeatability.

Table Wood Milling Workbench Machine tool


The cross hairs that mark the center of the mortise are used in conjunction with the 'targeting sight' on the FMT to very accurately locate the center of the mortise.

Wood Rectangle Gas Fixture Metal


First, I cut all of the mortises on the ends of the back seat rails. All mortising is done before I bandsaw the back scalloped profile to provide large flat clamping surfaces.

Table Furniture Cabinetry Wood Rectangle


Next, I route the matching mortises in the back legs utilizing the same setup in the FMT, assuring a perfectly flush fit. Since the mortises are near the center of the back leg, I must use the extension feature of the FMT to create a stop with a scrap block of wood and a clamp.

Table Wood Office equipment Desk Electronic instrument


The legs are mortised in mirror image pairs, so two setups are required on the FMT to make sets of left and right legs.

Wood Folk instrument Musical instrument Hardwood Machine


With the back seat rail mortises complete, I move on to creating the mortises for the crest rails. These mortises are cut at an angle into a curved section of the leg, so the FMT jig will not work easily for these mortises.

To solve this problem, I use a jig made from two CNC machined templates. Together they form a jig for routing the mortise. One template has an oversize slot that matches a router bushing. The other template has a leg shaped opening that positions the leg to properly mortise. This image shows the bottom of the jig with a leg fit in place, ready to be flipped over to route the mortise.

Wood Toy airplane Flooring Floor Toy


The template is designed to be used for both the left and right hand legs by simply switching the locating template to the other side. After a little fine tuning of the opening in the template to allow my router bushing to clear smoothly, I cut all of the mortises.

Wood Boats and boating--Equipment and supplies Hardwood Flooring Wood stain


The remaining mortises on the back legs for the side seat rails and lower stretchers are parallel to the front face. These will be cut later.

Next I build a mortising jig to cut the four mortises on the top of the back seat rail that will be used for the back seat slats. Since two of these mortises are angled, the FMT would be difficult to use. I build the jig from a CNC cut template that locates all four mortises.

Drill Wood Power tool Machine Engineering


The finished mortises are quick to cut using the jig.

Wood Wooden block Rectangle Wood stain Hardwood


With all of the mortises cut in the back seat rail, I bandsaw the scalloped outer profile.

Wood Rectangle Wood stain Hardwood Plank


To prepare for pattern sanding the profile, I assemble another jig using a toggle clamp and CNC cut template. The template mounts to the bottom of the jig and is 1/4" undersize to account for the pattern follower mounted on the spindle sander.

Wood Tool Hardwood Vehicle Flooring


The pattern sanding technique does a nice job cleaning up the bandsaw marks and developing the final shape on the rails. Due to the height of the part, the top 1/8" of the seat rail does not get sanded. It is easily cleaned up using a spiral pattern bit in the router table after the sanding is completed.

Wood Gas Composite material Saw Tool


The back seat rails are now ready for final sanding.

Tire Wheel Wood Vehicle Automotive tire


I do a quick test fit to verify everything looks correct.

Wood Rectangle Composite material Plank Hardwood


So far so good!

Next step: fabricate the crest rails.
damn tung you make feel lazy buddy-lol.im lovin the journey,lets go for a ride!
 

Attachments

#123 ·
Crest Rails

The next component to be made is the crest rail. This part has a complex profile as well as a curved face and back, making it a bit more difficult to fabricate. I begin by laying out the part on all of the faces of my poplar setup piece.

Rectangle Wood Wood stain Floor Flooring


The order of operations is critical for this part to assure that everything comes out as accurate as possible.

I begin by cutting the mortises. The two mortises in the ends of the piece are easily done using the Leigh FMT jig, as are the two center mortises on the underside. The outer mortises on the underside are angled, so I use a CNC cut template to machine those.

