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I needed a desk chair to go with the Stickley writing desk that was posted recently (see project http://lumberjocks.com/projects/99916). This chair is based various Arts & Crafts chairs from the past. The chair is made from QS red oak and measures 18" w, 18" d and 40" h. The seat is 17.5 inches above the floor. The joinery is mortise and tenon throughout. I failed to take any photos during the construction and glue up. This photo shows the bones of the chair.



Once the chair was sanded to 220 grit, it was dyed using Trans Tint reddish brown.



The chair was sealed with General Seal a Cell, glazed with General Antique Walnut gel stain, topcoated with 3 coats of satin Arm-R-Seal and finally clear Briwax.



The biggest challenge on this project was upholstering the seal. The seat is 0.5" Baltic birch plywood with 1" high density foam and 0.5" batting. Getting the fabric to sit properly was a challenge. Tucking the corners lead to much frustration and quite a bit of harsh language. The cushion is not perfect, but it is DONE!!!!! Next time, I will hire a real upholsterer to make cushions.

Gallery

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Vincent, the chair looks to be very well done. IMO chairs are the hardest things to make and you passed the test with flying colors. Maybe you can get pintodeluxe to give you an upholstery lesson the next time you happen to find yourself in the Pacific North West. :D
 

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I dunno. I'd say that upholstery job looks pretty damn fine. I'm going to be doing 8 chairs in the near future, so I'm looking for tips/pointers.
 

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Looks pretty fine to me! The writing desk that it sits in front of looks real nice as well.
 

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Great looking chair!

I've never been interested in doing my own upholstery, so it's been custom work for me-which can be a little spendy….....
 

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Chair and desk look great. One inch can feel pretty thin after a while. You might want to increase that. The rays in the oak are nicely highlighted in the finish. Thanks for sharing.
 

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Nice chair, I know what you mean about the seat. LOL! I really wasn't too happy with my seat upholstering on my recent rehab. Have you ever seen "The furniture Guys?" They made it look easy.

 

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Thanks for the comments.

Candy, My wife likes to use and extra back and bottom cushion so I kept it sorta low knowing that the other cushions shift the sitting position. I will use 2" foam when I build my library table and chair.

Doc: I remember the Furniture Guys. Their show was pretty good and they gave some valuable tips on finishing. I watched about 20 different on-line upholstery videos. The "best" one was a Martha Stewart video. The upholsterer made it look pretty easy but his hands moved so fast while tucking the corners that I had to back it up at least 10 times. One of my biggest issues was the material originally picked for the seat. It was a faux leather that was too thick and inflexible and it left rabbit ears after folding the corners.
 

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Vincent,

In looking that up for you I found it for me! Thanks for the Martha Stewart tip.
 

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Beautiful job!
I love A&C furniture as it has a simple, sturdy design.
Well done. :)
 

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Handsome chair with a beautiful finish. Looks like the whole project came out just great.
 

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Vincent,

Great work on the desk and chair. I have built a lot of furniture over the years, but never a chair. They can be difficult. It is time I tried one for myself. Thanks for the inspiration.
 
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