Thread: Chairs WIP

Nice work Wongo

It occurred to me that you might be interested in this video by Michael Fortune should you ever have need to ramp up production or just try something different.

Cheers
Michael

Nice work there Wongo, I reckon chairs are hard (no matter WHAT the joints are called)

Originally Posted by Groggy

(no matter WHAT the joints are called)

rabbit dodo joint ?

See you've got it.

You are right brother groggy. It is why a lot of professionals are giving up making chairs or stick with 1 design. I much rather making 8 dining tables than 8 chairs.

A mate of mine reckons that it is uneconomic to make chairs today . He buys in imported oak chairs that suit the table design , and then matches the table's finish to them .
His patterns are hanging on the wall gathering dust.

Sad isn't it? You can buy chairs for less than $100 each everywhere. How do compete with that? Fortunately I am not doing this for a living and I often deal with people who has taste and doesn't mind paying a 'little' bit more.

Originally Posted by Manuka Jock

A mate of mine reckons that it is uneconomic to make chairs today . He buys in imported oak chairs that suit the table design , and then matches the table's finish to them .
His patterns are hanging on the wall gathering dust.

Your mate is unfortunately spot on. It sucks big time. That’s the sad part, its all about money and not the art of chair making. Give me one of Wongos chairs any day over a crap 30 dollar import. Its blokes like him who will be responsible for keeping the art alive, and in the years to come be in demand for what they can produce.


This WIP needs more pics and tech details.

Originally Posted by Lignum

Your mate is unfortunately spot on. It sucks big time. That’s the sad part, its all about money and not the art of chair making. Give me one of Wongos chairs any day over a crap 30 dollar import. Its blokes like him who will be responsible for keeping the art alive, and in the years to come be in demand for what they can produce.


This WIP needs more pics and tech details.

My mate does not put crap $30 chairs with his $2000 dining tables .
He specializes in solid oak tables , dressers , bookcases entertainment units etc . If the customer wants chairs to match the tables , he goes to an outside source. It happens to be overseas.

Making the legs.

1. Make 2 templates for the back legs and 2 for the front legs.
2. Use the first template (the top one in pic 1) to mark all the legs on the slabs. Obviously you want to keep the grain // (parallel ) to the leg as much as possible.
3. Use a handheld circular saw and jigsaw to cut the slabs into smaller sections. I had 4 legs per section.
4. Rough cut the leg on a bandsaw. Cut them oversized and it is a good idea to have a couple of spares just in case. I had 3 extra front legs and 2 beck legs.
5. Dress the stock flat on a jointer and thicknesser
6. Cut a straight edge on the router table by using a straight edge (a piece of MDF) as a guide. This straight edge will be the registration from now on.
7. Cut the dado joint to match the seat. (See the jig on page 1)
8. Use the bandsaw to remove as much wood as possible
9. One final cut on the router table. This time use the second template. You could use double-sided to stick them together. I found it easier to screw the template to the wood.

Originally Posted by mic-d

Nice work Wongo

It occurred to me that you might be interested in this video by Michael Fortune should you ever have need to ramp up production or just try something different.

Cheers
Michael

Thats cool. Thanks Michael.

I remember reading about it a while ago. He made this method work because the slats are in a simple shape. It has 1 curve and the rest is straight, which is much easier to reproduce. A more complex shape will be much harder.

Looking good Wongo.

Those joints look really sharp. I remember when you were working them out. Well worth the effort.

What glue are you using for the laminated slats. Rosewood seems to breathe oil so I was wondering what you have found to work the best.


The rosewood has great colour. It should be a great dining suite.

I use Titebond II and don't have a problem yet.