Thread: Section Chair

This piece originated from a back-country ski trip in the Sawtooth Mts of Idaho, USA. While skiing a ridge line we dropped into a “drainage” with large trees, in our descent we skied over what appeared to be a monstrous fir felled by some mighty force of nature. Most of the tree was buried in snow but large limbs were jutting through. We decided to investigate. Using our avalanche shovels, we dug out a section revealing some gnarly twists in what appeared to be a large fir. When the snow melted in June, some friends and I hiked into the area to find the tree. Then we brought chain saws down the ridge and cut sections from the enormous limbs some of which were 30 inches in diameter. They were so heavy we decided to core the sections and leave them in situ until Fall when we returned to hike them out up a ridge to the road above.

This is one of the sections that my partner and I shaped and sanded smooth, emphasizing the natural check lines. The large limb in the middle of the upper back had to be removed due to some punky wood. I replaced it with a good slice from another found limb. Then I made the seat from Alder, scribed the contour and attached it. The chair is actually comfortable.