Thread: Red Gum Dining Chairs (WIP)

Great work, Rob - I'll check back Sat. to see the finished article(s)! Big job doing so many, but looks like you have the right tools for the job!

Looking forward to seeing them finished....in a more reasonable time! Great project.

Cheers,

Jill

Love your work mate.

Great work. The wood looks good even without a finish. Is that the much vaunted Domino in the last pic.?

Great work. The wood looks good even without a finish. Is that the much vaunted Domino in the last pic.?

Looks fantastic so far, I can't wait to see the finished set.

I reckon I'd take a whole year to finish a set of chairs ... but a week!?!:eek: Impressive stuff

Cheers,
Will

Great stuff Rob!

I admire your fortitude in churning out 10 chairs like this in a week! In ironbark :eek:

The last pic, the piece of timber 2nd down, right-hand side - the figure in this one looks too good to go into a chair...

Had a good chuckle on the health effects of the weight of the chairs too

Hi all,

Steve, all the timber is like that. I have agonised over it considerably. Even the 27 metres of rough cut 50x100 I bought from Mathews last week is like that. Sometimes you can be spoiled for choice. I love it!
Today saw the cleaning of the band sawn back legs. I absolutely love the Lie Nielsen Low angle smoother. Curly grain it doesn't even notice.
Tomorrow will be Jointing. I have decided to use full M and T' s rather than dominos. This primarily because I can adjust all aspects of the joint to suit myself and the project. The Domino is too limited in my view.
I'm beginning to think I've bought a very neat, precise accurate very high end biscuit jointer.
Ernknot, what you were looking at is the Leigh FMT, I have attached apicture of the Domino below. Put six legs on it and...

I should have more informative pics tomorrow. I know its a big ask. but someone has to open their mouth to change feet

Regards

Rob

I absolutely love the Lie Nielsen Low angle smoother. Curly grain it doesn't even notice.

Do you mean this:

I want one....................! Just gotta save my $379 bikkies.

Originally Posted by Flowboy

The Domino is too limited in my view.

Wow: the first negative view expressed on these forums about the domino? Most people sing its gushy praises. Not that I'm jealous or anything...

Hi BrettC and Zenwood,

Brett, that's the one. Strongly suggest a #6 Foreplane as well, beautiful for jointing.

Zenwood, I wouldn't say negative, it's a joy to use, but in this particular case with the timber dimensions and angles, there are too many changes required to the structural design of the chairs to make it practical, in my view to use the domino system. An exmple is setting a 9 degree angle for the side rails,where I cannot see an easy way to mount what I consider the correct size domino to the depths required by the joint for the stresses involved. The FMT gives me the options required to fulfil my needs.
I have asked people via the Festool forum if they know if the problem can be solved with the domino and have received no responses at all. I can only assume no one knows. (The giant scorpion look was not meant to be derogatory, just a funny observation, by the way.)

Regards,

Rob

Flowboy: have you seen Rocker's "Making a Rocker with a domino" thread? He seems able to do fancy things with wedges etc to get angled mortices in his rocking chair, which presumably has similar stresses to your dining chairs. Not sure if this helps, but just in case...

Originally Posted by Flowboy

An exmple is setting a 9 degree angle for the side rails,where I cannot see an easy way to mount what I consider the correct size domino to the depths required by the joint for the stresses involved.
Regards,

Rob

Ask Lignum,
His favourite work is making chairs.

Originally Posted by Flowboy

Hi all,

The Domino is too limited in my view.
I'm beginning to think I've bought a very neat, precise accurate very high end biscuit jointer.

Regards

Rob

More like a floating tenon machine. Having not made a chair I can't comment, but like anything if it is more efficient to use the Leigh for a task, go for it. I also chose trad M&T's for bed rail joints as they better suited my design. IMHO though the use and adaptation of the Domino is limited within reason by the user's imagination only.

Nice work on the chairs - I envy your shed time!

Flowboy your chairs are looking great I missed the 9deg question on the festool thread. But as someone who has lost count on the amount of chairs ive made, my opinion is the Domino is a gift from the Chairmaking Gods. The amount of furniture makers both pro and amature who baulk at chairs but now have a Domino will now find a renewed interest in trying their hand. It turns a tricky job into a breeze.

This IS the machine for chairs. Unless you have curved rocker rails or joins like Rocker has on his chair. a standard designed chair even compounded with canting and side rails around 9deg, the Domino is all you need.

For Flowboys 9deg side rail, its as simple as plunging the back leg at 90deg and the side rail at 81deg.The lenght of the tennon is heaps sufficient. And remember the Max mortice Domi dose is 56 x 32 x 10 and if you make your own tenon to fit, is all you would need. But the standard 50 x 10 Domi is heaps.

And it also depends on the type of corner blocks and glue you use. Ive made heaps of fully upholstered chairs over the years and they look like dogs breakfasts inside The way i make them is (wait for it:eek: ) just but joined front, back and side rails into the legs and a pocket holed on top and bottom. Corner blocks are nailed or screwed in using west system epoxy, and to this day i have never had one fail. they are strong as. Now the point of that is a standard 50 x 10 Domi on a 9deg side rail with good size corner blocks epoxied in will be as strong as you could possibly need. It will never come apart.

So if you have a Domi, dont bother with other machines or jigs (unless the Rocker chair) as the Domi is all you need for max strength.