Morris Chair

[Carl Beckett]

The cushions I made from cutting up a foam mattress off CL.

Some funky fabric (cows... my grandmothers family owned the county dairy and she grew up milking 50 cows by hand multiple times a day).

I still have a fair bit of wood left (a pile of rough cut I bought off CL a few years ago). Prolly need a foot stool. Maybe a couch.

Overall, I kinda like it.

[Yonak Hawkins]

It looks great, Carl. It looks so homey and familiar.

[Mark Hennebury]

Nice job, love the color of the wood. Makes me want to make a few, its been many years since i made some.

[Bill Carey]

beautiful chair. the fuming came out great. all that's left to do is park your butt there with a good book and read till the cows come home. (sorry, couldn't resist)

[Carl Beckett]

beautiful chair. the fuming came out great. all that's left to do is park your butt there with a good book and read till the cows come home. (sorry, couldn't resist)

Yes. Here is the problem: my 10yr old and 12 year old daughters have claimed it. They like that they can get all the way up in it like a small couch.

And ya... they call it the 'Cowwwtch'

It is a hit. Now need to make one for myself...

[Bill Carey]

Go ahead and make another one. Then your daughters will each have one and you'll be in the shop wondering what just happened! And 50 years from now, they'll say my Dad made this for me, and be the proudest person on the planet. Well done, Pops.

[Phil Mueller]

Really nice, Carl. Well done. Fits into the surroundings perfectly. When it comes to daughters, Dad’s just can’t say no. Might as well just start on the next one now

[Carl Beckett]

Ya, I am going to lay out pieces for the next one this weekend. This one is 'taken'...

lol. Its great, and is exactly why I enjoy this hobby.

[Michael Costa]

I just stumbled across this thread and since a Morris chair is on my bucket list I might as well as the question.

Why bend the arm of the chair? It's such a shallow bend I would figure thicker stock and a bandsaw would save a ton of time and aggravation (especially for those of us who have never bent wood).

I know you'd sorta get some end grain buy I'm sure that can be dealt with.

[Carl Beckett]

I just stumbled across this thread and since a Morris chair is on my bucket list I might as well as the question.

Why bend the arm of the chair? It's such a shallow bend I would figure thicker stock and a bandsaw would save a ton of time and aggravation (especially for those of us who have never bent wood).

I know you'd sorta get some end grain buy I'm sure that can be dealt with.

You will get a lot of good insights from others here, on pros/cons. If you are considering a morris chair do a search here (the great morris chair build... or something like this). Many members have built one and offer different designs and advice.

Some use straight/flat arms
Some have a small flat straight section, then an angled (but flat)section going back from that
Some bend

Probably someone has done it with a bandsaw, but these arms are 5" wide (a little more) and from front to back the amount of bend is more than 3.5" on mine. So to just carve that curve out would be stock that is 5" wide and a good 4.5" thick. Massive piece, and a lot of waste.

I simply made a form and resaw thinner material and reglue. Steaming is probably easy as well (everything is easy when you know how, but I have never steamed). I find making laminations pretty easy and am satisfied with the outcome. I decided up front I wanted the curve, due to design ascetics and feel to it when sitting in it. Was just a choice.

[Yonak Hawkins]

the great morris chair build... or something like this)

It's called The Great Morris Chair Project and it's in a sticky thread.