# Chairmaking



## custard (14 Oct 2018)

In this month's "Fine Woodworking" (December 2018, number 271) there is a fairly detailed guide to making a country Chippendale style chair. It's quite an in-depth look at the project, well illustrated and running to about 15 pages of the magazine. The article explains many of the methods that are still critical for contemporary, complex jointed chairs.

I was surprised to find this article as, to the best of my knowledge, it includes many techniques that I've never previously seen in print or on the internet. Amongst these is a fairly detailed explanation of the side rail to back leg joint (this is _the_ killer joint in chairmaking, and pretty much impossible to figure out by yourself).

There's a common criticism that woodworking magazines just re-cycle the same old simplistic articles, or are overly skewed towards the beginning woodworker. This article is certainly a brave exception, and if your ambitions run to one day making a complex jointed chair then you should track down a copy. As I said earlier, I doubt you'll find this information elsewhere, and without it you'd really struggle to complete a high end chair.

Full marks to "Fine Woodworking"!


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## boomerang bender (15 Oct 2018)

Thanks for the heads up i will try and get a copy of this magazine as i am keen to read this article.
Cheers,
Boomerang Bender.


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## Racers (16 Oct 2018)

I went to W H Smiths Nottingham at lunch time but they didn’t have it in!

I can’t find any where online that sells only one magazine. 

Pete


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## Glynne (16 Oct 2018)

+1 only it was WH Smith’s in Sutton Coldfield!
Really keen to make a proper chair (my previous attempts wouldn’t qualify) and I even have some beautiful elm for the seat so would love to se the article.


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## Chris152 (16 Oct 2018)

Is this it online - 
https://www.finewoodworking.com/2018/09 ... dale-chair
and it seems there's a 14-day free trial? I'm sure they want payment details to get the trial, though.


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## Racers (16 Oct 2018)

I have just had a thought, we have a library at work! It’s in the next building to me and I checked on line they have it. 

Pete


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## katellwood (16 Oct 2018)

My copy has only just dropped on the doormat, so maybe not in W H Smith's yet


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## marcros (16 Oct 2018)

if you subscribe to the online version, do you get access to complete back issues? I know that you can go to specific articles in the library.


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## katellwood (17 Oct 2018)

Re subscribing, If i recall correctly you can access back issues, back to when your subscription began


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## marcros (17 Oct 2018)

that makes sense. Of all the mags, this is the one that I like, and it isn't bad value for the soft copy.


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## Cheshirechappie (17 Oct 2018)

If anyone can track down a copy, "Making Chairs" by V J Taylor has 27 designs, including a Chippendale library chair, a Sheraton-style shield-back chair and a country-style Hepplewhite chair. All the designs have dimensioned drawings showing joint details, and constructional notes. The latter are a bit variable, being culled from Woodworker magazine articles of past decades, but the Hepplewhite notes include joint angles.

The Chippendale design suggests M&T joints between the side seat rails and backfeet, and dowelled joints between the back seat rail and backfeet, the dowels arranged to pierce the side M&T joints. This, according to the author, is common and good practice in chair construction (and who am I to argue?), together with strengthening the seat corner joints using blocks glued and screwed in.

In all, the notes are not quite as detailed in all respects as might be wished by some, but the drawings are generally clear and pretty informative.

For someone serious about making a 'proper' chair or two, worth tracking down a copy.


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## Chris152 (17 Oct 2018)

marcros":3vdhi98b said:


> if you subscribe to the online version, do you get access to complete back issues? I know that you can go to specific articles in the library.


It seems you can. 
https://ims.finewoodworking.com/simples ... Dundefined
(Click 'See more' under 'Unlimited'.)


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## marcros (17 Oct 2018)

Chris152":2bjeakiy said:


> marcros":2bjeakiy said:
> 
> 
> > if you subscribe to the online version, do you get access to complete back issues? I know that you can go to specific articles in the library.
> ...



frustratingly, it seems that you can't just get a digital subscriptions now. You have the option of a printed one at $48 a year or the full online access including the printed mag for $99 but seems to be restricted to the USA and Canada. I guess that I will go back to buying a copy or two a year instead.


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## Bodgers (19 Oct 2018)

You can just pay and download this issue as a one off, if needed.


Sent from my Redmi Note 5 using Tapatalk


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## marcros (19 Oct 2018)

Bodgers":3gbnn9h6 said:


> You can just pay and download this issue as a one off, if needed.
> 
> 
> Sent from my Redmi Note 5 using Tapatalk



I asked Taunton and they directed me to iTunes or google play for the digital subscription. £8.49 per edition which is a bit steep, or £20.71 for the year, which I think is a bargain.


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## Glynne (19 Oct 2018)

marcros":tlawbdoi said:


> Bodgers":tlawbdoi said:
> 
> 
> > You can just pay and download this issue as a one off, if needed.
> ...


That sounds really good. I had a quick look and iSubscribe quoted £44 for the year (6 issues) which I thought was a lot. Might have a look myself as I think a single copy in WH Smith’s is around £6.


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## marcros (19 Oct 2018)

I searched in play store for "fine woodworking magazine" and installed the app. through that, it gives you the option to fill in your details for transferring the subscription (if you have it on another device, presumably), which I skipped, and then the purchase options.


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## Bodgers (30 Oct 2018)

Just for info. The Taunton Press online store is blocked for European users at the moment. It seems to give some sort of generic error but when I emailed them about they say due to the GDPR rules they just block ATM.

Which is a bit lazy to be honest because most US sites have now stopped doing that now and got their finger out and written a compatible data protection policy. Their loss.

I think you can still manage some stuff through the app strangely (as stated by others here). But the app is terrible.





Sent from my Redmi Note 5 using Tapatalk


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## Bod (17 Nov 2018)

Just got a copy off the shelf in W H Smith.
I see some practice joints being made first.....

Bod


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## Glynne (17 Nov 2018)

I’ve been looking in Smiths for a few weeks now without success so I’ll try again.
Thanks for the nod.


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## Glynne (27 Nov 2018)

Now in my local WH Smiths


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## Racers (29 Nov 2018)

I bought the last one in Victoria centre Nottingham's WHSmiths, and a couple of large dark chocolate Toblerones for a very good price (£6 for 2)

Pete


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## Glynne (29 Nov 2018)

Just like the cake at St Joeseph’s tea room, you have to go one better!


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## Racers (30 Nov 2018)

Pete


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## Sheffield Tony (30 Nov 2018)

Bodgers":17ii0d68 said:


> Just for info. The Taunton Press online store is blocked for European users at the moment. It seems to give some sort of generic error but when I emailed them about they say due to the GDPR rules they just block ATM.



It clearly doesn't stop them filling my inbox then. Having subscribed to Fine Woodworking for a few years until, like all magazines, it comes full circle, I can now not get off their mailing list !


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## Chris152 (11 Dec 2018)

Is £44 the best annual subscription price for the magazine in the UK? 
At the moment it's $27.96 on offer in the US but that's just US and Canada.


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