Powe TOOLS "= Woar appropriate saety gear satety Alases, a face shield for extra protection, hearing protectin thee sro dust calection system, wea 9 dust mash, For ‘exotic woods such as ebony, use a esp ‘ator, sawdust may cause an allergic ‘teaction. Wear work lows when han, ing rough lumber fire nazar, ‘= Drape the power cord of a portable ‘ower too! over your shoulder to keep tur ‘out ofthe way, ‘Never work when you ae tired, stresed, ‘oF have been drinking alcoho or using ‘medications that induce drowsiness. ‘Always keep your work area clean and tidy; clutter can lead to accidents, and sawdust and wood scraps can be a WaNO Toots. © Use the appropriate tool forthe jb, {donot ty to maa tol do something for wich it was not intended, ‘= Clamp your workpiece to free both hands for an operation * Cut away from yourset rather than toward your body. ‘Keep your hands well away trom 3 blade orbit. Do not force a toot possible, try ‘removing less stock on each pass, ' Do not use a toot if any parts worn ‘= Concentrate on the job; do not rush or damaged, © Keep the edges of cutting tools sharp. ‘Steam coupling hole Hooks up to fitting from steam source Suppore THBngular strips eupport workplce, keeping It rom — Contacting bottom of box ‘nd being bathed In water Hinged door BUILDING A STEAM BOX The two basic elements of any steaming setup are @ ‘steam generator and an enclosed box in which the wood is steamed. The box can be simple. The version shown ‘above is made of %-inch exterior-grade plywood, assem: bled with rabbet-and-dado joints. Any tight-iting joinery ‘method will do. Be sure to make the steamer longer than the pieces to be bent, and seal it tightly to keep the steam from escaping. Also, include a small drain hole at ‘one end and place the steamer on a slight incline to allow the condensed steam to run out as water. If you are Rubber seal Prevents steam from escaping Drain hole ‘Allows condensed steam to drain from boy as water using a gas-powered steam source, itis safest to do your steaming outside; your local fire code may insist on it. AS {an alternative, you can bend your wood indoors using an electric wallpaper steamer, but remember that a consider- able amount of water vapor will be produced. As a rough Buide, steam air-dried lumber for one hour per inch of thickness; half that time is adequate for green wood, Aiter bending, tie the ends of the workpiece together with ‘2 cord and let it dry. After approximately one week, a bent Piece of 1-by-3 stock will be dry.Scribner Library THE ART OF WOODWORKING BUILDING CHAIRSTHE ART OF WOODWORKING BUILDING CHAIRS TIME-LIFE BOOKS ALEXANDRIA, VIRGINIA ST. REMY PRESS MONTREAL + NEW YORKTHE ART OF WOODWORKING was produced by ST.REMY PRESS PUBLISHER. PRESIDENT Kenneth Winchester Pierre Level Series Editor Series Art Director Senior Eton Editor ‘Art Directors Designers Picture Editor Writers Research Asistant Contributing Mustrators Pierre Home: Douglas Francine Lemieux Mare Cassini Jim McRae Normand Boudreault, Luc Germs Frangois Dathelet, Héléne Dion, Jean Guy Doiron, Michel Giguere ‘Christopher Jackson “Andreve fones, David Simon ‘Bryan Quinn Gilles Beauchemin, Roland Bergerat, Michel lis, Ronald Duepos, James Thien Natalie Watanabe Michelle Turbide Jean-Luc Roy Robert Cha Dominique Gagne (Christine M. acobs Administrator Production Manager Sytem Coordinator Photographer Administrative Asian Tdexer ‘Time-Life Books isa division of Time Life Inc, 1 wholly owned subsidiary of ‘THE TIME INC. BOOK COMPANY TIME-LIFE INC. President and CEO John M. Fahey Editor-in-Chief Joho L. Papanck TIME-LIFE BOOKS President Vice-President, Director of Marketing Managing itor Director of Design Director of Editorial Operations John D. Hal Nancy K. Jones Roberta Conlan Michael Hentges len Robling John 8 Salva ann Caldwell Marlene Zack James King Consulting tno Vie-Pesident, Soot Production Production Menager Quay Asurance Manager ‘THE CONSULTANTS ‘Mike Dunbar bis fine furniture tis workshop in Portsmouth, = [New Hampshire. The author of seen books anda contibuting ‘itor of American Woodworker and Early American ie maga = ‘ines, Dunbar alo offers Windsor chairmaking seminar acto | North America (Gites Mier Mead taught anc cabintmaking a Monel ‘State schol teas np & mateo er ‘Zealand hehas worked a sre’ of ane fate (The Art of woodworking) Includes index ISBN 0-8094.9525.2 1.Chair 2. Furniture making Time-Life Books, 1 Tile: Building char UL. Series. ‘TT197.5.CA5B85 1994 684120 9430363 cP For information about ay Time-Life book, please call 1-800-621-7026, o writ: Reader Information ‘Time-Life Customer Service P.O. Bor C-32068 Richmond, Virginia 23261-2068, © 1996 Time-Life Hooks In. ‘Allright reserved No part ofthis book maybe eprodcsd in any form or by any secttonic or mechanical means icing