Thread: Shaping chair seats

Everyone is talking about the Arbortech tool. I'm not sure if you are refering to the 4" disks they carry or the 2" minigrinder. I would try and use the Mini-grinder as it is a little more forgiving for small carving work (like the chair seat). It also comes with 40-120 grit sanding disks to finish off the project.
http://www.arbortech.com.au/view/woo...20070202100615

If you would like more information on beginner wood working ideas they also have a downloads page with video and downloadable art work.
http://www.arbortech.com.au/view/woodworking-downloads/

Travis

Originally Posted by tdhoz

Everyone is talking about the Arbortech tool. I'm not sure if you are refering to the 4" disks they carry or the 2" minigrinder. I would try and use the Mini-grinder as it is a little more forgiving for small carving work (like the chair seat). It also comes with 40-120 grit sanding disks to finish off the project.
http://www.arbortech.com.au/view/woo...20070202100615

If you would like more information on beginner wood working ideas they also have a downloads page with video and downloadable art work.
http://www.arbortech.com.au/view/woodworking-downloads/

Travis

Sorry Travis, personally, I can't help you there. Maybe the others could.

Zelk

Their mini grinder is too mini for chair seats. If you already had one, then I suppose it would be OK, but if you've ever carved out any chair bottoms, you'd definitely want the 4" disc.

Originally Posted by Woodwould

Their mini grinder is too mini for chair seats. If you already had one, then I suppose it would be OK, but if you've ever carved out any chair bottoms, you'd definitely want the 4" disc.

If you go down the path of the small angle grinder with a 4" disc, you may also consider a 4" Kutzall disc and my guess is that it's possibly more forgiving with less scraping and sanding.
Zelk

I have no experience of the Kutzal, so I can't comment, but we were comparing 2" versus 4" Arbortech discs.

I looked at the Kutzal cutters and I wouldn't mind trying one on a seat I hope to be making soon.

As far as power carving is concerned, I note the Abortech options http://www.carbatec.com.au/carving-t...ng-tools-tools and the Sabur tooth rotary tool options http://www.cws.au.com/cgi/index.cgi/..._id=1107144909 . If I go down the power carving path, is the resultant finish rough and does it require plenty of sanding.

I have heard that wood tools like the Sabre tool and the Karzals (I think that is what it is called) can cause large scratches.. which would mean more hand sanding? Does anyone know?

Originally Posted by tdhoz

As far as power carving is concerned, I note the Abortech options http://www.carbatec.com.au/carving-t...ng-tools-tools and the Sabur tooth rotary tool options http://www.cws.au.com/cgi/index.cgi/..._id=1107144909 . If I go down the power carving path, is the resultant finish rough and does it require plenty of sanding.

I have heard that wood tools like the Sabre tool and the Karzals (I think that is what it is called) can cause large scratches.. which would mean more hand sanding? Does anyone know?

Regardless of what you use, you will still end up using a scraper to fine tune the seat contour and deal with other imperfections, based on my limited experience

Z

Well what's the point of having a stool when you don't have a table?

I ended up on a table design that used the design elements of the stool. The table top is thick and the legs are tenoned into the top.

However there was one problem, there is not enough timber to make a full thickness laminated table top.

It was easy to laminate the table top edge to get the desired thickness. A problem arises when the direction of grain is maintain. The lamination along the grain adds rigidity to the table top, however, across the grain there is little support, as the timber is quarter sawn.

Sadly the only solution was to introduce an aluminium angle. The angle was screwed to the table top to allow for expansion. The corner lamination blocks to support the legs were carefully glued so that there is no binding to the angle.

As usual, several jigs were made to make the mortises in the table and the tenons on the legs.

The legs are now shaped and cut to length. Before I glue the legs to the table, I need to shape the sides of the table top.

I was fortunate to get an Auriou rasp G9 as a Xmas present. The G9 is one of the most commonly used rasps in the Auriou range. When trimming the leg ends, it was a real pleasure to use in comparison to the Japanese rasp, I will have a better idea of how they compare once I start on the table.

Any suggestions on what to do with the unsightly nail holes in the table top?

Regards,
Zelk

Found it! It's been bothering me where I've seen a similar table recently.

Nice work again. I don't know what you'd do about the nails. Why not just leave them?

Originally Posted by Woodwould

Found it! It's been bothering me where I've seen a similar table recently.

Nice work again. I don't know what you'd do about the nails. Why not just leave them?

Thanks for that Woodwould.

I am surprised at the similarities in construction. Although in these two cases the end point was similar, the reasoning for it was different, I made my table in such a way because I ran out of materials.

I estimate that Hirschhorn's stool uses 13 pieces of timber, providing the top is one piece. The total number of pieces used for my table is 118

It's nice to know that someone from the 19th century copied my design

Regards,

Zelk

The pictures are self explanatory.

Zelk

That kid's good! You should get him to make all your furniture in future.