Another carved oak chair.

[Adam W.]

So begins the great get jobs done project.

First up a carved oak chair...... It goes something like this.....

It has been hanging about for a while. It's not for the queen, so there's no crown.

 

[BucksDad]

How did you learn to carve btw? Obviously other than practice, any specific online resources / books you'd recommend?

 

[Adam W.]

How did you learn to carve btw? Obviously other than practice, any specific online resources / books you'd recommend?

I would recommend Peter Follansbee for this kind of stuff, there are a few videos on the Lie Nielsen website and Follansbee has a blog.

Loose fit front rails and stiles, suitably uneven eyeballed turning, the whizz bang joiners creasing planes for mouldings.

 

[Adam W.]

Front and back.

Hopefully I'll join the panel, assemble the carcass and fit the crest tomorrow.

 

[profchris]

Hell's teeth! You do make lovely stuff, and so quickly too.

 

[Adam W.]

Thank you @profchris .

I have a little trick learnt from looking at the originals, which is that the rails and rear stiles are only planed face and one square edge, with their back sides and lower edges just tidied up. It cuts the workload considerably and was normal practice at the time for that reason.

You can only see the secondary surfaces if you're underneath the chair or behind it and as a rule, if its a surface that you either look at or come into contact with, it gets finished and the rest doesn't matter.

I'll take a picture of the secondary surfaces later to show what they look like.

 

[Adam W.]

Got a bit delayed.

I'll try and get the seat and the crest on later today.

Crest half on and pinned together. I added a moulding in the lower back rail above the seat to break up the large board.

It's quite tall, so I'll drop the crest down an inch in the morning. It's pinned together now, as it's easier to work on that way.

 

[Adam W.]

That's better, but you probably can't see the difference !!

Seat and arms next and start carving at the weekend.

 

[Adam W.]

Seat....I need to live with it a while before any adjustments in size and shape, and it also needs some butterflies, as it'll split if I'm not careful.

The wide angle on the phone makes it look larger than it is, but it's still a hefty board.

 

[Ozi]

Thank you @profchris .

I have a little trick learnt from looking at the originals, which is that the rails and rear stiles are only planed face and one square edge, with their back sides and lower edges just tidied up. It cuts the workload considerably and was normal practice at the time for that reason.

You can only see the secondary surfaces if you're underneath the chair or behind it and as a rule, if its a surface that you either look at or come into contact with, it gets finished and the rest doesn't matter.

I'll take a picture of the secondary surfaces later to show what they look like.

Please don't, I know they will be better than my finished surfaces but don't want to think about it.

 

[Adam W.]

Blimey!

After presenting the half built chair to my client at home,

"it's nice, but can you make the seat a bit bigger ?"

"Of course Dear"

Various major structural alterations later....

Looking forward to doing a bit of carving after the arms are shaped and scribed to fit.

 

[paulrbarnard]

Blimey!

After presenting the half built chair to my client at home,

"it's nice, but can you make the seat a bit bigger ?"

"Of course Dear"

Various major structural alterations later....


View attachment 152406

Looking forward to doing a bit of carving after the arms are shaped and scribed to fit.

Seriously?!?!? How do you make a seat bigger at that stage of construction.

 

[Adam W.]

With a saw and a shrug. I had to cut the chair in half and put in some new stretchers between front and back and make a new seat.

I think it looks better too anyway.

Carving away today, lovely.

 

[Jameshow]

With a saw and a shrug. I had to cut the chair in half and put in some new stretchers between front and back and make a new seat.

I think it looks better too anyway.

Carving away today, lovely.

You have the patience of a saint!!

 

[Adam W.]

It's the key to a happy marriage James, a sharp saw and a shed.

Plus she never goes in the shed, so I can smuggle all sorts of shiny stuff in there, as long as it arrives when she's at work.

 

[clogs]

was gonna say has her

got bigger since the order but as it's ur other 1/2 I'll sut up.....lol....
brilliant job....

agree with the shed and tools, the other thing for a happy marriage is if she ask for something to be done...
Do it straight away.....

 

[Adam W.]

One S scroll.

Picks the light up nicely.

 

[Fred48]

@Adam W.
Lovely work. Really enjoying this. Thanks for sharing
Fred

 

[Adam W.]

You're welcome, I'm glad you're enjoying it.

Then there were two S scrolls.

Start on the panel tomorrow and I'll do the punching and general tidy up when it's all together, as I have to watch out on the thin bit where the rear stiles meet the crest.

 

[paulrbarnard]

Your work never ceases to amaze.