So, before teardown and final sanding, wanted to get some shots of the pile of sticks. It's starting to look like a real chair!
I don't know about the back. It may or may not survive any abuse, and though it's not flimsy, it's about 1/2 as sturdy as it was intended, so it may be rebuilt/swapped out depending on how it feels when you sit in it. Also, in retrospect, I should have built the chair and ottoman instead of two chairs. It seemed like a good idea, and I know the second chair will actually turn out better than this one (learning curve, right?) but it would have been pretty nice to have an ottoman - looks like this chair needs one. Also, the LOML is hinting strongly about rockers for the second chair.
In general, though, I like the looks! The proportions are nice, the Alder looks fine, and it looks like it may fit alright next to that walnut/alder table sitting next to it (I made it a little while ago out of some scraps, but it's been in the shop, waiting for some new home in the house). The color on the skirts and legs of the table is what this would turn out like if I didn't stain it, and I don't think I will. It may turn out VERY blonde, but I think it'll be alright.
A few things I noticed as I was putting the final pieces together:
Turning your own dowels is well worth it - it was about 25 mins. work, and they stand out! One scrap of walnut, and they were done. I put a little BLO on them to bring out the color, and they fit nicely, look great. Just another little touch you can say you did...
I don't like the clamping/jig system they had you use for the arm holes. Neat idea, but in practice, it's a little hard to get set up to 90/11 degrees on the back. It would have been easier to measure, (even using their jig) and I would have been right on. I'm going to have to re-turn the left-side top pin a speck larger to make up for the slight difference.
The 4 slats in the back make for a simple centering, because you can just cut the two center spacers to fit, instead of 4 matching ones on the outside corners as you needed to with the sides. As you can tell, though it's symmetrical, there's a noticeable difference between the center space and the outside edges. Nice trick, but maybe I should have stuck with the 4 outer ones so there wasn't an exaggerated space in the center.
The slats for the seat seem weak. Maybe I should have beefed them up a bit to 1/2"? Not sure if it was intentional for the 3/8 to seem "softer" for a more comfortable sit, but I think I prefer stable over soft. I haven't yet had a seat in the chair - I'll wait until the cushions get done.
Speaking of that, has anyone poked around and considered material/leather colors for the cushions? I hate to "cheap out" on that, but a pair of chairs in full leather could easily top $1,000. Are there leather-look vinyls or Naugahydes (or whatever that stuff is) that are functional and look nice? I'm a bit green around the gills from the thought of using leather in the first place, but I'd like this chair to be around a few years...
How's everyone else coming along?
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