Chair comb design advice sought

[Alf]

Folks,

Been wrestlin' with this darn Welsh Stick chair for an eternity now and I've probably reached the point where I can't see the wood for the trees. The comb/crest is the latest thing. The general advice seems to be cut the blessed thing out of 3" stock (75mm) - which I don't have. The best I have is nominal 2" (50mm); time is short so I can't acclimatise any bought-in 3" stuff to right this deficiency. Sooooo, is it better to go for proper thickness and risk a visible glue line? Or use what I have and have a slightly thinner comb? The balanced and propped up trial below is with the 2" stuff - the sticks will be thinner (probably 6 of them) and the legs aren't cut to length yet so the seat is more upright than it will be. Also bear in mind the seat and arm are both glued up rather than from the solid, so glue lines aren't exactly a stranger to this piece. Your opinions welcomed; better still SWMBO's opinions, 'cos you know what naturals SWMBOs are at whether things look right or not... (Bless 'em, she says hurriedly... 8-[ )

Cheers, Alf

 

[Neil]

One definite vote here for risking the glue line & gluing up for full thickness...I just don't think it looks right with the skinny comb :-k

Cheers,
Neil

 

[Lord Nibbo]

Folks,

Been wrestlin' with this darn Welsh Stick chair for an eternity now and I've probably reached the point where I can't see the wood for the trees. The comb/crest is the latest thing. The general advice seems to be cut the blessed thing out of 3" stock (75mm) - which I don't have. The best I have is nominal 2" (50mm); time is short so I can't acclimatise any bought-in 3" stuff to right this deficiency. Sooooo, is it better to go for proper thickness and risk a visible glue line? Or use what I have and have a slightly thinner comb? The balanced and propped up trial below is with the 2" stuff - the sticks will be thinner (probably 6 of them) and the legs aren't cut to length yet so the seat is more upright than it will be. Also bear in mind the seat and arm are both glued up rather than from the solid, so glue lines aren't exactly a stranger to this piece. Your opinions welcomed; better still SWMBO's opinions, 'cos you know what naturals SWMBOs are at whether things look right or not... (Bless 'em, she says hurriedly... 8-[ )


Cheers, Alf

My swmbo says can she order six please? :wink: She thinks it looks nice as it is, ie four sticks as you have it in the pic, but prhaps a little further apart. She says it looks a very nice design as is why spoil it.

 

[StevieB]

I vote for 3 inches and risk the glue line, particularly if you are going to shape the top (rather than leave it square). Having said that, the only chair of this design I have had has been a rocking chair. The problem with this was how far the sticks actually went into the comb - it was not far enough and they kept popping out when rocking. In the end it split the comb and I got rid of the chair :roll:

Steve.

 

[Sgian Dubh]

Can you laminate it Alf? I'm guessing you probably only need about 1-3/4"+ in the thickness (crown rail height) and 3" front to back.

Take a wide board and create thin laminations split off that board, keep them in order and glue them back together. Done well you'll hardly notice the grain slippage. Slainte.

 

[Argus]

For what it’s worth, probably the original Welsh combs were made from a naturally curved branch cut to shape.

I don’t think you have any choice if you have already fixed the curve of the arm yoke.
The comb must echo the curve of the arm plus any outward splay in the sticks – so if you are making it out of a single piece, your original stock thickness dimension is dictated to you by this arbitrary point in space about 18” above the arm - like it or not.
Any deviation in the shape of the curve on the comb will mean that you’ll need to twist the sticks to suit. It may look odd and in my reckoning they should be straight.
The length of the comb from side to side is a matter of the stick splay and your judgement.
In the circumstances, I would find two pieces with as straight and featureless a grain pattern as you can, hand plane absolutely flat, glue ‘em up and challenge people to spot the join!

So, I guess the answer is the thickness of the original stock is as thick as it needs to be to accommodate the curve.

If you haven’t yet completed and glued the arm yoke, you may consider flattening the back centre portion and having only a few sticks, say 4 or 5; this back portion can then be made with a flatter profile.

Whatever, though, I believe that the height of the comb will need to be a bit more than the piece in your picture.


Looking at some pictures in John Brown’s book, he does make it out of one piece but it is slimmed right down by the time the curve is determined so that the comb is not much more than an inch thick.

You can then finish this one and avoid it all on the next one.

For a piece of vernacular furniture, they can be more difficult to make that they look, - but this example is looking good so far - good luck.

.

 

[Colin C]

I vote for 3" too as that is what you would have been working ( I thnk ) and I think you will be happier with how it looks after
Ps Its looking good :wink:

 

[Alf]

Well so far I like the SWMBO answer best... Thought of laminating but it seemed a bit wrong somehow given the rural antecedents of this chair style. That and I've not done it before and I could do with one less "first" on this thing. :lol: Oh well, planing flat and sticking two pieces together I can do at any rate. Fat chance of getting a grain match by the time I've shaped it though. What d'you think about me painting it...? :wink:

Thanks for your thoughts, folks.

Cheers, Alf

Struggling up a vertical learning curve just at the moment. 8-[

 

[Colin C]

Alf as to getting grain to match, if you have a long bit of wood cut it in to two pieces and joint themthe same way you have cut them ( if thats clear ).
That should help

 

[AndyBoyd]

I concur with ColinC, get your glue brush out Girl (Of course I've been laminating LOVEly legs for too long now so To Glue as opposed to not gluing would always be my answer)

 

[Newbie_Neil]

<bump>

 

[MikeW]

Alf's got the comb done--check her blog. Looks great.

Mike

 

[Paul Chapman]

Yep, looks really good 8) 8)

Paul

 

[Newbie_Neil]

Mike and Paul

Thanks.

Alf mentioned yesterday that this thread hadn't been moved into design and as it would have been way down the list, I bumped it.

Cheers
Neil

 

[Alf]

Thanks, Neil, although it could have happily wallowed down in the murky depths. Just to round up this thread, here's how it's looking now:

I'll tack on a close-up of the join later on (haven't taken one yet) so you can decide whether it was a good idea to take any notice of you lot... :lol:

Cheers, Alf

 

[Paul Chapman]

it could have happily wallowed down in the murky depths.

Well, I for one am glad it didn't. That's a fabulous looking chair, Alf. Wish I could produce something as inviting as that - it just begs to be sat on 8) 8)

Paul

 

[Alf]

By the time I'd buffed out the wax finish, sitting on was about all I was capable of doing, Paul... :lol:

Anyway, as promised, the comb close-up. If you want to be wowed only look at the right-hand side, please. 8-[

Cheers, Alf

 

[Philly]

You worry too much, M'Lady =D>
Looks great. How about showing us an "action" shot??
Philly

 

[DaveL]

Alf,

I have got to agree with Philly. :shock:

It looks very good, so how much you going to sell them for? :wink: Could I afford one? :roll:

 

[Anonymous]

Beautiful Alf, simply beautiful