Designing a dining carver chair

That's an interesting idea, Don. What do others think about this?

Regards from Perth

Derek

@Derek Cohen (in Perth, Australia),

I wonder how a Maloof-style joint would work here.

same concern with the tenons - I would be afraid to make four more of these and then have potentially a big project replacing the chairs again or trying to come up with something. 

the stretchers are a sound design, but they just make a chair look so much more common. 

The chairs in our dining set have stretchers, but they have runout similar to your maple in places and have broken and needed repair. The issue with them isn't size, they would be plenty robust (even in cherry) on my own chairs - it's lack of care with grain direction in chairs that are all solid. 

Wife wants chairs replaced, though she is insane about things (they have a few small marks from the kids). I'm contemplating making them similar to what we have (more common chairs, slat backs and stretchers) but just orienting the wood correctly as the table is plain - amish made watered down shaker, bought exactly at the time I started woodworking. 

what is it possible to adjust the style of the seats so that the fixture coming off of the seats is more "volcano" like with a strong root to the seat and a tenon connecting right at the leg?

the volcano would not be circular, of course, but more like an example ....looking at one from side profile in a 2 picture. This would also be easier to execute as there wouldn't be sharp transitions into the seat like there are.

Sometimes it is an ill-wind that blows good. I am now rather pleased I am remaking the seats as I have found better info on the original chair, and details of the seat design. I have the legs right but not the seat. 

In the mock up at the factory, the seat was screwed to the legs, but the final version used mortice-and-tenon. These joints are made very solid by a great deal of supporting mass around them. I plan to make the joints loose tenons for extra strength, but try and follow the original design in this regard. (At this stage it is a toss up whether I copy the arms or go with a design I think is more elegant).

Here is a video I found of the build:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5yLS-aoBXNI&ab_channel=yasuhiromurai



The chairs are sold in Oz for $3600 each.

Regards from Perth

Derek

just what I was thinking, though they put a hollow scoop in the sides which makes them look slimmer - nice touch. Not a fan of the through tenons - deep and hidden would look nicer, but I get that people like to see stuff like that sometimes. It's probably easier for them to get them through like that with jigs and ensure there's tight contact through and through so nothing becomes a point of weakness. 

Otherwise, those are quite nice - there's nothing weak on them, but there's also nothing fat. the contours at the front, back and sides of the seat pan are elegant. 

I think you can calculate what you spend per hour pretty easily and justify making them, even without counting satisfaction points.

I vote for the DC09 jazz rendition. Frankly, when I saw the tongue depressor tenons scheme wayback my gut started twisting and I had to step away from watching until now. I am glad I held back until the [interim]  end ..... Go for it. 

I am not sure how rock maple works for firewood. It's not common where I live. As a cheapskate I would splice in repair stock and move on.

You might enjoy learning CNC, too. [Just kidding...]

it's excellent firewood. I've never heard it called rock maple other than for guitar necks, though. Everything is sensational sounding when the wood is described in guitars, though. 

presumably this is acer saccharum.

Rock Maple is the preferred name in Oz for Hard Maple and Sugar Maple. Both are Acer Saccharum.

Regards from Perth

Derek

this is retailed all over australia, or just WA? It's an interesting choice for hand tool work - as discussed, it has a "blunting" effect on hand tools that isn't really noticed on power tools. I guess it may burn easy (too long since I had a circular blade touch it). 

it's a good canvas for color, though, and should feel nice for guests touching the chair. 

George used to talk about liking it for planes, and it does make a smooth feeling plane, but it doesn't wear as well as beech does, and it's a bit lively transmitting vibrations. 

I'll defer to the chair people if we have a better wood in the states for chairs (excluding hickory, which I'm sure would work well here but is a bit too rustic looking). 

I'd like to make chairs out of beech if it was more widely sold here - most folks at my house aren't woodworkers and wouldn't recognize it to be the same thing that shows up on plywood from ikea quite often. 

Beech (both american and euro) chisels, saws...well, maybe not saws, scrapes, planes and spokeshaves a little more nicely. it's "smooth" to a chisel edge going cross grain rather than resistive.

Hi David

The Beech you are familiar with is not available in Australia (unless imported). What we have is "Australia Beech", which is similar looking. That's the thing - many timbers (woods) are given names in Oz because they resemble those in another country. 


"Also known as Myrtle Beech or Tasmanian Myrtle, Australian Beech grows mainly in eastern Victoria and Tasmania. It has got no real relation to European Myrtle. "

Another example is Tasmanian Oak ... "three species of eucalypts, which grow in the mountainous regions of Tasmania, Australia. The first is Alpine Ash, which grows in higher altitudes; the next is Mountain Ash, which grows in wetter areas; and then there is Messmate which grows mostly in wet forests but can be found in drier areas as well. Although referred to as oak, you may have gathered that it is not actually of the oak family. "

The reason I have chosen Hard Maple (let's call it that rather than Rock Maple) is we like its paleness (which contrasts so well against Jarrah flooring), plus it is a hard wood, with a silky texture and takes detail very well. I have built several pieces of furniture from this, as well as a complete kitchen. 








After these chairs I plan a new diningroom table in Hard Maple and Jarrah.

Regards from Perth

Derek

I've always called--sugar, hard, rock-- Rock Maple. A. saccharum. We had a nearly 15lb glass light shade fall onto my moms rock maple dining table, edge on, and only produce a tiny mark in the wood. The only mark.  A smooth surface is great for food contact. Your choice of timber is good.

I think I have equated the common names to function. Although the prettiest, Rock maple doesn't grow well in western US. I wonder how it performs in AU. Norway Maple (A. platanoides) with drier habit, may be a better choice down under. Want some seeds?

Another video of the DC09 chair by the Scandinavian–Japanese duo Inoda + Sveje in 2011.

https://vimeo.com/438408781

Regards from Perth

Derek

Continued in new topic...