information sre an rca de organi ph {en permision om the publi xsp that i thay be quoted for eviews = Fir printing Printed in USA. abled smulaneoualy in Consd TIME-LIFE isa trademark of Time Warner Inc. USA.12 14 16 18 22 24 26 30 a) 36 47 50 ae 54 58 61 70 72 73 78 83 90 CONTENTS INTRODUCTION CHAIR-BUILDING BASICS Designing a comfortable chair Selecting and ordering wood A gallery of chair styles FRAME CHAIRS Anatomy of a frame chair Designing the chair Making the legs Making the backrest Frame chair joinery Assembling the chair SLAB-AND-STICK CHAIRS Anatomy of a slab-and-stick chair Preparing the seat and legs Assembling the seat and legs Making the back SEATS Seat styles Sculpted seats Upholstered seats Cane seats Rush seats 94 96 98 103 110 112 113 119 124 126 127 128 132 142 144 LEGS AND STRETCHERS Inventory of legs and stretchers Legs Stretchers ARMS AND BACKS Inventory of arm and back styles Arms Backs ROCKING CHAIRS Anatomy of a rocking chair Rocker design Making the rockers Rocker joinery GLOSSARY INDEX ACKNOWLEDGMENTSINTRODUCTION Sam Maloof on DESIGNING CHAIRS I hhave designed more than 500 pieces of furniture in nearly 50 years of working wood. Ihave done furniture for homes, offices, churches, and school, although I prefer designing for homes. ven now [take time to design and make at least five new piecesa year no matter how busy I am or how far behind | am in fli {'do many drawings of pieces that come to mind but Talso have hundreds more stored away mentally. I make drawings of case goods and tables for my cients, but chairs are designed as I make the prototype. | was asked some time ago to submit a g ofa chair with dimensions for a publication. Because I did not have a draw ingat hand I had to take measurements from a chair in our home. When making a char, I don't follow any formula or template; each chair is light ly different. like to use my own body as a pattern I cut out spindles for my rock hair on a bandsaw by eye, and then hold the spindle to my back ina sitting ion. fit feels good, I have a patter, So far, the chairs that come out of my shop seem to fit the users. believe my furniture is functional and for everyday use; I want every piece I ‘make to be useful to the person who buys it In a rocking chair, like to shoot for a rocker that does tp too farback o pitch you forward. Bt I also want allo tobe beautifully made. For instance the joinery i always exposed, Why hide a beau tifully made joint? When laying out legs for my rocking char, like to look for grain that follows the curve of the leg. A chair should invite a person to be seated, to embrace that person and make them comfortable. [want him or her to touch and fed the warmth and sensuousness ofthe wood, to relax. I believe any person in the arts—in whatever medium—has a responsibility to share with others whatever knowledge he may have learned, something [have be able to doin my workshops. I always tll my students: No matter how beautiful the ‘wood or how well made the chair if it doesnot sit well it isnt a good chair. ike to think that my chairs sit very wel g orders Sam Maloof Alta Loma, California, workshop. He wa: worker ever elected a Fellow ‘and his chairs are in the permanent collection of the Museum He is the author of Sam Maloof International Books ilds fine furniture in his t wood: ie American Craft Council of Fine Arts in Bost Woodworker, pu NN 6O_OINTRODUCTION Arthur Mitchell talks about the CHALLENGE | OF CHAIRS; he. ; "i SPR a i Mat ae a eT TT nT TT TTINTRODUCTION Carolyn and John Grew-Sheridan on their FITTING CHAIR | and building chairs is somewhat like writing. Whether you are pro: a simple stool or an ornate dining chait—a short poem or a complex novel—each project hasits own form, inten, and inherent challenges as well as pet ning. This range of possibilities is what makes chair ing and appealing, Peters Valley Crafts Center in Layton, New Jersey, 20 years ago, we have developed nearly two dozen chair designs for limited production and cus- tom orders. All have benefitted from our first chair, made from recycled oak barn ‘wood, with a simple canvas seat and back. The item was supposed to be the ultimate in inexpensive, comfortable seating The first person to sit in this chair was Mary Coes, the diminutive adult daugh ter of our friends Vinton and Eleanor Coes. She nearly disappeared in our first mas- terpiece, designed for “every-person.” Her generous comment was that experiencing cou chair was ike siting in her grandfather’ lap. From that first humbli we have been reminded continually that chair maki ic, functional, technical, and personal requirements, full of compromises. There is no such thing as a standard chair. The seat height of a dining chair, for example, can range from 13 % to 20 % inches. Chairs can be used for