# What kind of arms for a Morris Chair?



## MichaelJames (Jan 20, 2010)

Hi there,

I'm considering building a Morris Chair for my next project. I've decided on cherry for sure as I love the look of some of the other cherry morris chairs I've seen. I thought I had picked a design - the AFDC Bow Arm Morris Chair, but I've run into an issue.

I have plans for both the Bow Arm and Spindle Arm and liked the bow arm for the arms (of course) and the slats rather than the thin spindles under the arms.

Here's the issue - I really don't have a reasonable (IMHO) way of resawing the cherry to get the 1/4" pieces for the arms. I thought about doing it in a similar fashion as done in the FWW video but my bandsaw doesn't have the capacity for that cut. Next, I thought I could handsaw them after running them through the table saw to get the kerf but I don't think the kerf will be big enough.

Anyway - I'm now leaning toward the more flat arms rather than bowed. I'm confident enough to make slats rather than spindles but can't seem to figure out a way to get the bow arms.

So here's my question - what are people's thoughts on the straight arms? I know it doesn't show as much skill, but I'm good with that for now. Are they comfortable? How about looks?

I couldn't find any here in my searches.


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## rhett (May 11, 2008)

I do not understand why a tablesaw resaw won't work. How wide of an arm are you using? You should be able to get 6" with most tablesaws. The plans you have are not the only way to build something, they are just a guide. Modify the design to fit YOUR shops capacity.


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## MichaelJames (Jan 20, 2010)

rhett - I apologize for not having the depth of knowledge to resaw or to be able to modify the plans that much to fit MY capacity.


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## Michael121 (Jun 30, 2008)

you could make them straight but angled glue a block on front end and cut a flat for the front

say front flat for about 5-6 inches then angled down a nice taper

http://www.finefurnituremaker.net/images/morris_chair_2.JPG

or

http://pinstails.com/files/2009/06/sketchup-morris-chair.jpg


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## MichaelJames (Jan 20, 2010)

That's exactly what I was looking for…thanks. The plans call for those types of arms in the Spindle Arm Morris Chair.

I haven't completely given up on the bow arms but getting the 1/4' wood is something I just can't figure out how to do in my shop.


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