Wood Wheel Tire Composite material Rectangle


I decided to take my poplar setup part completely through the shaping process to vet out the proper order of operations. I started by roughing the concave curve using the bandsaw. I save the cut-off, as I will need it later. I then use a CNC cut template and the spindle sander to bring the concave face to final shape. The part is too tall to complete using the spindle sander, so I clean up the last 1/2" using a pattern bit in the router table. After the first curve is completed, I bandsaw the opposing curve, spindle sand and route that face. I now have the curved shape completed, ready to move on to shaping the profile. I tape the cutoffs from the bandsaw back in place on the part, then rough out the profile. I use a 5/8" Forstner bit to rough out the inside radii, while the rest of the profile is cut with the bandsaw and a saber saw to remove the waste from the hand hole. Another jig and template are used to pattern route the profile. The part looks good in the profile, but there is a problem- I bored the holes with the Forstner bit after I had cut and shaped the curve in the crest rail, with the cut-offs taped back in place. The clearance between the cut-offs and the part was large enough that there was some blow out on the back side of the part.

Wood Rectangle Automotive exterior Hardwood Wood stain


Good thing I decided to take my setup piece completely through all of the fabrication steps before I moved on with my actual parts!

To eliminate the issue, I re-arranged the order of operations to put the boring of the holes first and tested the new order of operations on the next part.

Wood Rectangle Automotive exterior Bumper Composite material


I rough the inside curve on the bandsaw, pattern sand and route the shape, then rough the outside curve.

Wood Plywood Flooring Pattern Metal


Mounted in the next jig, the part is ready for pattern sanding the outside curve.

Wood Naval architecture Building Vehicle Engineering


With the inside and outside curves completed (and no blow-out!), I tape the parts back together and rough out the profile using the bandsaw and saber saw.

Wood Bumper Gas Composite material Screw


Mounted in the routing jig with the template, I pattern route the profile.

Toy Wood Engineering Combat vehicle Machine


The finished part looks nice, so I do a quick dry assembly to verify the fit is good.

Wood Flooring Floor Rectangle Composite material


With the first part completed without any issues, I'm ready to move on to the next step: finish out the crest rails for the remaining 13 parts.
 

Attachments

#124 ·
Crest Rails

The next component to be made is the crest rail. This part has a complex profile as well as a curved face and back, making it a bit more difficult to fabricate. I begin by laying out the part on all of the faces of my poplar setup piece.

Rectangle Wood Wood stain Floor Flooring


The order of operations is critical for this part to assure that everything comes out as accurate as possible.

I begin by cutting the mortises. The two mortises in the ends of the piece are easily done using the Leigh FMT jig, as are the two center mortises on the underside. The outer mortises on the underside are angled, so I use a CNC cut template to machine those.

Wood Wheel Tire Composite material Rectangle


I decided to take my poplar setup part completely through the shaping process to vet out the proper order of operations. I started by roughing the concave curve using the bandsaw. I save the cut-off, as I will need it later. I then use a CNC cut template and the spindle sander to bring the concave face to final shape. The part is too tall to complete using the spindle sander, so I clean up the last 1/2" using a pattern bit in the router table. After the first curve is completed, I bandsaw the opposing curve, spindle sand and route that face. I now have the curved shape completed, ready to move on to shaping the profile. I tape the cutoffs from the bandsaw back in place on the part, then rough out the profile. I use a 5/8" Forstner bit to rough out the inside radii, while the rest of the profile is cut with the bandsaw and a saber saw to remove the waste from the hand hole. Another jig and template are used to pattern route the profile. The part looks good in the profile, but there is a problem- I bored the holes with the Forstner bit after I had cut and shaped the curve in the crest rail, with the cut-offs taped back in place. The clearance between the cut-offs and the part was large enough that there was some blow out on the back side of the part.

Wood Rectangle Automotive exterior Hardwood Wood stain


Good thing I decided to take my setup piece completely through all of the fabrication steps before I moved on with my actual parts!

To eliminate the issue, I re-arranged the order of operations to put the boring of the holes first and tested the new order of operations on the next part.

Wood Rectangle Automotive exterior Bumper Composite material


I rough the inside curve on the bandsaw, pattern sand and route the shape, then rough the outside curve.

Wood Plywood Flooring Pattern Metal


Mounted in the next jig, the part is ready for pattern sanding the outside curve.

