The Great Morris Chair project

[Walt Caza]

Hello Richard,
Glad to hear that you enjoy our 'little chair thread'.
Even more exciting to hear that you have been enticed into building your own Morris chair!

It's easy to see the appeal...
The Arts & Crafts aesthetic movement in general features slabs of handsome hardwood, clean lines and strong joinery.
Woodworkers love to try their hand at such appealing details as corbels,
expressed joinery such as through-tenons and the classic slat galleries.

More specifically, the Morris chair is a hallmark of the entire movement.
Ruskin wrote about his philosophy and values.
William Morris developed and spread the idea in Britain.
Gustav Stickley brought it to America and made it blossom.

Many woodworkers feature a Morris chair on their lifetime build wishlist.
We have been lucky enough to see a wide variety of chairs from many builders in this thread.
Our first wave of builders who posted ongoing progess from start to finish,
had never built a chair before either.
Nathan, Gary Z. and I built our first chairs in this thread for all to see.

As to your decision, only you can decide what is right for yourself.

The chair is comprised of 4 frames:
A pair of sideframes joined together with stretchers, a seatframe and a backrest frame.
Have you any frame building experience?
Maybe build a mirror or picture frame first, to measure and polish your ability?

There are many different plans available.
Nathan, G.Z. and I all built the bow-armed Morris chair plans from Wood Magazine.
I can only comment first-hand on these plans, which were complete and
thorough with step-by-step instructions.
Perhaps find their book, which contains several nice projects, and read the
chair plans to better understand what it takes to build this chair?
Bending the bow arms was a bit tricky but very satisfying!

The Wood Mag. plans mostly use the slats-into-grooves with filler spacers technique.
This is a straight forward approach to making slat galleries.
Myself, I chose to convert the whole chair to traditional mortise and tenons.

Another option is to simulate the through tenons with fake caps.
This method should take less time, which may appeal to some builders.
Different folks have different shoptime, desire, experience and equipment.
Myself, I poked my tenons right through the legs in the traditional way.
This proved time consuming and challenging to tune them just right.
There is no right or wrong, just choices we each have to make.
Only you can choose your most-correct path.

I would not want to discourage anyone... but in the name of fair disclosure:
I found my wood expensive. Not all the wood I paid for, ended up in my chair.
Waste and miscues ate up some QSW oak.

I found the chair huge, and it's parts monopolized my shop surfaces.
Stacks of slats here, legs in clamps there.
I constantly had to move-this, to use-that.
It can get annoying to build a large solid wood project in a small shop.

Depending on your choices, the job is best undertaken with certain tools and machines.
For resawing arm plys for bending, bandsaw is best.
For bending arms without steam, vacuum bag or many clamps are needed.
For a slew of traditional mortises, hard to beat a hollow chisel mortiser.
There are work-arounds, with the usual trade-offs of time, effort and frustration.

Three classic versions of Morris chairs are historically accurate.
At various times, Gus offered straight arms, bow arms and dog-legged bent arms.
You can choose your chair details and construction approach.
There are many options which will affect the tools required, and the difficulty of getting it done.

It is easy to want to build a Morris chair.
It requires perseverance to complete one.
You can count on the support of other Creekers who run into the same problems and obstacles.
That has proven to be an advantage of our shared group build.

But no matter how you cut the mustard...
it will be you, in your shop with a pile of wood building your chair.
I do not believe it is over anyone's head to build such a project.
But it will require time, effort, tools, materials and commitment.

Expect to be challenged, and keep pushing to earn your rewards!
This hobby is most satisfying when we keep improving the state of our individual art.
Eager to hear your thoughts, Richard.
be well,
Walt

ps I find through-tenons demanding, because you have to gradually sneak up on a fit,
and yet leave no unsightly gaps when it will slide home.
There is nowhere to hide in these challenging joints!

