Chairmaking
Simplified
24 Projects using
Shop-made Jigs
by
Kerry Pierce
Hardcover
220 x 280mm
191pp
Published by Popular Woodworking Books, Ohio USA
R.R.P.$39.90
ISBN 978-1-55870-827-3
New Lebanon Stool
Splint-Back Bar Stool
Arts & Crafts Stool
New Lebanon #5
Tape-Back
Chair
New Lebanon #6
Slat-Back
Arm Chair
New Lebanon
Transitional
Rocker
New Lebanon #1 Tape-and-Slat-Back
Rocker
As reviewed in The Australian Woodworker Issue 143
Chairs will always fascinate the woodworker - partly, perhaps, because of the universal demand for them, but mainly because of the careful design and construction necessary to ensure that the finished chair is comfortable and durable.
The craft of making chairs is generally considered complex and books on the subject can sometimes be rather difficult to read.
The author of this book, a chairmaker for almost 30 years, sets out to make the process less intimidating.
'I decided to re-think the jig landscape from the ground up', he says in his Preface, 'stripping it down so that you won't need to spend 40 hours building jigs to construct chairs that take only 20 hours to build'.
He points out that the methods and jigs described in his book are the result of not only his own experience as a chairmaker but also his years as a chairmaking instructor at the Marc Adams School of Woodworking in Franklin, Indiana (USA).
It is probably only fair to point out at this stage that Kerry Pierce makes what many would call traditional chairs, eg. woven seated chairs and rockers, Windsor chairs and, indeed, a variety of chairs for which some of the components are usually shaped with a drawknife or other traditional tool.
The book begins with chapters on Organising the Chairmaking Process, choosing materials and relevant aspects of woodturning.
The first hands-on chapter deals with Making Arms and here the reader is introduced to the drawknife.The next chapter discusses bending chair parts and the next delves into the making of accurate mortise and tenon joints.
The next few chapters cover the weaving of seats and eventually the construction of simple chairs with rectangular seats. Chairs with trapezoidal seats come next, followed by chair after chair after chair, exploring further and further the multitude of variations possible.
This is a book for those woodworkers who are sincere in their quest to learn how to make chairs that work and that will last for decades if not generations.
Contents
Introduction
The Genesis Chair
Organizing the Chairmaking Process
Material selection
Sharpening Lathe Tools
Turning Chair Parts
Making Arms
Bending Chair Parts
Mortises and Tenons
Assembling Chairs
Finishing Chairs
Weaving Splint Seats
Weaving Shaker-Tape Seats
Weaving Rush Seats
Chairs
with Rectangular Seats
- Stools
- Doll's Rocker
- New Lebanon Stool
-
Splint-Back Bar Stool
- Arts & Crafts Stool
- Union Village Stools
Chairs
with Trapezoidal Seats
- New Lebanon #5 Tape-Back Chair
- New Lebanon #6
Slat-Back Arm Chair
- New Lebanon #6 Slat-Back Side Chair
- New Lebanon
Transitional Rocker
- New Lebanon #1 Tape-and-Slat-Back Rocker
- Union Village
Four-Slat Side Chair
- Union Village Two-Slat Dining Chair
- Union Village
Four-Slat Rocker
- Splint-Back Rocker (my design, one walnut, one maple)
-
Designing a Chair
- Gimson-style Arts & Crafts Arm Chair
- Clissett-style
Arts & Crafts Side Chair
- Country Side Chair with Tape Seat
Hancock Bench
Windsor Chairmaking 101: Mike Herrel's New Take
Windsor
Sack Back Chair
by Mike Herrel
- Fan-Back Side Chair
- Continuous-Arm
Rocker with Lumbar Support
- Writing-Desk Chair
Mark Soukup: The Authentic Eye
Carving
A Windsor Arm
by Mark Soukup
Glossary
Index
Union Village Four-Slat Side
Chair
Union Village Two-Slat Dining
Chair
Union Village Four-Slat Rocker
Splint-Back Rocker
Gimson-style Arts & Crafts
Arm Chair
Clissett-style Arts & Crafts
Side Chair
Country Side Chair with Tape
Seat
Hancock Bench