more chair stuff

[Ajcoholic]

I have a set of 8 dining room chairs to make (to go along with a table I am also making) soon.

When I do a new style of chair, the first thing I do is lay it out on paper, and plywood to get the correct proportions. Then, I start cutting material to mock up the design and refine it.

This is the first step... I cut the seat, and front and back legs on my Shopbot Buddy (in birch as I had some off cuts left and its a lot cheaper than walnut).

The crest rail (back) I just finished before the end of the day. It is a compound curve, curved both side to side and also bottom to top - with Aspire, that is so easy to do! Its taken a little trial and error but I am learning yet how easy Aspire is to do these seemingly complex 3D shapes.

It is VERY comfortable, but I am unhappy with the overall look of the chair. Too heavy looking. I am at a good place right now, the proportions are good, in terms of how a dining chair should be (proper height, comfortable, good lower back support) so it is just making it look more refined.

Next step is to make some cosmetic changes (as well, I want to widen the seat and taper it more front to back), make revisions to my programs/cut files and once that is done cut another prototype - hopefully which will be the one I show the customer to get the OK to go ahead with the 8.

The Shopbot makes prototyping much faster and much easier than making patterns, cutting parts by hand, making new patterns, etc. It has really allowed my chairs to be better made, faster and more identical to one another.

AJC

[Ajcoholic]

more pics along the way as I progress. I am hoping tomorrow I will get some time to work on it. If not, next week.

AJC

[t_vandemark]

Now that is one good lookin chair.

[Brian Harnett]

I think the heaviness comes from the back xpc I would eliminate the 3d shape on the back and curve the bottom to lighten it up.

Nicely constructed.

[Ajcoholic]

Well you have to start somewhere... Sometimes what I see design wise in my head, doesnt always look good in real life.

I will definitely be playing around with the back. It might take me 3 more to get the right shape... who knows.

It is hard to get the right feel for the shape with the cell phone camera pics as well, they tend to distort things when you take a pic at an angle.

The front of the back is OK. I agree the rear is currently a mess, and also I think I want to extend the legs up further behind the back for better support.

I might just curve the rear of the back to match the front (its a 22" radius side to side) and then the notch in the rear legs where the back sits would not be a compound cut.

AJC

[nat_wheatley]

Andrew,

Great looking chair. Thanks for posting, I always enjoy seeing your work.

Nat

[Ajcoholic]

Well today I fooled around with the original chair changing the shape of the legs and seat. I am leaning towards having the front legs transition from square to round at the bottom, which I will do quickly on my lathe.

Running a heavier roundover on the underside of the seat lessens the weight of the seat.

I also ran a larger (1.5" wider and 1"deeper) seat from walnut, and I think it will suit the dining style chair better, your legs have a little more room.

The back, instead of leaving the rear side flat I ran a contour to match the front. I think this will turn out much better.

More shaping next week, and hopefully nail this thing down.

AJC

[jerry_stanek]

I like the softer look of the first chair back

[Ajcoholic]

I like the softer look of the first chair back

Jerry,
I will be shaping the back... I just didnt have a chance to get to it today. The top will be sloped like the first one, not quite sure what else I will do yet. Need some time too mull over it.

SOmetimes I get my best ideas when I am just doing other things. Then I jot down ideas for the next time Im in the shop.

I priced out the materials today also... I buy my 8/4 select black walnut for about $4.50 per board foot. I mark up my materials 65%, and there is between 16 and 18 board feet per chair with waste. So the materials cost is about $150.

AFter I have the design down, I figure there will be about 5 hours per chair plus another hour for finishing. My target selling price is in the $550 per chair range. Not bad for a custom made, solid walnut chair.

The 8 chairs, and table will be in the $6,500 to $7,000 range.

[dlcw]

Andrew, your work is beautiful, even in the prototype stage. I look forward to seeing the finished set. Are you going to do 2 captains chairs and 6 regular chairs for this set?