[Walt Caza]

Good Day to the Creek,
The woodworking on my chair is basically finished.
Now that I have my first woodlathe, I plan to turn a
pair of mushroom pegs for my backrest adjustment.
Don't hold your breath, I have everything to learn about turning.
I will share pics once I figure it out!

Shifting gears...
I have begun building the matching ottoman for my Morris chair.
Flashing back to July 31 last year, I found this old pic of my leg parts.
The left pile is my ottoman leg cores, with my leg veneer stock next door.
The right piles were my chair leg cores and veneer stock.
Morris-leg-parts.jpg

Skipping the bandsaw, I cut my veneers with a rip blade on the tablesaw.
The blank was jointed for a flat face before each veneer was taken.
I cut them a spot-on 3/32" thick. I pencil marked the jointed face of each
veneer to ensure it would be glued touching the cores.
[*tip: a zero clearance set-up helps feed the thin veneers through the tablesaw*]
4_pc_leg_glueups.jpg

After the clamps, I licked another 1/32" pass off of each veneer
leaving precisely 1/16". The veneers turned out very discreet.
Only time will tell how durable they prove...

And so, from rough stock I have milled all the parts for my Morris ottoman.
I guess you could call them... wait for it...
otto parts! (aah groaner)

The sides feature upper and lower rails which will capture slats.
The front and back are single wider rails.
The ottoman leg veneers were flush trimmed riding on a bearing at the router table.
All will be joined with traditional mortise and tenons.
otto-parts.jpg

Thanks for looking,
on we roll,
Walt

ps hope you get some shop time

[Walt Caza]

Hi Everyone,
Hope you got some shop time...
I did, and mortised my ottoman legs.
It can be a handful pushing 1/2" mortises right through thick white oak.
Nice chips off the auger, into my pine backer. no smoke- no blue.
The gunk in the mortises is parafin wax, which I use for hollow chisel
lube, and also to quiet the shrill screeching which makes me cringe!
punched-leg.jpg

Classic triangle markings helped me keep my parts straight.
Everything gets cut being mindful of it's position in the final ottoman.
Entry pokes are taken from the exposed outer side of the leg...
because exit pokes are vulnerable to wicked tear-out.

triangle-marks.jpg
Keen eyes may spot my 1/16" thin leg veneers. very discreet

A dozen mortises poked all the way through the legs will mount all six rails.
Experience on my mortiser seems to have helped me clean up my results.
I would have to say I struggled with the machine when I first got it.
My early results were disappointing, but are better now.
12-thru-mortises.jpg

Next shoptime I need to make another dozen mortises, but blind this time,
for the ottoman slats.
play safe,
Walt

[Glenn Clabo]

Keep on keeping on Walt. Looks like you're back to having some fun.

[Dean Karavite]

Hello All,

I am really jumping in here late and there is not a chance I will catch up, but I am very interested in building a Morris chair. Some day, perhaps 7 months from now, I will sit in it and read a book or, even better, a woodworking magazine.

Can I ask a question please. Does anyone know of a good QS white oak source in/near Philly? I live in Northwest Philly and there is one hardwood dealer nearby, but their prices are excessive. There is a lower priced mill about 40 minutes away, but they do not have anything thicker than 4/4. I am willing to drive a bit. I see Hearne Hardwoods mentioned in other posts - maybe that is the place for me?

Thanks in advanced,

Dean

[gary Zimmel]

Good to here you may jump in and build a chair Dean.

Can't really help you on the prices of QSWO in the Philly area
but I do know what pricey QSWO is.
Up here in Alberta I pay dearly for it compared to a lot of our fellow Creekers out east and in the US.
For me I was able to get stock that had great ray fleck in it which I was looking for.
So paying top dollar for it went away when the chairs and ottos were done and the ray fleck jumped out...

Make sure you keep us all up to date on your build!

[Dean Karavite]

Thanks Gary, I might post the wood dealer question on another thread, but that certainly seems to be the place to go around here. My friends get this sort of glazed look when you mention "Hearne."

