Project Information
This is my Rhorkee chair from Chris's book, Campaign Furniture. I used mahogany for the legs and stretchers. I did not turn the legs, I used a router for the corners and then a shave and rasp for the rounded and tapered parts. They actually came out pretty uniform if I do say so myself! I now have a lathe and would turn the legs, but I like the design elements that resulted on doing it this way. I originally used a stiffer and lighter leather, per Chris's first set of instructions prior to the book release. This is a thicker and softer leather. I also used a black wax over the oil finish and it really eliminated the harsh red tone of the mahogany. It darkened it up and gave a richer brown tone with black highlights to the grain. The dowels were purchased online and then tapered using Lee Valley's big pencil sharpener…lol! At least it looks like one, but works great. One for the dowel, another reamer for the hole. Leather was attached with glue and brass rivets. Not hard at all, just have to have the right tools. The chair is actually very comfortable to sit in and after the new leather and black wax, looks great in my humble opinion.