Chair design input needed - part2

[Matt Day]

My thread doesn't seem to be getting much attention in the Design Forum, so I thought I'd post here. I'd like some critiques and input on the general design of my dining chair: what looks right, what looks wrong, etc.

I have 2 general designs, one which has the back legs curved and one slanted. The dimensions on the slanted back leg ones are where I've accounted for the rake (slope front to back) of the seat.

Construction will be mostly floating tenons. I plan to make the curved back slats using bent lamination (my first attempt at it!). Also, I'll be adding corner blocks in the real thing for strength.

I plan to start cutting some 1/4" ply for templates soon, to begin construction of a mockup.

Does everything look pretty good? What do you all think? Do you like the curved or angled back leg? Too much angle/curve, too little?

Thanks for your input!

P.S. I can't seem to get sketchup to make one of the legs solid, so use your imagination! :) Also, I'll be adding corner blocks in the real thing for strength.

[Scott Vigder]

Any pics or drawings for us to look at?

[Mark Singer]

a picture would really help me help you!:rolleyes:

[Matt Day]

I don't know what happened; I had them selected. Oh well....

[Hans Braul]

Matt,
That's very close to the design I've had floating around in my head for some time. Overall I like it. Nice proportions. If it was me, I'd be tempted to flare the front legs out a bit - it just goes with what I've been building lately.

Looking forward to seeing the finished product.

Did you use sketchup? How many learning hours till you could do this? I'm still trying to figure it out.

Regards
Hans

[Mark Singer]

I like it except the top stretcher on the back. It could be more unified to the rear legs. The scale is typical of production chairs and could use a little tweaking.

[Matt Day]

Hans,

I'm glad you like it. Hopefully it actually gets completed one day! I had rough day in the shop simply milling lumber! I have some 8' 8/4 maple that's got twist, cup, and bend in it. I can usually deal with one, or two of those but it's hard with all three! I think I may have to cut it down to smaller more manageable sizes to joint it without loosing a lot of thickness. I digress...

I did use Sketchup for the model. It's a great program but I'm still figuring it out obviously. I'm pretty good at everything but compound arcs. I've probably spent about 100 hours (or more:confused:) in sketchup, but I use it for work a bit too. I find it's invaluable for woodworking projects. My first step is to build the piece in the computer and figure out problem areas, scaling, sizes, etc. It reduces my firewood pile!

Mark,

Maybe I'll try a few different types of back stretchers to see if any fit differently. I know the dimensions are pretty typical, but I'm not sure I should wonder from that too much on my first one? Especially the prototype. Once I get it built and I think something could use a change, I can make it then. I unfortunately can't think of many places where I can go to sit on nice chairs to see what fits/feels good.

Thanks for your input guys.