Jim Koepke
07-16-2021, 2:37 PM
Finally got a round tuit for building a couple of chairs for the back porch.
One advantage of this design is the footprint is only two and a half square feet. The disadvantage is it is low to the ground.
First step was deciding on the height of the back. Since an eight foot 2X12 was available it seemed a 48” back piece would work fine.
Cutting the 2X12 with a handsaw was a bit of a different matter:
461353
This was a fresh piece and still being damp from the pressure treatment chemistry made it a bit tough to cut by hand. Outside with a handsaw was unmasked. Inside with the bandsaw a mask was worn.
Next the seat support was lain out:
461354
A framing square with a couple of stair gauges was used. The one gauge was set to the thickness of the 2X6 used for the seat and the other end was set to 11-1/2” for the width and gap of the seat pieces. The long end of the square was held at the corner of the base stock. The lighting makes it difficult to see the brass stair gauge.
This is the method of layout used earlier to determine how long the base needed to be. The seat area was lain out and a 48” stick was used to determine how far the back had to extend to prevent tipping backward:
461355
Figuring the bed & tail gate lines are square enough for this it was determined a 48” back tilted ~10º more than the seat angle would be stable with a 24” base.
A pair of dividers was set to the thickness of the back + 3/8” to draw a line for the placement of the cleats to hold the back:
461356
Laying out the curve at the back of the base was easy with an ellipse template:
461357
Since it is slightly smaller than the curve needed it was made in three steps. Starting at the bottom and then from the top. Where the two met in the middle was smoothed over with a third step. If you have ever done a drawing with a French curve this is done the same way.
The curve layout could be done many ways. My preference was to not have sharp corners at the back.
Once a piece was finished with the layout it was aligned with a second side piece. They were held together with deck screws. The layout for the back cleats was carried over to the other side before cutting on the bandsaw.
461358
A couple notes here, make sure the screws do not come thought to scratch the bandsaw table.
Also, installing screws with or without a pilot hole goes easier with a little wax on the threads:
461359
This is an old lump of soft candle wax. Some candle waxes are harder than others.
jtk
— Too be continued later…
One advantage of this design is the footprint is only two and a half square feet. The disadvantage is it is low to the ground.
First step was deciding on the height of the back. Since an eight foot 2X12 was available it seemed a 48” back piece would work fine.
Cutting the 2X12 with a handsaw was a bit of a different matter:
461353
This was a fresh piece and still being damp from the pressure treatment chemistry made it a bit tough to cut by hand. Outside with a handsaw was unmasked. Inside with the bandsaw a mask was worn.
Next the seat support was lain out:
461354
A framing square with a couple of stair gauges was used. The one gauge was set to the thickness of the 2X6 used for the seat and the other end was set to 11-1/2” for the width and gap of the seat pieces. The long end of the square was held at the corner of the base stock. The lighting makes it difficult to see the brass stair gauge.
This is the method of layout used earlier to determine how long the base needed to be. The seat area was lain out and a 48” stick was used to determine how far the back had to extend to prevent tipping backward:
461355
Figuring the bed & tail gate lines are square enough for this it was determined a 48” back tilted ~10º more than the seat angle would be stable with a 24” base.
A pair of dividers was set to the thickness of the back + 3/8” to draw a line for the placement of the cleats to hold the back:
461356
Laying out the curve at the back of the base was easy with an ellipse template:
461357
Since it is slightly smaller than the curve needed it was made in three steps. Starting at the bottom and then from the top. Where the two met in the middle was smoothed over with a third step. If you have ever done a drawing with a French curve this is done the same way.
The curve layout could be done many ways. My preference was to not have sharp corners at the back.
Once a piece was finished with the layout it was aligned with a second side piece. They were held together with deck screws. The layout for the back cleats was carried over to the other side before cutting on the bandsaw.
461358
A couple notes here, make sure the screws do not come thought to scratch the bandsaw table.
Also, installing screws with or without a pilot hole goes easier with a little wax on the threads:
461359
This is an old lump of soft candle wax. Some candle waxes are harder than others.
jtk
— Too be continued later…