First chair

[seanybaby]

I recently started making my first chair. It's a pretty simple design made in Oak.

Back legs and rails, which will be glued up next week when i finish the curved slats.

Front legs have been glued up with a rebate for seat.

Rails with angled tenons and rebates for the seat. The first one i cut was miles out, so i had to glue a little veneer to pack it out. The rest of them fitted much better. However all the shoulders will need tweaking before glueing up.

It took a while to decide on the design for the back. I wanted to a technique, i've not really used so decided i would have a go at laminating. A rod was drawn up for the back.

For the back i chose Walnut with 2 Sycamore srtipes. I made a former using MDF and glued up with cascamite.

Next week i hope to get the whole chair glued up and the corner blocks in.

 

[Imperial]

Sometimes simple designs look the best when executed well and using quality materials, this looks like one of those to me!

 

[shim20]

looks very good, chairs are not as easy as them seem to be.

 

[brianhabby]

Best of luck with your chair Sean. The only chair I've made is an adirondack chair and I had plans for that. Will watch your progress with interest.

regards

Brian

 

[OPJ]

Looks interesting so far Sean. Did you cut the back legs out of a wider section of timber or have they been steam bent or something?

 

[seanybaby]

Olly, the back legs were 'nested' from a wider piece. I would have liked to have a go at steam bending, however the directors of construction at my college, got rid of the steamer as well as the spindle moulder, and a hand full of wood lathes. Next year they are only running a joinery course, and are thinking of getting rid of over head router, mortice and the last lathe. Leaving only a planer, thicknesser and bandsaw, i think it's appalling behaviour by the people in charge. :?

 

[wizer]

Lovely job so far Sean. Can't wait to see the rest.

 

[woodbloke]

seanb wrote:

the directors of construction at my college, got rid of the steamer as well as the spindle moulder, and a hand full of wood lathes. Next year they are only running a joinery course, and are thinking of getting rid of over head router, mortice and the last lathe. Leaving only a planer, thicknesser and bandsaw, i think it's appalling behaviour by the people in charge.

Sean - nice chair. In view of the current number of people setting up on their own in this game, the decision by 'de management' (Hale and Pace with rubber chicken :lol: ) is very short sighted (IMO) but doesn't surprise me...it's the bean counters at work :x - Rob

 

[OPJ]

Sean, I'm sorry - but not all that surprised now - to hear the Furniture Making course at your local college is dying. It's happening all round the country as all the funding given to these colleges is spent largely on the "core Trade" courses (carpentry, bricklaying, plumbing - you know the ones).

I hope, for your sake, this doesn't mean you'll be missing out on a final year or anything? :? There's a chance there may not be a second year for me to go back to in September at my college; the tutor's have been "playing it by ear" each year for the past eight years and, somehow, somewhere, the college has to squeeze a new engineering course on to the campus somewhere... It's not looking terribly good and we do have a metalworking lathe in our workshop.

I can't believe they're getting rid of the spindle moulder at your place - we've got four in all and they get used a lot by the joiners and wood machinists. Same applies to the morticer; in the third year Carpenrty & Joinery you have to do an assessment on accurately cutting square holes and setting up this very machine. :x

 

[seanybaby]

I'm just finishing my City and Guilds Furniture Production 1-3, we were the last year At least everyone got the chance to get to level 3.

It's a pity they just want the standard trade courses, as there also used to be a wood turning, upholstery and restoration courses where i'm at.

Olly, what course are you on? I think it would be unfair for them to cancel your course and you not complete it :evil:

 

[wizer]

'tis sad. I wish I'd gone the route you guys did when I left school. But even then there wasn't much in the way of proper cabinet making in my neck of the woods.

 

[OPJ]

That does sound very faimilar, Sean. They also used to offer upholstery and possibly restoration courses at my college too. I've found that you can still do short 'turning and "woodwork" course at another college not too far away, but there's no qualification to be gained at the end of it. It's purely for the hobbyist.

My course progresses on to a City and Guilds Level 2 in Cabinet Making at the end of the second year (and third, which is optional) but the first year is an NCFE Foundation certificate qualification. Apparently they had trouble getting C&G to award it or something...

Just had a look on the college website and there's no mention of the second or third year courses, but the first is still there... :? I know that you can go on from Level 2 to study Restoration or something at university, so I imagine a Foundation award would be able to help in a similar way, should the unthinkable happen come September. We had to pay £1,378 to enrol on the first year - second year's likely to be more again, plus we have to buy our own timber!! :shock:

It's weird. After my A-levels, I applied to do a one-year course in "Construction", just for the hell of it, and they told me they didn't have the numbers to make it up that year. Yet, the course is still available, five-years later!

Then again, there are surely plenty of full-time makers out there who work without any formal qualification.

 

[seanybaby]

Just out the cramps.

After planing an edge and thicknessing, i had to decide where to put the back bits.

Here methinks.

Obviously the only place to cramp up a chair is with its own :lol:

Should get the front legs and side rails glued tomorrow.

 

[wizer]

well done Sean. How are the curved pieces fixed?

 

[seanybaby]

Thanks Wizer Every joint in the chair is mortice and tennoned, apart from the bottom middle rail, which i have not got to yet. I think this project has been pretty challenging so far, as the angled joints are hard to get right first time. A lot of tweaking and dry fitting was needed. I think it would be interesting to make a set of 4 or more, using machines and jigs, rather than everything by hand.

 

[Mcluma]

very nice though

But will it be comfortable :wink:

 

[seanybaby]

very nice though

But will it be comfortable :wink:

I hope so :lol: :lol:

I glued the rest of my chair up. taking care to get the outside shoulders of the tennons tight.

I cut corner blocks from scrap pieces and drilled holes for screws.

To put the blocks in i cramped them in place then drilled the pilot and screwed them in.

Over the next week i will get it sanded and polished, then i will by trying to do some upholstery for the first time.

 

[DaveL]

Sean,

That is really taking shape now, I love the strip in the back.
Thanks for posts the stages in production.

 

[brianhabby]

It's looking really good Sean, especially the strips at the back.

I think you will have to upholster it though before it is really comfortable :lol:

regards

Brian

 

[George_N]

The laminated back in contrasting woods make you chair a real stand out piece...well done! What do you have in mind for the seat upholstry?