Modifying ladderback chair design *LINK*

Re: Modifying ladderback chair design

Jim Crammond in Monroe, Mi.

>Dave,

I've made one of these chairs and have the parts roughed out for four more. The chair is very comfortable the size it is.

In my opinion, I don't think making the back posts 6" longer would achieve the desired result. Adding six inches to the back without enlarging the rest of the chair proportionately would make it look odd.

The chair is smallish, more of a kitchen chair size then a dining room chair size, but like I said previously, it is very comfortable and I think you(and hopefully your wife) will get used to it.

Jim

mockup

Bill Houghton, Sebastopol, CA

>Do you have a neanderbuddy, so you can bandsaw out a mockup quickly? Get some cheap construction lumber (well...kind of an oxymoron these days) and see what one would look like.

Or go out and hunt-and-gather a refrigerator box and glue one up out of cardboard. Harder to sit in, but it would give you the idea for looks.

I recall cutting out ovals of particleboard for our coffee table, and setting them on top of plastic crates for height - using irreplaceable recycled "fumed" oak desk top lumber for the top, so I couldn't afford to make a mistake in the shape. Huge relief when I got the shape right.

Embarrassing admission: I did a mockup of a tripod table a couple of years back, using a cheap particleboard round top that LOML had purchased (you put a big tablecloth on it so the junky dowel legs are covered, and you can't tell it's a cheap piece of junk until you set a piece of paper on it and it shakes like The Big One has arrived here on the shaky left coast), with drywall screws holding the legs to a turned pedestal. Even now, it's sitting beside the sofa, covered by that same tablecloth, still a cheap piece of junk, but a lot sturdier.

Re: Modifying ladderback chair design

Larry Barrett

>Dave

You will be unhappy with the result if you proceed with your suggested solution, IMHO. What makes these chairs so comfortable is the location of the slats and how they fit your back. In Drew's design the lower one catches your lower back just right and gives it support, while the upper one allows you to lean back and still have support. Your suggested approach would result in the second slat in the same plane as the lowest one, preventing you from leaning back, while the third slat would likely be left hanging in the air because you couldn't lean back.

I have made several of these chairs; on an early one I inadvertently left the back legs an inch or so long, intending to trim them afterward I bent them. Got distracted and forgot, so the chair is an inch taller and the slats are an inch higher, and it is a lot less comfortable than other chairs. So small variations can make a big difference. A mockup, as suggested in another note, is a great idea. An alternative is to go to your local furniture store and try out chairs until you find one that is comfortable. Ignore how it is manufactured, but pay close attention to how the back is shaped; imagine how this chair would look if you made it following Drew's basic approach; take some measurements where the slats would be located.

You could also email Drew and ask for his thoughts.

Re: Modifying ladderback chair design

Sam Simpson

>Hi Y'all,

Dave, I mean no offense to anyone, but I disagree with those who say it should not be done. There is a perfectly simple way to achieve it. You add the third slat between the current two. Leave the bend exactly where it is. Leave the angle the same. Leave the size of the upper and lower slats the same. The thing that will change is the rotation of the back legs in relationship to each other. It will change only the angle at which the stretchers are installed. and that will be very slight. The result will be a chair with a higher back and almost no change in sitting or leaning dimensions and comfort.

Regards Sam Simpson.

Re: Thanks and comment

Dave Mount, northeastern MN

>Thanks to all for your input. As soon as the comments started to come in, I realized it was a little foolish to think that it would work that simply, either aesthetically or ergonomically.

Re: Sam's comment about adding a slat between the others (assuming I understood it correctly), I agree this would preserve the geometry of the back. The bend in the back posts of this chair is sharp and centered between the slats, so the mortises for the new center slat would be right in the tortured grain. Not that it would be impossible, but chopping a straight mortise across that would be substantially more challenging. But more significantly, I don't think this would change the overall "mass" of the chair, since it wouldn't be any taller.

Thanks again,

Dave