Kehoe spline jig chair

cool

-- ㊍ When in doubt - There is no doubt - Go the safer route.

That’s neato, i might have to try one of those.

These really look cool. I especially like the walnut edge.

I keep wondering how that Z chair would support me at 210 pounds.

-- Rich, Cedar Rapids, IA - I'm a woodworker. I don't create beauty, I reveal it.

Wow – those step stools are great! I’m trying to imagine standing them on edge – YIKES. Braver sole than I, but amazing to hear it works :)

Beautiful chair.

-- Lis - Michigan - http://www.missmooseart.com - https://www.etsy.com/people/lisbokt

That is amazing… I have commented on this type of joinery before.. so I will have to give it a go…
Thanks…

-- Drink twice... and don't bother to cut... @ larrysworkshop.wordpress.com For lovers of all things timber...

Great looking chair, I love the walnut trim on the chair. I think there may be a new favorite project type to try on LumberJocks with the Kehoe Splines. I can see all kinds of projects that this could be used on and I look forward to see what’s next!

-- I am responsible for how I respond to everything in my life - - Katy TX

Very Nice!!!

-- Ted, TX or PA www.around-the-bend.com

Very nice. Might be time to invest in a new jig…

nobody my size should sit in that chair….the second I would sit on it it would break….believe me…that doesn’t mean the design is bad or the execution…the finish or anything…just that I’m a big guy….and that chair doesn’t look like one I’d sit in.

-- /\/\/\ BarryW /\/\/\ Stay so busy you don't have time to die.

Really cool

-- Mad F, the fanatical rhykenologist and vintage architect. Democraticwoodworking.

Barry, a customer who is 240 lbs sat it in, quite confidently…

-- http://nelsonwoodworks.biz/

really? ummmm…maybe i should emulate you style friend

-- Life is enjoyable especially when you borrow from people

Daren, that is a darn pretty chair, and I am pleased to have my Z chair serve as an inspiration for your work. I am really impressed with the speed with which you turned this out! Neat idea. It took me a long time to complete the Z chair, so you clearly are a much faster woodworker than I am. I like the walnut trim a lot. Those dovetail splines are the real thing when one wants to add a lot of strength to a piece like this. The Kehoe jig is worth the money imho. So, again congratulations on completing some nice pieces of work. Hope to see more.

-- Rowdy in Kechi, Kansas

super looking chair.

-- W James Brokenbourgh Custom furniture maker http://artisticwoodstudio.com/

Nice work as usual Daren.

Barry, of course there’s a limit to what anything can take and a chair is no different, but the limit in the case of Daren’s chair isn’t the joint, it’s the wood itself provided that the joinery was executed correctly, and with Daren’s ability and experience I have no doubt it was.

I realize it looks flimsy, because when we woodworkers look at it we think of traditional dovetails, traditional splines, or traditional dovetail splines. No way any of those would hold up except to light use possibly. The 1º taper really is the key to the phenomenal strength. Non-tapered joints aren’t going to essentially “fuse” together like our tapered splines, glue or no glue. When the splines are tapped into the grooves it’s as if the joint is a solid piece of wood.

The first Z Chair I built, I dry fitted the splines and sat down on it with no glue anywhere, and it did not budge. I only weighed 165 pounds (at that time) but still it says a lot about why the joinery is so strong. It doesn’t take much force to tap them in – but tapping them back out after dry fitting is a different matter.

I get asked a lot if I’ve ever done any kind of shear testing etc. and although I have contemplated it, I think that opens a can of worms. “You are not a testing facility what do you know?” or “I see many problems with how you conducted your test.” etc. so I figure unless I can get Texas Tech University (the tornado research guys) to agree to test a couple of dozen joints it’s probably a losing proposition for me to attempt my own tests. So far every skeptic has become a believer once they use it for themselves and that’s good enough for us.

-- "Sure, listen to what the experts have to say, just don't let it get in the way of your woodworking."