I went ahead and ordered the book and a copy of the plans. I also read pages 1 -8 of this thread and I think I picked up at least a dozen tips that will save me heart ache. I plan on reading the rest. Has anyone seen the article in FWW on making a Morris Chair? I'm sure most have, I just need to catch up on the threads.

My main concern is having an adequate bandsaw and my skills/tools for making tenons. I have an old 12" Walker Turner band saw, but I think a tip from FWW magazine on making a Morris Chair will help - he suggests making initial cuts on the table saw, then resawing the remainder on the BS. I think this just may work for the arm laminations. I'm wondering if I should get a tenoning jig too.

Does anyone mind if I put out my tool list here? Things I have and don't have? I'd appreciate any suggestions on either must haves or work arounds for what I do have.

Have: Bosch table saw, 12" compound miter saw, 12" band saw, Festool saw, MFT, Festool sander, Festool router, Mortise Pal, PC router and small router table, jig saw, drill press with plenty of bits for both router and drill. On the hand tool side I have a bench, LN block plane, LN #4, LV low angle jack, a set of Pfeil bench chisels and card scrapers. Many clamps, but probably not enough.

Do not have: Jointer and planer, but can use a friends who is a pro carpenter (8" and 20"). He also has a drum sander, a 20" bandsaw and a Saw Stop cabinet saw I can use.

[Walt Caza]

Good Day All,
and I'm pleased to extend a warm welcome to Dean Karavite!
Sorry, I don't know which way the lumber wind blows in Philly.
Glad to hear your plans are on the way to you.
Ya, I read the recent FW mag with the Morris plans... another handsome version!

The bow arm plies are about 36" long by 5.5" wide.
If I may suggest an alternative technique:
Most tablesaws can cut to around 3 inches deep, meaning you could cut
most or even all the way through on the tablesaw.
Many advise not sawing all the way through, and then cleaving apart
at the bandsaw or even a handsaw for safety.
A thin kerf blade will tax your saw less, and waste less spendy hardwood.

Before I owned a bandsaw, I recall leaving shy of 1/8th",
and pulling apart by hand when I was younger.
For my Morris legs, I cut my thin veneers to 3/32" thick at the tablesaw,
with a thin kerf rip blade and a zero clearance table insert.
I got the idea from Gary Z., a benefit of our group build.
Further dressing once mounted, left my caps at just 1/16" and very discreet. Thanks GZ.

The stock you use for your arms will determine your resaw options.
Myself, I tried bending an arm with white glue and 3 plies of 3/8" thick.
Taken from 8/4" stock, this yielded 9/8" thick arms, and maybe
a quarter inch of springback.
I won't make you skim back through this sprawling thread to find my posting.

I did not use that arm, but instead bent 4 plies of 5/16" thick and used
UF glue from WoodCraft.
This yielded arms of 1.25" thick with just a bit of springback.
Yes, I made my arms thicker than the Wood mag. plans called for...
either way,
the hot ticket for mating the bow arms to the upper side rail is
to trace the actual arm bend for layout.
[***this just in... credit for the hot ticket idea, and a tip of the hat to David Fortin, from post #130 of Morris chair thread]
This allows the bow arm to meet the rail in a less-stressed joint,
rather than horsing the sprungback bowarm to join the more-arched rail.

By taking plies for each arm from the same 8/4" board,
I achieved very discreet ply joints when viewing the bowarm sides.
Afterall, it's the same board... just missing a few bandsaw kerfs.
Jointing the arm blank before each veneer was resawed from it,
gave a good side to help dress the other side.
(and suggests you might do better at your friends shop with large bandsaw and jointer)

The Wood plans call for the slats to be mounted into a groove with lil filler blocks.
Myself I preferred to go with traditional m&t for my entire chair.
Also, many of our group builders went with blind tenons and false caps
to create the look of poke-through tenons.
I'd guess the m&t work will be your greatest challenge Dean.