Wood Naval architecture Building Vehicle Engineering


With the inside and outside curves completed (and no blow-out!), I tape the parts back together and rough out the profile using the bandsaw and saber saw.

Wood Bumper Gas Composite material Screw


Mounted in the routing jig with the template, I pattern route the profile.

Toy Wood Engineering Combat vehicle Machine


The finished part looks nice, so I do a quick dry assembly to verify the fit is good.

Wood Flooring Floor Rectangle Composite material


With the first part completed without any issues, I'm ready to move on to the next step: finish out the crest rails for the remaining 13 parts.
I goota take my hat of to ya tung,im working on a maloof rocker this week myself and I know what your going through-hell! but enjoyable hell.id blog mine but I'm afraid somewhere along the way I'm gonna f it up and be too embarrassed to show it.so I'm not given nothin till its done-lol.see ya at the finish line,whenever that might be-ha.
 

Attachments

#132 ·
Center Back Slat- Part 1

After finishing up the crest rails, I move on to the center back slats. I begin by making up the loose tenon stock I will need. After cutting the stock to width, I fine tune the thickness with the drum sander and add the rounded edges with a bullnose bit in the router table.

Wood Flooring Floor Red Gas


I start by making a test center slat from poplar. I cut the angled ends and mortises while the stock still has straight edges. To determine the angles for the end cuts, I use a MDF story stick. By cutting the angles on the end of the story stick, I can sneak up on the correct length for the part. Using the side profile template, I mark the story stick to show the outline of the part.

Wood Rectangle Flooring Table Floor


I transfer the angles to the miter saw and trim the ends.

Automotive design Rim Bicycle part Automotive tire Engineering


After the end cuts are made, I set up the parts in the Leigh FMT and cut the mortises.

Wood Rectangle Audio equipment Hardwood Gadget


With the mortising complete, I move on to cutting the curves. First I rough cut the inside curve with the bandsaw. My original plan was to pattern sand the curves. I set up the pattern sanding jigs and did a test with my poplar set-up part. The sanding time was excessive, so I decided to go old school and broke out the spoke shaves to perform the preliminary cleanup work, then finished off the part on the belt sander.

Hood Automotive tire Bumper Wood Composite material


Once the curves are complete I tape the cutoffs back in place and band saw the profile. A few strokes with the spoke shave cleans up the edges. A float and some thin files clean up the 'V' cut in the bottom. The spoke shaves and floats work well to break the edges.

Table Wood Tool Machine tool Gas


A quick test shows the center slat fits nicely.

Wood Automotive exterior Floor Hardwood Wood stain


With my poplar test piece completed, I move on to making the real parts. For the actual chair components, I rough out fourteen blanks 9 inches wide then rip 1-3/4 inches off either side.

Wood Rectangle Hardwood Brick Gas


I make sure to keep the parts carefully labeled to maintain grain alignment for the finished chairs.

Brown Rectangle Wood Material property Wood stain


I set aside the side slats for now to work on the center slats. Back at the miter saw I cut the angled ends. After cutting one side, I set up a stop block to assure all of the center slats are the same finished length.

Saw Machine tool Electrical wiring Engineering Gas


With all of the stock cut to length, I'm ready to move to the next step, cutting the mortises and curves.
 

Attachments

#133 ·
Center Back Slat- Part 1

After finishing up the crest rails, I move on to the center back slats. I begin by making up the loose tenon stock I will need. After cutting the stock to width, I fine tune the thickness with the drum sander and add the rounded edges with a bullnose bit in the router table.

Wood Flooring Floor Red Gas


I start by making a test center slat from poplar. I cut the angled ends and mortises while the stock still has straight edges. To determine the angles for the end cuts, I use a MDF story stick. By cutting the angles on the end of the story stick, I can sneak up on the correct length for the part. Using the side profile template, I mark the story stick to show the outline of the part.

Wood Rectangle Flooring Table Floor


I transfer the angles to the miter saw and trim the ends.

Automotive design Rim Bicycle part Automotive tire Engineering


After the end cuts are made, I set up the parts in the Leigh FMT and cut the mortises.

