Project Information
This project was my very first build by request of a friend who wanted a folding chair for her birthday.
Also I myself consider it the first kind of "real furniture" piece that I produced as the most of the time I build either some shop-related stuff or more or less utilitarian projects.
Before starting the project I spent some time drawing sketches and searching the web for chair designs that I liked. Here's what I liked the most that corresponded to my own ideas:
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After that I made a full-size drawing on the paper (yes, despite being a computer guy by the trade I prefer paper drawings), then transferred all the parts to 1/8" plywood, and then cut the templates:
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As usual templates played the key role in the build: curved parts were made equal (to some acceptable degree) and the joinery became accurate and tight - all thanks to the templates.
Anyway, good projects start with a prototype, and this one was no exception:
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The prototype was made out of pine, and the prototype seat made it to final chair with some minor improvements.
The wood of choice for the build was 20mm (about 3/4") thick beech laminated boards that they sell as some stair-building components. I decided to double the thickness of the legs to make sure they won't break since the legs were cut, not bent, so grain orientation was far from optimal from the strength point of view.
Cutting the legs:
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The next picture shows another re-enforcement that I undertook: glued in cross-grain pieces at the ends of front legs to prevent grain splitting under the load:
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Gluing one leg up:
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One of the most challenging tasks during the build was making curved parts be of the same shape. To achieve that I put number of 1/4" dowels alongside the parts (thanks to the templates once again) so that the parts stay as one during shaping.
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Once the legs were done the things moved much faster.
Back stretchers ready for curving:
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Tenons:
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Cutting mounting slot in the seat:
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Couple of latches to secure the seat:
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The rest of the hardware was 3/8" shaft to join the legs and 1/4" shaft to mount the seat. The nuts were custom made from some of the stuff I had lying around:
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Finished (two coats of BLO) and ready for assembly:
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And this one to compare final product against IKEA chair:
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.
.
Ok, it's finally done. Took much longer than I wanted, had to build double-curved handplane and the bow saw just for this project. The chair happened to be insanely heavy (at least two times heavier comparing to IKEA chair), but hopefully strong enough. The close look - not shown here
- reveals numerous flaws. But I like it anyway
Thank you for looking!
Also I myself consider it the first kind of "real furniture" piece that I produced as the most of the time I build either some shop-related stuff or more or less utilitarian projects.
Before starting the project I spent some time drawing sketches and searching the web for chair designs that I liked. Here's what I liked the most that corresponded to my own ideas:
After that I made a full-size drawing on the paper (yes, despite being a computer guy by the trade I prefer paper drawings), then transferred all the parts to 1/8" plywood, and then cut the templates:
As usual templates played the key role in the build: curved parts were made equal (to some acceptable degree) and the joinery became accurate and tight - all thanks to the templates.
Anyway, good projects start with a prototype, and this one was no exception:
The prototype was made out of pine, and the prototype seat made it to final chair with some minor improvements.
The wood of choice for the build was 20mm (about 3/4") thick beech laminated boards that they sell as some stair-building components. I decided to double the thickness of the legs to make sure they won't break since the legs were cut, not bent, so grain orientation was far from optimal from the strength point of view.
Cutting the legs:
The next picture shows another re-enforcement that I undertook: glued in cross-grain pieces at the ends of front legs to prevent grain splitting under the load:
Gluing one leg up:
One of the most challenging tasks during the build was making curved parts be of the same shape. To achieve that I put number of 1/4" dowels alongside the parts (thanks to the templates once again) so that the parts stay as one during shaping.
Once the legs were done the things moved much faster.
Back stretchers ready for curving:
Tenons:
Cutting mounting slot in the seat:
Couple of latches to secure the seat:
The rest of the hardware was 3/8" shaft to join the legs and 1/4" shaft to mount the seat. The nuts were custom made from some of the stuff I had lying around:
Finished (two coats of BLO) and ready for assembly:
And this one to compare final product against IKEA chair:
.
.
Ok, it's finally done. Took much longer than I wanted, had to build double-curved handplane and the bow saw just for this project. The chair happened to be insanely heavy (at least two times heavier comparing to IKEA chair), but hopefully strong enough. The close look - not shown here
- reveals numerous flaws. But I like it anyway Thank you for looking!