I used a hollow chisel mortiser, but there are many work-arounds...
such as drillpress and chisel, or router and chisel the mortise square.
Tuning tenons can be accomplished many ways as well...
I used shoulder plane, and homemade sanding sticks. (link to that thread)
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=90975

Yep, your concern about enough clamps is valid.
The Wood mag. paper plans show a photo of the arm bent around
the arm bending form, with a pair of clamps at each end.
Gary Z. warned me to go nuts with clamps...
and somewhere early in this thread is a pic of my approach.
Rather than the 4 clamps from the photo, I used maybe 26 K-bodies!

It is not only important to get the plies to lay down on the bending form,
but also that there are no gaps between the plies.
There is a flat at the arm fronts, where your hands would rest if sitting.
I started clamping at this end at the flat, and worked to the other end.
I suspect clamping the middle of the arm first might have worked better?

UF glue offers a longer open time for such a stressful glue-up,
and also dried hard and does not creep for less springback.
The ProGlue I used, however, is chocolate brown!
It worked out fine on my stained and finished chair.

Working with rough stock will want a jointer and planer,
so you may spend some quality time in your friends shop?
His drum sander would prove handy to dress your thin bow arm plies,
and also your leg veneers... hmmm, wish I had one!

I said at the start Dean, that this not a race... so, no need to catch up.
Run your own race, and do your own thing!
Enjoy the journey, heck, take the scenic route...
and take us along for the ride, too!

Please give us a peek, when you score your lumber...
we look forward to your show-and-tell!
hope you get some shop time,
be well,
Walt

[Brad Wood]

Boy Walt, you really like to type don't you?

So, I'm a little late to the game, but better than never I suppose. My wife saw the Morris chair on the cover of the last issue of FWW and she like it. I mentioned to her a about two weeks ago that I'd like to replace two chairs in our living room with a pair of them and at least one ottoman.
Fast forward two weeks and we had a discussion this past weekend about the project...so, plans are that I am going to do two Morris chairs, and matching couch, love seat, coffee table, end tables, and another table for use as a TV stand... whew, I've got my big projects all lined up.

I probably wont' get started on the first chair until next Spring (I know, long time out, but I have to save my pennies for the wood stock).... besides, now that my dining table is almost done, I have to spend some time on a few other smaller projects I've had lined up.
Haven't decided on wood yet, we may go a different direction than QSWO.

I just ordered the Wood Mag book and will likely order the plans as well (I like to over prepare). I also ordered a book on band saws. I figure I've got between now and Spring to get comfortable with what the project will entail, and to get my fairly new band saw dialed in for quality resaw results.

So, perhaps I'll be the caboose in this Morris chair train.

[Darrell Bottoms]

Hey guy's!

Just found this thread and it's taken quite a while to read through and digest. I'm really contemplating this build with a different wood species other than QSWO.

I've got an abundance of red oak and seem to recall someone contemplating building this chair in it. Got any pics? I've also got some beautiful spalted Pecan that I'm thinking to using for either laminate, or maybe some inlay.

Any thought's?

Thanks!

[Brad Wood]

Hi Walt,
Thank you for your replies to my questions about how much wood is required to put one of these chairs together.

I do have a question. In your post to my question you said it would be good to get 5/4 stock so I can resaw and get two 1/2" slats... you also said the original plans call for 3/8" and you went up an 1/8 on purpose.... that all make sense.

There was another post after you where someone put a link to a book and the sample pages show the cut list they have for the project. This cut list says 1 1/16" for the back slats and 3/4" for the side slats.
This is quite a bit different than your report... Do you just chalk this up to different designs?