Wood Rectangle Audio equipment Hardwood Gadget


With the mortising complete, I move on to cutting the curves. First I rough cut the inside curve with the bandsaw. My original plan was to pattern sand the curves. I set up the pattern sanding jigs and did a test with my poplar set-up part. The sanding time was excessive, so I decided to go old school and broke out the spoke shaves to perform the preliminary cleanup work, then finished off the part on the belt sander.

Hood Automotive tire Bumper Wood Composite material


Once the curves are complete I tape the cutoffs back in place and band saw the profile. A few strokes with the spoke shave cleans up the edges. A float and some thin files clean up the 'V' cut in the bottom. The spoke shaves and floats work well to break the edges.

Table Wood Tool Machine tool Gas


A quick test shows the center slat fits nicely.

Wood Automotive exterior Floor Hardwood Wood stain


With my poplar test piece completed, I move on to making the real parts. For the actual chair components, I rough out fourteen blanks 9 inches wide then rip 1-3/4 inches off either side.

Wood Rectangle Hardwood Brick Gas


I make sure to keep the parts carefully labeled to maintain grain alignment for the finished chairs.

Brown Rectangle Wood Material property Wood stain


I set aside the side slats for now to work on the center slats. Back at the miter saw I cut the angled ends. After cutting one side, I set up a stop block to assure all of the center slats are the same finished length.

Saw Machine tool Electrical wiring Engineering Gas


With all of the stock cut to length, I'm ready to move to the next step, cutting the mortises and curves.
this just inspires me to do more and be better buddy,thank you for taking the time to do these awesome project tutorials! fantastic work my friend.
 

Attachments

#149 ·
Center Back Slat- Part 2

With all of the stock cut to length, I'm ready to move to the next step, cutting the mortises and curves. I lay out the center marks for the mortises needed by the Leigh FMT on the ends of one piece.

Wood Rectangle Art Hardwood Flooring


Since the ends of the slats are angled slightly, I adjust the Leigh FMT to hold the parts at the appropriate angle.

Plant Table Desk Office supplies Machine tool


Once the Leigh FMT is set up correctly for the first piece, the rest of the parts are run without any layout work which is a real time saver when making multiple parts.

Wood Vehicle Naval architecture Architecture Floor


Next I take the parts to the bandsaw and cut the outside and inside curves. By staying tight to my layout lines I minimize the amount of cleanup work needed.

Wood Automotive tire Composite material Gas Household appliance accessory


Back at the bench, I begin the cleanup work with spokeshaves. I work one half of the part from one end then flip it to work the other half, always working with the grain.

Wood Natural material Rectangle Metal Jewellery


Next I bandsaw the profile, then it's back to the bench to clean up the edges with the spokeshaves.

Wood Naval architecture Engineering Gas Flap


The test fit looks good for the center slat.

Wood Rectangle Tool Floor Flooring


Brown Table Rectangle Wood Textile


Happy with my test fit, I fabricate the remaining center slats. To clean up the marks from the spokeshaves I head to the belt sander. The marks are readily apparent under raking light.

Table Wood Rectangle Grey Wood stain


I smooth the concave side on the belt sanders pulley and the convex face on the bed.

Wood Rectangle Audio equipment Wood stain Hardwood


The back slats are fully shaped, but need the corners softened and the ebony bars added- details that will come later. I do a dry fit of all the chair backs to be sure there are no fit problems.

Wood Gas Hardwood Machine Auto part


Next step: fabrication of the side slats.
 

Attachments

#150 ·
Center Back Slat- Part 2

With all of the stock cut to length, I'm ready to move to the next step, cutting the mortises and curves. I lay out the center marks for the mortises needed by the Leigh FMT on the ends of one piece.

Wood Rectangle Art Hardwood Flooring


Since the ends of the slats are angled slightly, I adjust the Leigh FMT to hold the parts at the appropriate angle.

Plant Table Desk Office supplies Machine tool


Once the Leigh FMT is set up correctly for the first piece, the rest of the parts are run without any layout work which is a real time saver when making multiple parts.

