New Chair

[ken hatch]

I've started a new chair, kinda, maybe, details to be worked out. I think the seat will be Red Oak, the legs will be either Red Oak or Honey Locust and the back spindles who knows, I'll make that decision when I get there.

I've been looking at photos of some early stick chairs and for some time I've wanted to make a little more true to the early chairs chair. Prashun's stool pushed me over the edge. We will see how it goes, it may be a keeper but just as likely firewood.

I split some Honey Locust leg blanks and I'm in the process of making them kinda look like chair legs. Before I go too far I'll also split out some Red Oak leg blanks to see which I like better. BTW, I don't know if anyone else feels this way but Honey Locust is an absolute miserable wood to work. It is very hard and brittle but if you can get to the finished product it can be very attractive.

Working a leg blank on the shave horse:

chairLeg.jpg

ken

[ken hatch]

It is just as I expected it would be, the Red Oak is so much easier to work than the Honey Locust. I have several Honey Locust boards that have been hanging around the shop for years and I keep thinking I can find a use for 'em other than firewood. Oh well at least there is one of the boards that is now perfect sized to burn.

Bottom line, one decision has been made. The legs will be Red Oak.

ken

[Prashun Patel]

Cool! Looking forward to see how it develops. Red oak gets a bad rap, but I think it's great for long, skinny parts. It shapes with a draw knife so easily; the layers just peel off.

Good luck using it for the seat, though. I do not find that it scoops too well. Got any poplar, pine or walnut? These are a dream to scoop and shape.

[ken hatch]

Cool! Looking forward to see how it develops. Red oak gets a bad rap, but I think it's great for long, skinny parts. It shapes with a draw knife so easily; the layers just peel off.

Good luck using it for the seat, though. I do not find that it scoops too well. Got any poplar, pine or walnut? These are a dream to scoop and shape.

Prashun,

Maybe I have no taste but I like the look of Red Oak. This is going to be a primitive chair so there will not be a great amount of saddle. That said, if the Red Oak kicks my tail Poplar or Walnut to the rescue.

ken

[Frederick Skelly]

But..... Ken...... You're the Workbench Guy. Prashun is the Stick Chair Guy.
If you cross the streams, won't something bad happen?


Merry Christmas!
Fred

[ken hatch]

But..... Ken...... You're the Workbench Guy. Prashun is the Stick Chair Guy.
If you cross the streams, won't something bad happen?


Merry Christmas!
Fred

Fred,

Too funny but maybe true .

For the last couple of years in between bench builds I've been making stick chairs, stools, low benches, and desks. While I'm still learning "how", I really like the form in spite of more failures than keepers. Right now I'm between workbench builds mostly because of no room to build another. The last workbench is an almost perfectly sized for a small shop 6' bench but no one seems to want it. So I've been working on it. BTW, it is a really sweet small bench with one of the best leg vises I've ever used. But that also means no new bench build until it finds a home. I have a BC Classic vise screw and 14" crisscross plus Will Myers' wagon vise sitting on the shelf just waiting for a new build. Until then, it's stick chairs and stools and maybe I'll get close to Prashun's level or at least have fewer splits and failures.

Here's hoping you and your family have a good holiday and new year,

ken

[ken hatch]

The Red Oak seat blank is in glue up:

redOakSeatBlank.jpg

And I split out eight leg blanks:

redOakLegBlanks.jpg

The shop is cold (for Tucson) so I will let the seat stay in the clamps for at least 24 hours.

The leg blanks are ready to be shaped, The grain is so straight I'm tempted to either put 'em in the lathe and turn 'em or use the band saw jig to make octagon legs vs. the draw knife for a more organic shape. This may take a little butt scratching to decide. Can't rush into things, dontchknow.

ken

P.S. Cold WX means chicken and sausage gumbo. Made a big pot of Cajun chicken and sausage gumbo last night and was brave or foolish enough to go past dark red roux all the way to roux black. It is so good but is also like working without a net.

[David Eisenhauer]

Hang on till Monday - red beans and rice day.

[ken hatch]

Hang on till Monday - red beans and rice day.

David,

I expect I will add cornbread.

ken

[ken hatch]

Burrrr, it's in the 40's F outside, I know that's not cold but give me a break it's in the 40's in Tucson. The chair build is in kinda a hold for now, the blank glue-up isn't setting up. I could face MsBubba's evil eye and bring it inside but waiting may be a better option as this is Tucson and warm WX is never far away.


The legs are going well, with a combination of draw knife and shave spoke. My thoughts are to use the lathe to form the tenons but that will be decided later.

ken

[Jim Koepke]

Burrrr, it's in the 40's F outside, I know that's not cold but give me a break it's in the 40's in Tucson.

About the same here. For us, that is a heat wave this time of year.

jtk

[ken hatch]

About the same here. For us, that is a heat wave this time of year.

jtk

Jim,

That's the reason we have so many snow birds this time of year .

ken

[ken hatch]

I'm a fan boy, I might as well get that said up front. I've a pile of shaves in my tool cabinet and for the most part using them is love/hate. Love what a shave can do but hate what they usually do in my hands. That started to change when I bought a Woodcraft metal bevel up shave but the joy of using a shave had to wait until I got my hands on a Dave's Shave.


I just finished cleaning up one of the chair legs that was roughed out with a draw knife. The control, the feel of the shave in hand, the shear pleasure of the shave on wood is something that every woodworker needs to experience. Someday I may go back and give one of the metal bevel down shaves another go but for finish work a wood stock bevel up shave is hard to beat and a Dave's Shave is the best I've found.

BTW, I used his "Dog Bone" sharpening holder for the first time and it also works a treat.

ken

[Jim Koepke]

Someday I may go back and give one of the metal bevel down shaves another go but for finish work a wood stock bevel up shave is hard to beat

The wood shaves and iron shaves are two very different tools. They are more different in use than bevel up and bevel down planes.

Wood shaves are slicing wood at very close to the bevel angle of the blade. Metal shaves are cutting at a much higher angle.

jtk

[ken hatch]

The wood shaves and iron shaves are two very different tools. They are more different in use than bevel up and bevel down planes.

Wood shaves are slicing wood at very close to the bevel angle of the blade. Metal shaves are cutting at a much higher angle.

jtk

Jim,

I know, different tools that in reality are for different jobs but are the same. Bevel up shaves fit my needs better than bevel down.

ken