LumberJocks

Bow Arm Morris Chairs

Project by handplane posted 100 days ago 497 views 2 times favorited 19 comments Add to Favorites
Bow Arm Morris Chairs Bow Arm Morris Chairs Bow Arm Morris Chairs Click the pictures to enlarge them

Here are a pair of Bow Arm Morris Chairs that are finally back from the upholsterer after a 2 year wait. My wife and I took a weeklong “vacation” (The hardest work I’ve ever done in the name of relaxation!) at the American Sycamore Woodworkers Retreat in Indiana. There we worked with Dale Barnard and Mike Van Pelt to create these beautiful chairs from solid quartersawn white oak, even steam bending the arms onsite. There isn’t a single nail or screw in the project except to attach the upholstery. This is entirely true mortise & tenon joinery and these things weigh a ton! The chairs have been safeguarded from our wood chewing puppy and we finally felt safe enough to get them upholstered. The crew at Ackermans did a beautiful job, using butter soft light chocolate colored leather to complete the job. I like the contrast to the natural colored QS white oak, which is finished with a tung oil wiping varnish instead of the traditionally darker finishes of most mission style furniture. If you want some for your home, I highly recommend taking a class at American Sycamore yourself: http://americansycamoreretreat.com/shop/

If you are looking for expert upholstery work in the Chicagoland area, we were very happy with Ackermans:
http://www.ackermans.com/

-- - Scott "handplane"


19 comments so far

View James Early's profile

James Early

42 posts in 185 days


posted 100 days ago

Turned out great—the ottomans, too! Hope they bring you both years of enjoyment and relaxation. I considered going to the American Sycamore Woodworkers Retreat when I lived in West Lafaytette, IN. Just never made it. Looks like a productive vacation!

-- -- Jim E., Oswego, NY. Create, have fun, and work safely!

View Roper's profile

Roper

410 posts in 250 days


posted 100 days ago

i just finished the love seat in the same style and it was really fun to build. your chairs look great, wish i could have used leather but with a 2 year old that didn’t happen. have fun.

-- Roper - master of sawdust-

View tenontim's profile

tenontim

960 posts in 282 days


posted 100 days ago

Very nice job on these chairs. In my opinion, they are the most comfortable chairs around. Thanks for the post.

-- Tim -- http://tmuli.com

View Napaman's profile

Napaman

2092 posts in 614 days


posted 100 days ago

very impressive!!! I have been watching a lot of morris chairs the past year and a half on LJ’s and would like to tackle a pair someday…I love the upholstery…and the ottomans finish them off very nicely!!!!! bummer that you had to wait so long to get them upholstered after building them—-must have been a tough wait for the pups to grow up!!

-- Matt, Napa, CA...119 days to sanity...

View Rj's profile

Rj

126 posts in 168 days


posted 100 days ago

They look really comfortable and the craftsmanship is superb -Job well done.

-- Rj's Woodworks,San Jose & Weed Ca,

View DIABLO's profile

DIABLO

86 posts in 390 days


posted 100 days ago

very nice dude….............

View kolwdwrkr's profile (online now)

kolwdwrkr

474 posts in 127 days


posted 99 days ago

turned out very nice. good project

-- ~ Inspiring those who inspire me ~

View CharlieM1958's profile (online now)

CharlieM1958

4587 posts in 756 days


posted 99 days ago

Wonderful craftsmanship!

-- Charlie M. "Woodworking - patience = firewood"

View trifern's profile

trifern

4974 posts in 304 days


posted 99 days ago

Truly awesome stuff. Great craftsmanship and choice of upholstery. Thanks for sharing.

-- My favorite piece is my last one, my best piece is my next one.

View jcees's profile

jcees

473 posts in 336 days


posted 99 days ago

Gorgeous work! I love Arts & Crafts furniture.

always,
J.C.

-- "Imagination is more important than knowledge" -- Albert Einstein

View Dick, & Barb Cain's profile

Dick, & Barb Cain

5395 posts in 837 days


posted 99 days ago

That’s some great craftsmanship.

-- -** You are never to old to set another goal or to dream a new dream ****************** Dick, & Barb Cain, Hibbing, MN. http://www.woodcarvingillustrated.com/gallery/member.php?uid=3627&protype=1

View Terry's profile

Terry

26 posts in 171 days


posted 99 days ago

Wonderful. This chair is on my “make for myself” list. Do the back adjust?

-- When the chips are down that means the buffalo is empty.

View Bigbuck's profile

Bigbuck

1050 posts in 200 days


posted 99 days ago

Very nice those are some great looking chairs

-- Glenn, New Mexico

View Christopher's profile

Christopher

199 posts in 457 days


posted 99 days ago

wow, these are beautiful! Incredible style….beautiful craftsmanship…gorgeous wood…it’s got it all.

-- Sometimes when I am building something and it is out of square, I just bend my square.

View MsDebbieP's profile

MsDebbieP

12282 posts in 698 days


posted 99 days ago

sweet! (but not the sweet that the puppy would want to eat ) haha oh I’m funny.

Beautiful chairs

-- "Functional WoodArt" by Debbie, Canada (http://www.execulink.com/~yohan)

View MarkWilk's profile

MarkWilk

120 posts in 414 days


posted 97 days ago

Absolutely gorgeous. I’ve been tempted to build a child’s sized version to work out the joinery. You’ve inspired me to get to work.

Really oustanding!

-- Mark, Florida, http://penturner.wordpress.com/

View handplane's profile

handplane

32 posts in 397 days


posted 97 days ago

Terry,

Yes, the arms do adjust. There are 5 holes in the back of each of the arms for adjustable pegs that control the angle of the backrest. My favorite is the middle position, it’s reclined enough to be very relaxing but still upright enough to watch TV.

Mark,

The chair is basically the same one that is available as plans from American Furniture Design, so if you wanted to get their plans you would have all the dimensions for scaling down to a child sized version. I think it would be a great idea to test out the joinery on a practice chair if you have the time. I had the benefit of an instructor who had already built the chair, so I relied on his advice to avoid first timer mistakes.

http://www.americanfurnituredsgn.com/arts_and_crafts.asp

-- - Scott "handplane"

View thetimberkid's profile

thetimberkid

1684 posts in 240 days


posted 95 days ago

Great job!

Thanks for the post

Callum

-- Look great, get your TTK merchandise now! http://www.printfection.com/thetimberkid/ Check out my site http://thetimberkid.blogspot.com/

View FJDIII's profile

FJDIII

96 posts in 348 days


posted 94 days ago

Scott,

Great chairs! Gotta love those working vacations! I’m a big fan of a productive vacation myself after taking classes to make Windsor chairs. It’s great to have the instruction to take the mystery out of the whole process. Enjoy those chairs they sure look comfy.

-- Fred.... Poconos, PA ---- Chairwright in the making ----

You must be signed in to post the comments.

Your Online Shop - Your Support Is Greatly Appreciated - Your Woodworking Showcase - 3 Ways To Help, Financially - Your Woodworking Community

Woodworking StoreApparel StoreMake a Donation
Bookmark And Share This Page
  • View all advertisers
  • Advertise with us

DISCLAIMER: All views and comments posted by members are not necessarily those of LumberJocks.com or of those working on the site.

Latest Projects | Latest Blog Entries | Latest Forum Topics

HomeRefurbers.com

Latest Projects | Latest Blog Entries | Latest Forum Topics

GardenTenders.com :: gardening showcase