Wood Vehicle Naval architecture Architecture Floor


Next I take the parts to the bandsaw and cut the outside and inside curves. By staying tight to my layout lines I minimize the amount of cleanup work needed.

Wood Automotive tire Composite material Gas Household appliance accessory


Back at the bench, I begin the cleanup work with spokeshaves. I work one half of the part from one end then flip it to work the other half, always working with the grain.

Wood Natural material Rectangle Metal Jewellery


Next I bandsaw the profile, then it's back to the bench to clean up the edges with the spokeshaves.

Wood Naval architecture Engineering Gas Flap


The test fit looks good for the center slat.

Wood Rectangle Tool Floor Flooring


Brown Table Rectangle Wood Textile


Happy with my test fit, I fabricate the remaining center slats. To clean up the marks from the spokeshaves I head to the belt sander. The marks are readily apparent under raking light.

Table Wood Rectangle Grey Wood stain


I smooth the concave side on the belt sanders pulley and the convex face on the bed.

Wood Rectangle Audio equipment Wood stain Hardwood


The back slats are fully shaped, but need the corners softened and the ebony bars added- details that will come later. I do a dry fit of all the chair backs to be sure there are no fit problems.

Wood Gas Hardwood Machine Auto part


Next step: fabrication of the side slats.
Wow, Tung. Amazing work. Thanks for sharing.
 

Attachments

#160 ·
Side Slats

With the center slats completed I move to the side slats, arguably one of the most difficult parts of the project. With the center slat already cut, the side slats must be cut very precisely or there will be a gap in the finished assembly somewhere. In addition, both ends of the side slats have a compound miter and must have a mortise precisely placed.

Bob Lang's approach to this in his chair making class was to use a MDF story stick to sneak up on the exact angles and lengths, which worked very well. I started by cutting two poplar pieces to use for the test fitting. Once I had established the correct compound angles for each end, I fit the parts to length by trial and error, taking light cuts to sneak up on the proper length.

Rectangle Wood Flooring Hardwood Plank


With careful fitting I was able to achieve a tight fit on my test parts. I then laid out the mortises and profile on the slats to match the mortises in the crest rail.

Table Wood Rectangle Flooring Floor


Moving on to the actual parts, I cut the compound angles on each end then cut the mortises using the Leigh FMT.

Wood Rectangle Outdoor furniture Tire Hardwood


With the mortises complete, I lay out the curves and profiles and head to the bandsaw to rough out the parts. After bandsawing I clean the parts up quickly with a spokeshave. Later I will finish sand them on the belt sander and break the sharp edges.

Wood Flooring Automotive exterior Floor Hardwood


The test fit looks good with a snug fit on all parts.

Wood Tool Flooring Rectangle Hardwood


It's not easy to see in this image, but all three Slat parts were cut from the same blank and kept in order so that the grain will match in the finished chair.

Land vehicle Toy Vehicle Automotive design Wood


Next Steps: finish up the side slats for the remaining chairs, then start on the angled side aprons.
 

Attachments

#161 ·
Side Slats

With the center slats completed I move to the side slats, arguably one of the most difficult parts of the project. With the center slat already cut, the side slats must be cut very precisely or there will be a gap in the finished assembly somewhere. In addition, both ends of the side slats have a compound miter and must have a mortise precisely placed.

Bob Lang's approach to this in his chair making class was to use a MDF story stick to sneak up on the exact angles and lengths, which worked very well. I started by cutting two poplar pieces to use for the test fitting. Once I had established the correct compound angles for each end, I fit the parts to length by trial and error, taking light cuts to sneak up on the proper length.

Rectangle Wood Flooring Hardwood Plank


With careful fitting I was able to achieve a tight fit on my test parts. I then laid out the mortises and profile on the slats to match the mortises in the crest rail.

Table Wood Rectangle Flooring Floor


Moving on to the actual parts, I cut the compound angles on each end then cut the mortises using the Leigh FMT.

Wood Rectangle Outdoor furniture Tire Hardwood


With the mortises complete, I lay out the curves and profiles and head to the bandsaw to rough out the parts. After bandsawing I clean the parts up quickly with a spokeshave. Later I will finish sand them on the belt sander and break the sharp edges.

