Craftsman Style Desk Chair Build - Part 1
This is a build thread for a Walnut, craftsman style desk chair. This is my first attempt at building a chair and there were definitely quite a few hiccups along the way.
Once I had a rough sense of the dimensions and configuration of the chair, next step was to create templates for the curved back slats. I started with the two, larger outside back slats and then worked towards the center. I definitely need a better spoke shave because shaping curved chair slats is a task ideally suited for a sharp shave, and my 1970s Record model really wasn’t up to the task.
https://i.postimg.cc/RZ3zBj3h/1.jpg
https://i.postimg.cc/XqvzgCdq/3.jpg
https://i.postimg.cc/wBhZxH9q/3-5.jpg
https://i.postimg.cc/mrxKGhfp/4-5.jpg
https://i.postimg.cc/MT5LRDcg/4-6.jpg
This is a template for the curved bottom chair rail that would be mortised to accept the back slats.
https://i.postimg.cc/yYbwvvfH/6.jpg
For added strength I left the cross-section of the back slats over long and wider than the chair rail so an external tendon could extend below the top of the chair rail.
https://i.postimg.cc/nh9N5B5Q/10.jpg
https://i.postimg.cc/26rJVJ54/11.jpg
Because the chair back is wider at the top and narrower at the bottom, I SWAGed some angles for crosscutting chair back top and bottom rails that I hoped would establish the desired trapezoidal (?) Shape. Of course my angles were off so I dry assembled and then used a straight edge to redraw/recut tennon shoulders parallel to the vertical chair back. This “dry assembly and then adjust” was an essential part of this entire build.
https://i.postimg.cc/wT7ryD9b/12.jpg
https://i.postimg.cc/D0YYpwPg/13.jpg
https://i.postimg.cc/qBmYv1H3/15.jpg