A couple of recent chairs...

[Brandon Shew]

Here's a couple of chairs that I have built recently. The first is walnut, the 2nd is mahogany.








Excuse the "halo" effect thrown off by the malamine work surface.

[Jamie Buxton]

Those are interesting designs.

Coupla questions....

What prevents the first chair from collapsing sideways? (Sideways when you're sitting in the chair.) Is there structure hidden from view in this pic?

There's a pin in the joint where the two legs and the arm come together. I understand that one. But there also appears to be another pin a couple inches lower. What's that about?

How did you carve out the seat in the second chair?

[Clara Koss]

those chairs look very new yorkish.... especially the top one.... very nice... i can see the top one in fire engine red, mustard yellow, puke green...very modern and sophisticated...not everything wood has to be wood color right???? post some more soon....

[Brandon Shew]

Those are interesting designs.

Coupla questions....

What prevents the first chair from collapsing sideways? (Sideways when you're sitting in the chair.) Is there structure hidden from view in this pic?

There is a horizontal stabilizer on each leg about 1 1/2" below the seat with M&T to each leg.

There's a pin in the joint where the two legs and the arm come together. I understand that one. But there also appears to be another pin a couple inches lower. What's that about?

The joint where the front leg meets the arm is a finger joint and I have pinned it to add stability were someone to put undue stress on the back of the arms. The back leg is joined to the front leg and the arm via loose tenons. I pegged the tenon in the front leg (and will probably also pin the one in the back leg) to keep the joint from coming apart under stress.

those charis look very new yorkish...

I prefer the modern style of furniture and this piece was a test in some ways to see if I could both design something along those lines as well as to execute it. (It was certainly a test of my joinery skills.) Aesthetically I think that it came out well, but future versions will have some changes.

How did you carve out the seat in the second chair?

With a router and a bowl bit. First I used a template to round off the inside of the back. Then I put the bit in the router mounted in my extension wing and carved out the rest. IMO it looks a little too mechanical in its execution. Next time I'll do more of the work by hand.

[Jeffrey Makiel]

Brandon...those chairs are boss!

-Jeff

[Mark Singer]

Very nice designs and nice workmanship. How comfortable are they?

[Danny Thompson]

Love 'em! Particularly the top one. I would love to see more pics.

[John Thompson]

Very nicely done and quite beautiful. I am not a fan of modern for actual use in my own home at this point.. but they struck me as very eye-catching from the start. My first wife was very cosmopolitan and she would probably offer to buy them as she was very "uptown City" oriented.

Again very attractive results you have created...

Sarge..

[Carl Eyman]

Good work!

[Brandon Shew]

How comfortable are they?

Therein lies the problem with the first one that will result in some design changes. What's the point of having a chair if it isn't comfortable to sit in? The back rest hits the back a little too low for my comfort. It should also be angled a little as well (maybe even curved).

The 2nd one (the more Asian inspired design) is fine. I sat for a few long dinners in it at our kitchen table when the "outlaws" came to stay with us last week. I wouldn't want to spend 4 hours in it (or any other chair), but an hour or so was no problem. If I make this one again, I will probably integrate the seat into the frame structure (which I think would work better for the overall aesthetic), and probably increase the height of the back rest about an inch or so to provide a little more support.

[Adam Burgess]

Very nice. the first chair you can just call art if its not comfortable , put it in a corner and the last guy to the party has to sit in it.

how did you carve the seat in of the seconded chair?

[Brandon Shew]

how did you carve the seat in of the seconded chair?

I carved it w/ a router and a bowl bit (the lazy way). It turned out OK, but next time I will do more of thecarving by hand - I think I'll get a better result that way.