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Chair fix

Posts

Chair fix

#1

Chair fix

jim_reed@marietta

>This is not exactly a hand tool project, but my hands sure got tired doing it. I am fixing an old chair for a friend. Thought it would be simple. Chucked some walnut (the chair is mahogany) in the lathe and went to town. I got way too much vibration because the piece was too thin. Needed a steady rest. I used a drawknife and a LN scrub plane to shape most of the spindle in the lathe (motor off). Then had to finish up with #60 SANDPAPER! Took about four hours!!! Even with all that, it ended up thick. I went as thin as I could & was afraid I was going to break it. Well, at least it is now a story for her to tell.


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Re: Chair fix

#2

Re: Chair fix

Greg B�tit, Vergennes, VT

>I had to look hard to find the fat one, and wouldn't have looked for it if you hadn't told us.

That's an interesting chair.

You could have made ithe spindle as thin as the originals if you:

1) Use the draw knife to make the work piece a square cross section to 'very' close to the final diameters. Drawing lines on the sides and shaving to them helps, working opposite sides in pairs to the correct dimensions.

2) Knock off the corners, making it an octagonal cross section.

3) Spoke shave to remove the facets as well as you can. I use a concave (side to side) spokeshave for this.

4)Scrape to make them smooth. A chairmaker's devil would also help. That's a scraper tool with a 5/8"-7/8" diameter blade (see picture).

Greg


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Re: Chair fix

#3

Re: Chair fix

Frank Mutchler in Colorado Springs

>Greg, how do you hold the rail when using the chairmaker's devil?

Re: Chair fix

#4

Shaving Horse

Greg B�tit, Vergennes, VT

>I use a shaving horse(or cooper's mare, shnitzelbank, bodger's bench). This is not a requirement for the method I described, there are many who hold the spindles in a bench vise.

Re: Chair fix

#5

Schnitzelbank *LINK*

Don Thompson, Cutler Ridge, South of Miami FL

>Did someone say shnitzelbank?


Schnitzelbank Song

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