Contemporary Lounge Chair

[Joel Thomas Runyan]

Cross-posted from the ol' Woodnet, because there's always much fruitful discussion here. I normally don't post my work because I'm lazy about documentation and photography.



The design drawing. Some of you might have seen my previous posts about this style of design. I can talk through it if anyone is interested.



http://i.imgur.com/y7XX1Yt.png (http://imgur.com/y7XX1Yt)



The finished product. (Client had just moved in, requests pardon on the clothing.) Solid cherry throughout, poplar used in the seat boards. Satin varnish over Sealcoat, then a little bit of wax. Upholstery was done locally. Didn't come out exactly how I wanted, but I blame that on my not knowing anything about upholstery before the project.



http://i.imgur.com/zRfcaZz.jpg (http://imgur.com/zRfcaZz)

http://i.imgur.com/3V9Ixzc.jpg (http://imgur.com/3V9Ixzc)



Shop shots:



http://i.imgur.com/QNux8RP.jpg (http://imgur.com/QNux8RP)





Joinery detail. I sometimes use different metals as wedges, but opted for soft maple.



http://i.imgur.com/9g9h29g.jpg (http://imgur.com/9g9h29g)



Leg in the rough. They were laminated out of 6/4 material, each half of the larger mortises cut before glue-up of the massive lap joints.









http://i.imgur.com/QXyH5Pl.jpg (http://imgur.com/QXyH5Pl)

[Brian Holcombe]

Looks nice, very nicely detailed. It took me a few looks before I realized the reason for the stopped grooves....those are double wegdes. Very interesting and a unique way to keep the wedges.

[Christopher Charles]

Hello Joel,

Nice looking piece indeed. I'd be interested in hearing more about you design process or where I could read previous posts..

Thanks for taking time to post.

[Tom Giles]

Lovely work

[James Pallas]

Joel The joinery on your chair is very nicely done. The tenons and wedging is interesting way to deal with the angles.
Jim

[Rob Luter]

Nice work. Is it comfy?

[Pat Barry]

Nice chair. Can you tell us what's under the cushions?

[Joel Thomas Runyan]

Hello Joel,

Nice looking piece indeed. I'd be interested in hearing more about you design process or where I could read previous posts..

Thanks for taking time to post.

Here's a post I made soaking wet on Woodnet a few months ago about a shelf: https://forums.woodnet.net/archive/index.php?thread-7264228.html. And from time to time, I'll take other folks' work and adapt it to my method of drafting to see how well it fits. I did this most recently with a Derek Cohen piece in a certain locked thread about things I should be learning.

My design process is always more or less this: I gather as many physical constraints as I can; being spaces a piece needs to fit, sizes of the people to be using it, &c. I order these according to priority, and parameters of deviation--that is, seldom does anything need to be *exactly* a certain size. Amongs the ratio of the highest priority numbers, I determine the closest simple geometric constants. (There is a relatively small list of these that I think any designer should be intimately familiar with, mathematically, and in approximation.) I draw the shapes for which these ratios fit, and then I simply play with other shapes and lines--always striving for simplicity, and the connection of significant points--until I have all the parts I want. I find that this method, given a decent "eye", tends more than any other to produce pieces of interest and visual harmony. It's hard to hit a dead end when it's so easy to doodle.

[Joel Thomas Runyan]

Nice work. Is it comfy?

It is super comfy. I attribute this mostly to the quality of foam used in the upholstery. The angle of the back (120 degrees) feels pretty loungey, as it were. I had intended it to be otherwise, but for reasons of time and cost, we went with flat cushions.

[Joel Thomas Runyan]

Nice chair. Can you tell us what's under the cushions?

There is a substantial cleat edge-jointed to the primary stretchers, and 3/4 poplar boards for the seat. They're rabbeted to 1/2 inch on the ends, and also tongue and grooved.

[John Kananis]

Very elegant design.