Wood Flooring Automotive exterior Floor Hardwood


The test fit looks good with a snug fit on all parts.

Wood Tool Flooring Rectangle Hardwood


It's not easy to see in this image, but all three Slat parts were cut from the same blank and kept in order so that the grain will match in the finished chair.

Land vehicle Toy Vehicle Automotive design Wood


Next Steps: finish up the side slats for the remaining chairs, then start on the angled side aprons.
This is the part of the project where the details are critical but it seems like things are moving so slow that I am always tempted to hurry or take a short cut, usually to my detriment. Looks like you are staying focused and doing some excellent work.
 

Attachments

#166 ·
Preparing Apron Stock, a Router Template and Crest Rail Shaping

With the side slats cut and fit for all the chairs, I turn my attention to preparing the stock for the side and front aprons. I had rough cut the material for these parts a while ago, but had not gotten to resawing it yet. After flattening one face and squaring an edge on the jointer, I set up the resaw blade on the bandsaw and split the boards into two pieces 15/16"thick. I'll let this stock sit for a few days before I take it to the planer for final dimensioning.

Table Wood Rectangle Wood stain Flooring


Next I put together a quick template to route the shallow slots for the ebony bars that are inset into the center slat.



In February I was in Pasadena and took the opportunity to visit the Huntington Library Museum, which houses many Greene & Greene pieces. The museum holds one of the living room chairs from the Gamble House and that gave me a good opportunity to study an original up close. The crest rail is beautifully shaped with a lot of rounding and shaping evident. Here is a close up of the crest rail on the original.



The subtle curves and shaping done on these pieces is amazing and could be easily overlooked.

I realized that my stylized version of the chair would benefit greatly from some extra shaping and rounding, so I began working on my poplar setup pieces to see what i could come up with. The leg tops were straightforward. I shaped them with some rasps and finalized them with some sandpaper.



For the crest rail, I first thinned and tapered the top half of the piece, then rounded the corners with a rasp. I finished up with some sandpaper.



These pieces still need some additional shaping work, but they are already looking much better.

Next steps- shape the crest rails and the tops of the legs and cut the side rails for the seat.
 

Attachments

#167 ·
Preparing Apron Stock, a Router Template and Crest Rail Shaping

With the side slats cut and fit for all the chairs, I turn my attention to preparing the stock for the side and front aprons. I had rough cut the material for these parts a while ago, but had not gotten to resawing it yet. After flattening one face and squaring an edge on the jointer, I set up the resaw blade on the bandsaw and split the boards into two pieces 15/16"thick. I'll let this stock sit for a few days before I take it to the planer for final dimensioning.

Table Wood Rectangle Wood stain Flooring


Next I put together a quick template to route the shallow slots for the ebony bars that are inset into the center slat.

Rectangle Wood Table Art Floor


In February I was in Pasadena and took the opportunity to visit the Huntington Library Museum, which houses many Greene & Greene pieces. The museum holds one of the living room chairs from the Gamble House and that gave me a good opportunity to study an original up close. The crest rail is beautifully shaped with a lot of rounding and shaping evident. Here is a close up of the crest rail on the original.

Picture frame Wood Wood stain Hardwood Musical instrument


The subtle curves and shaping done on these pieces is amazing and could be easily overlooked.

I realized that my stylized version of the chair would benefit greatly from some extra shaping and rounding, so I began working on my poplar setup pieces to see what i could come up with. The leg tops were straightforward. I shaped them with some rasps and finalized them with some sandpaper.

Wood Wood stain Hardwood Plywood Engineering


For the crest rail, I first thinned and tapered the top half of the piece, then rounded the corners with a rasp. I finished up with some sandpaper.

Automotive exterior Automotive design Composite material Wood Metal


These pieces still need some additional shaping work, but they are already looking much better.

Next steps- shape the crest rails and the tops of the legs and cut the side rails for the seat.
Huntington gardens is a great place for inspiration. I really enjoyed the Greene and Greene exhibit there.

Good work on the chairs.
 

Attachments

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