The Great Morris Chair project

[Mike Leung]

Ben,
The height of the curve to the ends at 1 3/4". The drawings called for a 36" radius and I made my form a 33" radius to account for some springback. Here is a pic showing the profile. The springback is about 1/4" or so. I am thinking about making a jig to cut the tenons after I finish bending and cleaning up the pieces.

Mike

curved_back_top_view.jpg

[Brian William]

Well it's completed, at last.

[Jerry Wervey]

Looks sharp, nice job on the photo journal cushions with the 2 buttons and the way that the cusion is setting has the apperrance of a smile.
Jerry

[James Brown]

The upholsterer works about as slowly as I do, but she charges more. Here's my chair with the cushions. She wasn't comfortable making them rounded per the Wood Mag plans, but I'm pleased with how they came out. If I were doing it again, I don't think I'd use the super firm automotive high density foam in the back.

My monitor is out of whack, so I can't tell whether the colors are accurate at all ... the light in the room is inadequate. Anyhow ... it's a wrap.

[David Ezell]

The Finished Product: Except for cushions, the two chairs are completed. Very pleased with the outcome of wood dye covered by shellac then two coats of water based clear acrylic. All applied with a HVLP sprayer. The upholsterer has had the cushions for a month now. We decided to do the bottom cushions first then measure again to get correct height on the back cushions.

[David Ezell]

Cushions back from upholsterer and came out great. Am glad to have had the professional tackle this. He lobbied for squared cushions with edge beads, but was talked into more traditional (I think) rounded look. His argument was that the cushions would turn "dumpy" soft & shapeless, over use and time. Oh well, long as it's still comfortable.

Am pleased with the outcome of the dye, shellac and acrylic. Will use this again on future projects.

Cheers

[Walt Caza]

Good Day to the Creek,
Just a quick update for Morris chair thread followers...
last I posted, I was working on parts for my matching ottoman.
I found these pics from August 2009.
otto-rail-grain-correction.jpg otto-punched-leg.jpg
otto-12-thru-mortises.jpg otto-parts-for-Morris.jpg

I have not touched my chair since then, due to illness.
I dabbled a bit with my new lathe last fall, but ultimately and despite
my dogged determination, have not been able to play in my workshop for a lost year.

My thoughts and hopes dare drift back to my messy shop in every quiet moment.
Chronic illness has been a colourful and challenging adventure, to say the least.
No one knows when I might be able to return to the chips and sawdust,
but I aim to get there as soon as I am able.

I want to thank all contributors to this shared build and thread.
Peeking in on it, now and again, has been good for me.
It has been a lighthouse in a dark and difficult storm.

I had no way of knowing how prophetic this old posting would be:

06-23-2009, 3:22 PM
Walt Caza
Contributor
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Windsor, ON
Posts: 630
Blog Entries: 3


...tumbleweeds
Good Day to All Creekers,
This thread has been quiet for a while.
Life does not always go the way we planned.
At any rate, I am aiming to resume building my chair...
hopefully within the next two weeks.

It seems that as a hobby woodworker, all the things that pop up in life,
do so at the expense of shop time.
I imagine many wish they could find more hours to play in the sawdust?

I'm gonna blow the dust off of my half-chair next week.
There are tumbleweeds blowing through my ghost-town, I mean, workshop.
It's gonna be quite a trick to figure out what I was gonna do next?

I did not see my long layover coming...
but I kinda wish I had left myself a note.
(Dear me: handtune the backrest tenons and do a dry test fit before glueing)

Hope to see you in the sawdust,
and soon!
Walt

ps Anyone building a Morris chair in progress?
__________________________________________________ __________

If only we had a crystal ball to help us see around the next corner.
Perhaps it is better the way things unfold as surprises?
Once again, I did not foresee my long layover coming.
I could not have guessed that my tools would lay where I last used them for a whole year.

The physical challenges of chronic illness are rivalled only by the mental and emotional challenges.

I plan to catch myself up on all the posts to this thread that I have missed.
Discretely lurking has deprived me of seeing many shared chair photos.
My matching ottoman has been pushed to the backburner,
but I do hope to respond to the many new postings since I was last here.
Someday I'd like to compile a list of all our Morris chair builders.

If someone is important to you, go hug them.
If something is important to you, go do it.
Tomorrow is promised to no one!
Sooner or later, we all fall down, and dust blows away...

sincerely,
Walt

ps: I never imagined that my 'sick Walt' avatar would linger sooo looong.

pss: my Morris chair sits in my workshop, just as I left it...
upholstered cushions still to come (sigh)
[come on Gary, when are you gonna finish your cushions?]

[Pat Barry]

Walt. Hope you overcome your illness in short order so you can back to your woodworking. I have learned much from your Morris Chair project. Thanks for initiating this project and building the momentum for it. It surely touched a chord within this woodworking community. I'm looking forward to referencing the tips and techniques I have learned here from you and the others on future projects. I hope to try my hand at my own Morris chair within the next year. I purchased plans for one several years ago and your project re-kindled my interest. We all appreciate your efforts and your craftsmanship. Keep the faith. Good luck.

