Anyone know of plans for this type of chair?

[Quesne Ouaques]

I want to build the type of chair in the attached photo. It is a caned creole fauteuil (seat).

I am not so concerned with caning it since I'm sure I can get a kit and/or book on the subject. Rather it is the curves and grain in the arms, legs and sides that I am worried about.

This is not the type of project I have any experience with, and I wouldn't want to begin without having plans or, at least, some guidance.

If anyone has any ideas, I would greatly appreciate some help finding

Thanks

[Todd Bin]

I hope you won't just make one. Because that chair is quite a bit of work. The arms, sides and "feet" are all bentwood laminations. That means three templates. And then the cross pieces to connect the left side to the right. Then there will be a LOT of hand shaping. And you are going to have to figure out how to join the arm to the back/side and the "legs". I guess maybe loose tenon.

At least that is how I would make it. Maybe some of the others have better ideas.

[Quesne Ouaques]

Thanks very much for your input. That does sound like quite a bit of work. I was actually planning to make several of them, both to keep and to sell.

My wife's grandfather was a cabinetmaker on a French Island in the Indian Ocean. This style of chair was a specialty of his. Her folks still have a couple of them, and I have seen them at the house.

The arms, legs and sides did not strike me as bent laminations, but I must admit that I never looked at the seats with a specific interest in building them. As a result, I did not take note of grain directions, etc.

If anyone else has more ideas, I would be very interested in hearing them.

[Todd Bin]

OK, you could make it by using a band saw and cutting the arms out of a board, then to make the back/seat you cut a board into smaller pieces and join it back together in the rough shape then use a template to cut those peices out. And do the same with the legs.

THis is much the same way you would take a long board and make a round mirror frame.

Since your grandfather made these, I doubt he used bent lamination.

[Todd Bin]

I forgot to mention that I think if you were going to only make 1 then the second method might be easier but if you are going to make many then bent lamination might be the way to go because you get to reuse the forms over and over.

either way I think it would be the same amount of hand shaping.

Good luck and post some pictures when you are finished.

[Chris Parks]

Might be a job for Frontline's bandsaw thingy, watch the video at this site.

http://frontlineengineering.com.au/

Anyone who is into chairs needs one of these things.

[Todd Bin]

Chris, I went and checked out the bandsaw thingie. Even after watching the video it is not clear exactly what this thingie is exactly. Do you have one? Is it easy to install and use?

[Hubert Carle]

I have seen this in one of the woodworking magazines I get. Not sure which one since it was a while ago. It is called a pattern following jig. Didn't look that hard to make. Check out this link.

http://books.google.com/books?id=aeM7uIFQav8C&pg=PT166&lpg=PT166&dq=band+saw+pattern+following+jig&source=web&ots=FTx8KZWEF1&sig=1Ex1Xmhti70QcvuxcAIkycU_h5w&hl=en#PPT167,M1

[Chris Parks]

Chris, I went and checked out the bandsaw thingie. Even after watching the video it is not clear exactly what this thingie is exactly. Do you have one? Is it easy to install and use?

No, I haven't got one. It is a jig that enables the user to very quickly do multiple template guided cuts very accurately. Everyone who has one swears to it being a good thing, especially for chairs.