Here is the link to the book
http://books.google.com/books?id=OMEJjUVtbwwC&pg=PA83&lpg=PA83&dq=arts+and +crafts+footstool&source=bl&ots=WE7GDQlOMl&sig=As-IHl3H5Uu-Vv5Ue02UPWJpAH8&hl=en&ei=1vqrSuuTN4S6NZqKlPIN&sa=X &oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=10#v=onepage&q =ar ts%20and%20crafts%20footstool&f=false

Thank you



Note: I originally posted this question to Walt privately, not for any particular reason. He suggested making it a public conversation, which I certainly have no problem with. After contemplating the question and his answer, which will follow, I must believe the information is either a type of some sort.

[Walt Caza]

Hi Brad,
I thought we could chat this topic within the Morris thread,
both for input from... and possible benefit to... other members.

The link gives only partial info:
The backrest frame stiles and rails in that example are 1 and 1/16" thick.
To make the back slats, better referred to as splats, the same thickness as the frame that holds them... is curious at best.

I did much homework on this stuff...
and cannot recall seeing slats as thick as their frame?
Not sure if it is an authentic A&C detail?
Perhaps someone else could weigh-in on that?

At any rate, I prefer my slats thinner than the frame.

From that link I cannot find more info on the side slats.
But I'd prefer all the slats on the same chair to match?
Yes, they are in separate slat galleries.

And ya, you could argue that the side frame slats will remain more visible,
while the backrest slats will be hidden by the cushion, from the front anyway.
But I prefer all slats on the whole chair to be of the same thickness.

Could be a typo, which are all too common in such plans.(?)
Or, as you say, maybe just an alternative approach?
* Maybe it was intended to accomodate the back cushion with a flat bearing surface? *
The rules are, there are no rules.
Do as you please, and give us a peek please!

I hope this thread, while huge and unwieldy...
would prove more helpful than plans from a book or magazine.
Kicking such questions around is on-point.

You just can't beat actual builders sharing from the sawdust-filled trenches!
hope you get some shop time,
w

ps Brad, a pecan Morris chair sounds intriguing!

[Brad Wood]

So, I got the book and perused the chair plans. I'm excited. I wish I didn't have to wait until what will likely be Spring '10 before I get started. I'm actually going to do bookcases first (long story. bottom line is if I don't, LOML will go to IKEA :O )

I do have a question. In looking at one of the detail drawings, why is the seat rail angled? In the picture, it looks like the top of the seat frame is curved. I'm pretty sure my mind is picturing the perspective of the detail correctly (looking down the length of the back rail).???

[gary Zimmel]

Hi Brad

Good to hear you have the book and plans.
The cleats to hold the seat frame are cut at 7 degrees to make the slope from front to back.
The plan calls for the seat frame its self to be just a rectangle per say.
Some of the builders were a bit more critical and made the front and back of the seat frame 7 degrees also.
This fills the gap at the top of the seat frame to the front stretcher.
Just one of the little things one adds or changes on the plans.
Looking forward to your start...

[Walt Caza]

why is the seat rail angled? In the picture, it looks like the top of the seat frame is curved???

Hi Brad,
Glad to hear you got your chair plans.
I was stirred-up when I got mine too!

Not sure what you are asking about?
As Gary Z. said, the seat frame is flat, and mounts on cleats on the
front and back rails.
The cleats are offset to provide about 7 degrees of seat slope for comfort.

I built mine with front and back rails a little wider...
so that I could rip matching bevels to the seat angle...
and leave no gaps at the front and back of the mounted seatframe.(pics of this earlier in thread)
Not visible with a seat cushion in place, but I always strive to build my best.
I expect my chair to outlast me by 100 years, easy.

Also, the front chair rail has a large chamfer along the outside top edge.
This is where the back of your legs would make contact with the rail
when seated. Again, another effort to ensure comfort.
Who wants to spend time, effort and material to build a chair that's not gonna wind up comfy!

If this does not clarify, please elaborate on your question...
we'll be glad to help!
Perhaps a page number of the diagram in question would get us on the same page?
see you in the sawdust,
Walt