Thread: Morris chairs and bowed arms

Post a pic or a link so we can see what you mean

with apologies to wherever it was i found these...here are 2 examples of moderately bowed arms on the morris chairs.

i like the deep curve---it would provide a nice tactile shape for the touch of your elbows and forearms. i'm just not sure how to go about fashioning arms like that.

...and sadly...my shop doesnt have a bandsaw yet ...

thanks, echnidna.

suggestions?

oops - photo seems to be missing

.....as i said..i am a newbie..LOL.

2 pics as promised.

http://www.craftsmanhome.com/furniture/hile/HS0020.html

http://www.whitmcleod.com/oak/spindleMorris.html

I am sure someone here will know absolutely how to do it, but I reckon that the best way to do it may be by steaming the timber to make it supple and then clamping it to a suitable rigid former until it cools and drys. This should mean that you can make two identical arms.
Another way would be to laminate it - but that woulldn't be in character.
A recent thread discussed steaming and gives you some idea of how to go about it (you can also look in Wooden boatbuilding books - often used there too),
http://www.woodworkforums.ubeaut.com...light=steaming

I have never used this technique Gristle burger so I may be speaking out of by butt a little. The bent arms on both those appear to be single pieces of wood and I'd say, because they are only a slight curve, that they have been steam heated and bent into shape by placing them into some formwork. Search for steam bending and you may get the idea.

I think Stickley cut the curve from a thick piece.
I'll have a look in my books in the next day or so and see what I can find..

thanks rob, john, jmk...

i wasnt sure if something that thick was suitable for steaming, but maybe with the narrowing of the back section of the arm.... i guess its quite possible.
thats where the most curved area appears to be.

i'm reading up on your steaming leads.... making a homebrew steam box might be fun. half the fun of woodworking for me is learning new techniques.

anyone with photos or designs of Morris chairs that they' ve built---i'd love to see 'em. i still havent decided on exactly what i want in my chair--but you can be darn sure comfort is high on my list , and a unique style a close second.

Originally Posted by echnidna

I think Stickley cut the curve from a thick piece.
I'll have a look in my books in the next day or so and see what I can find..

Yep, correct he did. And also mitered four qtr sawn peices together for legs so the medellary rays featured on all four sides. But it was William Morris who designed and made this type of chair

What made me think of Stickley, Lignum is that I think there are some illustrations of the Morris chair in The Craftsman.

Is it just my imagination, the perspective of the picture, or something else, but it looks like the arm curves are different in each link. The craftsman one looks like it's gradual from each end but sharper in the middle, while the other looks like a uniform curve all the way through.

Is there any convention which says one or the other? I know nothing, less than nothing, about Morris chairs

Originally Posted by Rookie

Is it just my imagination, the perspective of the picture, or something else, but it looks like the arm curves are different in each link. The craftsman one looks like it's gradual from each end but sharper in the middle, while the other looks like a uniform curve all the way through.

Is there any convention which says one or the other? I know nothing, less than nothing, about Morris chairs

after googling "Morris Chair" to get some design ideas, i found many, many different spins on the chair, particularily in the arrangement of the arm. there was obviously an original design by William Morris. but i was seeking out a desirable combination of features and styling cues that appealed to me most--- and not trying to replicate an original. perhaps someone else out there knows the arm style of the original.

as for variations, there are straight arms, tilted arms, more adirondack- style arms, and there are even some with a 2-part arm with it segmented 6 inches off the front, with the rear of the arm tilted back about 10 degrees. ive seen one with a pair of lions heads carved into the front of the armrest. All claiming to be Morris chairs. so whats in a name?

Dunno might just be me... but I reckon those curved arms would be uncomfortable after a while.
My computer chair Im sitting on right now has curves like that on the arms after a while my left arm hurts(right arm controls the mouse!)because the pressure is at one small point.
If the curve was very gentle it might be ok?

Heres one from WoodWad

http://www.woodworkforums.ubeaut.com...t=morris+chair