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Thread: How much lumber needed for a Morris chair?

  1. #1

    How much lumber needed for a Morris chair?

    I'm planning to build a Morris chair using the plans from Wood magazine (2004). I plan to use cherry. I will use 3/4" laminations for the four legs. The plans say 7 bf. will be enough for the legs. The arms, stretchers, corbels, and rails will be resawn from 6/4" stock to the needed thickness for these pieces. My question is how many board feet of 6/4" stock do I need to build the chair?

  2. #2
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    Is this a trick question. If the plans say you need 7 bdft of 6/4 stock then that is what you need to make the chair from 6/4 stock. If you don't plan on resawing, then those pieces would increase the amount needed.
    Lee Schierer
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  3. #3
    I"m sorry for the confusing information. I should have said the plans say the four laminated legs can be made from 3/4" stock. I will need 7 bf. of 3/4' stock to form the laminated legs. The rest of the chair pieces will be built from 6/4" stock.
    The arms, stretchers, corbels, spindles, rails will be reasawn from 6/4"stock to the needed thicknesses for these pieces. My question is how much 6/4" stock will be needed to build the chair?

  4. #4
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    Well, board feet is a volume measurement. So if you didn't have to worry about grain direction or match or stock lost in saw kerfs and jointing/planing, the answer would be 7 bf. The volume of wood in the finished leg, for example, doesn't care if it came from 3/4 stock or 6/4 stock, the finished total volume is the same. Of course you do have to worry about those things, so the practical answer is: probably more than 7 bf. Now that's not very helpful I know, but it's very dependent on the part dimensions (and the stock dimensions). One way to get an accurate estimate is to make a cut list showing how you will transform the 6/4 into the dimensions you need. Then you will know how much waste there will be, and that will let you calculate a better estimate.

  5. #5
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    I'll guess 50 to 100 bf and wait for a chair builder. 7bf isn't enough for a whole chair, I am sure of that.

  6. #6
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    Most Morris chairs require around 35 bd ft total. Most builders acquire around 50 bd ft to allow for waste.

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