any number of nd relaxing to talking and dining. Some chairs are built solely for ceremonial occasions, others to alleviate the distress of physical disabilities. Consequently it can be helpful to have a convenient and reliable technique for m the physical form of a chair’ d experimenting with their personal preferences. We use our adjustable measuring chair, shown in the photo at left and (on page 13, to supplement other traditional design tools, such as drawing models, and prototypes. Whether a customer is tll or short, wide or narrow, long or short of thigh orc ‘we can easly investigate different options and combinations for a chair’s dimen: a reconeiliation of esthet activities, from readi sions and angles. The rig features five back supports, and adjustments forthe hei and angle of the seat and the arm rest. By moving the supports up or down, or in or ‘out, we can fine tune the rig until we have the best fit” for the sitter. Using graph paper ‘ora computer, the settings are then plotted, creat That forms the basis ofa three-dimensional view from which we can then fashion a fullsize mock-up using corrugated cardboard But the fitting chair is only a beginning, The outline the rig provides is like the out line ofa story. I'sa skeleton upon which you can build everything that you want to ‘embody in the chair’ style, using, meaning, and emotional content. Carolyn and John Grew-Sheridan build custom chairs in their studio in San Francisco, CalifornLae ere.)a“ Maal ‘ CHAIR-BUILDING BASICS cor millenia, chairshave been expect- ed to exceed the seemingly simple demands of seating. Comfort, durabil ‘ysand beauty are the criteria they mu meet. The best provide a seamless blend of all three qualities. The worst can be bad indeed, Well-designed and proper- ly built chairs provide comfortable and durable seating, are pleasing to look at, and fit into their surroundings. Small ‘wonder that chair making is often con sidered to be the pinnacle ofthe wood worker’ art. By the time their use became more widespread in Europe in the 16th Cen- tury, chairs had become stylized to serve specific purposes. Dining chairs were built to fit around dining tables, and writ- ing chairs were often paired with desks. Often, neither was matched to the hhuman form; comfort frequently took second place to the formal function. Traditional dining chairs, for example, feature a backrest at an almost 90° angle tothe scat, obliging the user to sit ramrod straight Although function remains an important design consider: ation, chair makers today typically give first consideration to The adjustable chair fitting jig shown ‘above, designed by San Francisco fur: ture makers Carolyn and John Grew- ‘Sheridan, takes the guesswork out of ‘making comfortable, ergonomically sound chairs that are tailor-made to the user's body and posture. For more information on the device and on cus- tom fitting a chair, see pages 11 and 15. the human form in their work, partic ularly when they are building custom- made chairs. The jig shown at lef allows a chair to fit as snugly as a comfortable pair of shoes. The charts and illustra- tions on pages 14 and 15 will help you reconcile the sometimes conflicting ‘demands of function and human anato- my in your designs, allowing you to build chairs that are both useful and comfortable. ‘Once you have designed a comifort- able chair, it is time to turn your atten- tion to appearance. A visual gallery of the most popular and enduring chair styles, from the Greek Klisms of the Sth Century BC—an armless chair that Homer said was favored by the god- desses—to Sam Maloof's classic mod- ern rocking char, is presented starting ‘on page 18. As the examples show, the design possbiltes for chair making are virtually limitless. ‘The information on pages 16 and 17 will help you in one of the more ordinary, but crucial, aspects of chair making: select- ing the appropriate woods for your projects and determining, how much lumber you need, First made in late 17th-Century England, the Windsor chair is one of the ‘most enduring and popular ofall chair designs. Today, its precise joinery ‘and functional elegance harken back to the crafismanship of a bygone era. ‘Many ofthe elements of the comb-back Windsor shown at left—the leg, spindles stretcher, rungs, and arm bow—were riven and shaped from green wood. The chair was made by North Carolina woodworker Drew Langsner.DESIGNING A COMFORTABLE CHAIR ‘ost people rate comfort as the ‘most important requirement ofa chair. Style, appearance, and sturdy join- ery are also undeniable key elements, but if any of these criteria results in an uncomfortable chair, the product may ‘end up being used aslittle more than an attractive showpiece. Uncomfortable chairs give rise to a familiar litany of complains: cutting of