curved panel for chair back

[SteveMcM]

Hi All,

My Dad gave us a set of QLD maple chairs as a wedding present. I am fixing them up. All the joints are dry and need to be re-glued.

One chair has a missing centre panel and I need to make a replacement (see pics). I think the panel was steam bent. How hard is this to do really? If I have never done this before, how likely am I to get good results?

I thin kthe key questions are

How do i find wood to match? There is some light figure on other examples in the set. What I should be looking for in terms of how the wood might be sawn?

Should I cut the pattern while the wood is flat and then bend it, or vice versa? When the pattern is cut, the remainder is not very wide and I am worried it might break rather than deform.

Has anyone got experience with this type of work?

Thanks

Steve

[weisyboy]

how mutch of a bend is there?

how about a side view?

it isnt that hard to bend without steam.

[Lignum]

Steve, forget the steam bending. With only one splat to do it wouldnt be worth your while. Unless you have experience in steam bending and have a basic understanding of spring back to get the exact final shape, you will end up to frustrated.

Those splats are usually cut from 50mm stock on a bandsaw. If you do that then you can smooth with a scraper and sandpaper and place the original over it to trace the outline to cut with a coping saw or powered fret saw.

Slicing 2mm veneers and makin a former to laminate can also be done, but again with only one to do, it would be a waste of time.

Also, can you post a pic of one of the chairs, as it looks interesting:)

[SteveMcM]

I should have explained the pictures. The second photo is one of the panels on its side. I guess the bend is relatively small.


how mutch of a bend is there?

how about a side view?

it isnt that hard to bend without steam.

[SteveMcM]

Thanks Lignum,

Here are two pictures of one I have repaired. The seat just drops in. I may consider doing up the seats as well but at the moment I just want to sit on them. They are a big step up for us and very comfortable and supportive. When I eased the joints apart, I was surprised to find that the chairs are dowelled.

Steve


Steve, forget the steam bending. With only one splat to do it wouldnt be worth your while. Unless you have experience in steam bending and have a basic understanding of spring back to get the exact final shape, you will end up to frustrated.

Those splats are usually cut from 50mm stock on a bandsaw. If you do that then you can smooth with a scraper and sandpaper and place the original over it to trace the outline to cut with a coping saw or powered fret saw.

Slicing 2mm veneers and makin a former to laminate can also be done, but again with only one to do, it would be a waste of time.

Also, can you post a pic of one of the chairs, as it looks interesting:)

[SteveMcM]

Still on these chairs,

I have one other problem. The back leg of one is broken through. see pics. Glueing is definitely not going to be strong enough because of racking. Will a biscuit hold them?

Any comments?

[Skew ChiDAMN!!]

Ouch!

I doubt a biscuit will do any good there... they're more to prevent two pieces sliding sideways than to prevent their pulling apart. (Hope that makes sense?)

The best fix, IMHO, is to replace the leg... but if that isn't an option I'd be inclined at gluing, screwing and then plugging the screws. One screw from each direction, with the heads/plugs at the "thin edges of the wedges." It'll be an obvious repair to anyone who looks closely, but I seriously doubt you can do an "invisible" repair that'll hold up under time and use.

59247

[echnidna]

That chairleg has too much sloping grain, turf it and make a new one

[pawnhead]

That curve is just about identical to the chairs I bought at a garage sale 20 years ago. I had to replace a few parts, including a couple of the narrow curved backrests. Fortunately all the wide central ones were alright. I just cut it with a jigasaurus from 50mm stock, but you'd need a bandsaw for the wide ones, or a belt sander and some patience.