[Ben Davis]

Walt. Hope you overcome your illness in short order so you can back to your woodworking. I have learned much from your Morris Chair project. Thanks for initiating this project and building the momentum for it. It surely touched a chord within this woodworking community. I'm looking forward to referencing the tips and techniques I have learned here from you and the others on future projects. I hope to try my hand at my own Morris chair within the next year. I purchased plans for one several years ago and your project re-kindled my interest. We all appreciate your efforts and your craftsmanship. Keep the faith. Good luck.

I agree with you Pat. This has to be the single best thread in the history of SMC.

[Shane Smith]

greetings from the 'NEW GUY' in British Columbia Canada. I stumbled across this great thread while searching for Morris Chair information. I have a good stack of cherry wood in my shop, I have downloaded the Wood Mag. plans, and I have read through this entire thread a couple times. You guys have done some terrific work and if I can produce a finished chair half as nice as those I've seen in this thread I'll be a very happy guy.

I have one question that I am seeking some input on. I expect that I am going to be the main user of this chair, and I am larger than 'average'. That is to say, around 210lbs and 6'5". I did read some builders' input that the finished chair is somewhat small. Can anybody recommend some modifications that could be made to the plan that would accommodate my rather lanky frame, without changing the overall nature/balance of the design? At this point I've contemplated either lengthening the legs an inch or two, or adding blocking under the seat cushion. Not sure if I should consider enlarging the overall plan, or just making the seat a tad higher.

Thanks in advance for your consideration.

Shane Smith
Prince George, British Columbia

[Cody Colston]

If only we had a crystal ball to help us see around the next corner.
Perhaps it is better the way things unfold as surprises?

I sure hope you are able to return to the shop soon, Walt. But, you're also correct in that maybe it is better if we don't know what's ahead. I don't know if you are/were a Country Music fan but the lyrics to Garth Brooks' song "The Dance" sort of echo your sentiments above.

And now I'm glad I didn't know
the way it all would end, the way it all would go
Our lives are better left to chance
I could have missed the pain but I'd of had to miss the dance

That's a lyrical way of saying it's better to have loved and lost than to never have loved at all.

Cheers,

[Rod Sheridan]

greetings from the 'NEW GUY' in British Columbia Canada. I stumbled across this great thread while searching for Morris Chair information. I have a good stack of cherry wood in my shop, I have downloaded the Wood Mag. plans, and I have read through this entire thread a couple times. You guys have done some terrific work and if I can produce a finished chair half as nice as those I've seen in this thread I'll be a very happy guy.

I have one question that I am seeking some input on. I expect that I am going to be the main user of this chair, and I am larger than 'average'. That is to say, around 210lbs and 6'5". I did read some builders' input that the finished chair is somewhat small. Can anybody recommend some modifications that could be made to the plan that would accommodate my rather lanky frame, without changing the overall nature/balance of the design? At this point I've contemplated either lengthening the legs an inch or two, or adding blocking under the seat cushion. Not sure if I should consider enlarging the overall plan, or just making the seat a tad higher.

Thanks in advance for your consideration.

Shane Smith
Prince George, British Columbia

Hi Shane, I have the ooposite problem, I'm short.

When I made my Morris chairs I adjusted the following

1) The seat height from the floor (don't want your knees under your nose, or pressure on the bottom of your legs at the front of the chair)

2) The distance from the back to the front edge of the chair (Proper back support, back of legs not agains the front edge of the chair, or too far forward of the front edge).

3) The height of the back of the chair

I suggest that you have someone measure you in a sitting position to determine the above 3 dimensions.

Spending some time making a 2 X 4 mockup can help, then calculate for cushion space.

Regards, Rod.

[Brent Ring]

Though I would add my recent effort here as well. Red Oak, Custom Stain and about 9 coats of wiped-on Waterlox. Not my choice for stain but it matched the furniture in my friends house. This was their project. Used the WoodSmith plans for this.

Lots of fun to do!

Compressed M Chair.JPGCompress2.JPGcompres3.JPG

[Bruce Page]

Brent, that is a beautiful chair worthy of its own thread!

[Russell Neyman]

Forgive me if I'm telling you something already covered in this thread (I'm too old and worn out to read 11 pages of posts) but one of the challenges is to create the bend in the arms without steam bending. I built a pair of the Morris Chairs years ago, and having that flat spot at the top of the arm looked nice and was a great place to put a drink. Here's a nice trick to achieve the "bent arm" look.

Take the arm stock (jointed flat on both top and bottom) and compute where you want the front leg to intersect it. This is the point where, traditionally, the arm angles to level. With a bandsaw, carefully cut the board edgewise, starting at the lower corner of the front edge, and going back to the intersection point. The wedge-shaped piece will fit nicely underneath the larger arm piece, and the grain pattern should be nearly invisible.

I whipped out a drawing, showing how this section of the arm can be done.

Morris Chair Arm.jpg