BuilderBill Posted May 18, 2014 Report Share Posted May 18, 2014 So where are you going with this? Marc and Aaron have given us a great starting point, are you going to go with the plans as published or vary in your choice of wood and style? Personally, I really like the look of the Stickley Metro Morris chair in walnut and cherry. I also like their Pasadena interpretation but the G&G style is a bit busy for my taste on this one. It seems to me like the Morris wants to be simpler, a few curves and a splay suits the basic design, IMHO. I've ordered the Bell Forest kit in cherry and have some walnut lying around waiting to be made into something, a Morris chair seems a worthy destination. Honestly, prior to this I would have considered making a Morris chair out of anything but fumed qswo a sacrilege worthy of burning at the stake. But my eyes have been opened and I seem to be more tolerant the older I get . Another decision to be made: Flat-sawn for the walnut legs or quartersawn? I have some air-dried 16/4 stock I could resaw and not-so-easily do the Stickley thing with the 4 mitered sides and the core. I also have enough good 8/4 stock on hand to do flat-sawn legs, it'd be a lot easier but the quartersawn legs would contrast nicely with the flat-sawn cherry side panels I think. What's your opinion? Where are you going with this one? Decisions, decisions. Looking forward to your thoughts. Best, Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhighlander Posted May 18, 2014 Report Share Posted May 18, 2014 Bill, in my opinion, quarter sawn legs look better from any angle. There is a video floating around here somewhere, in which Chris Schwarz demonstrates a technique for quarter-sawing your furniture legs from laminated flat-sawn stock. Much simpler than the 4-mitered sides technique. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barron Posted May 18, 2014 Report Share Posted May 18, 2014 The plans call for tapered legs, so the mitered technique will need to take that into account. The quarter sawn look may make it worth skipping the tapers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuilderBill Posted May 18, 2014 Author Report Share Posted May 18, 2014 Bill, in my opinion, quarter sawn legs look better from any angle. There is a video floating around here somewhere, in which Chris Schwarz demonstrates a technique for quarter-sawing your furniture legs from laminated flat-sawn stock. Much simpler than the 4-mitered sides technique. I looked around for that video for quite a while, never found it. Got a link? I did find a PWW pdf with a tip for getting quartersawn out of flatsawn by ripping on an angle but it'd have to be some heckuva thick flatsawn stock to get a 3" leg blank out of. I have some 16/4 walnut that's been air drying for 3 years, I was thinking I might rip some 5/4x4 off and do the traditional Stickley technique of mitering 4 side pieces onto a core. Of course that's if the grain is running right on the thick stock.... The plans call for tapered legs, so the mitered technique will need to take that into account. The quarter sawn look may make it worth skipping the tapers. The Metro chair has tapered and splayed legs but the look is awesome. Thank God they're only splayed front-to-back as far as I can tell from the pictures. I'm going to the local Stickley dealer sometime this week to see if they have one I can look at, that way I can tell for sure. It may be a little more extra work but that version of the chair is what I'm really thinking I want to see in the man cave. Mitering is no problem as long as the sides are thick enough to accommodate the 1/2" taper and the amount of splay, right? But the mortice and tenon at the top of the front legs and the arms will have to be offset to center the core, something I hadn't thought about but absolutely necessary for the core to be centered in the tenon. And that's why we do this, right? For the challenge, to take the skills to the next level, produce something you never thought you could. Any chair isn't an easy build, what's a detail or two added in here and there? Wow, I think I just talked myself into this.... Thanks for the feedback, keep it coming. Let's make this your Morris chair. Best, Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhighlander Posted May 19, 2014 Report Share Posted May 19, 2014 Bill, I couldn't find a link for that video, but it demonstrated the exact technique you mentioned. Three inch legs would be a stretch, but you don't have to rip the glue-up at a full 45* to get nice looking grain. I used this technique on a shaker end table last year, and only tilted the blade to between 25 and 30* to rip the legs. I managed to get 2" legs out of a 5/4 + 5/4 glue-up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric. Posted May 24, 2014 Report Share Posted May 24, 2014 I do like the look of the Metro, but I'm gonna keep my life simple and follow Marc and Aaron's design. I'm using walnut. I like how the traditional fumed QSWO looks on a Morris chair...but only in other people's houses. Walnut is a better fit for my living room. Almost as a rule, I try to use riftsawn lumber for legs so that they look the same on all four sides. I know there are clever ways around this, but the purist in me likes to use a single blank cut just right instead of clever ways around it. I'm still having trouble finding an upholsterer I have confidence in. Ironically I believe that will prove to be the most challenging part of this build. I'm starting to sweat it a little. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuilderBill Posted May 24, 2014 Author Report Share Posted May 24, 2014 I do like the look of the Metro, but I'm gonna keep my life simple and follow Marc and Aaron's design. I'm using walnut. I like how the traditional fumed QSWO looks on a Morris chair...but only in other people's houses. Walnut is a better fit for my living room. Almost as a rule, I try to use riftsawn lumber for legs so that they look the same on all four sides. I know there are clever ways around this, but the purist in me likes to use a single blank cut just right instead of clever ways around it. I'm still having trouble finding an upholsterer I have confidence in. Ironically I believe that will prove to be the most challenging part of this build. I'm starting to sweat it a little. The more I think about it I'm leaning away from(no pun intended) the splayed legs, the Morris is a tough enough build for my first chair and I'd be pretty much on my own when it came to the angles. Like your idea of rift-sawn stock for the legs, thanks. Beats heck out of mitering or veneering. I still intend to mix walnut with the cherry, maybe I can get lucky and be able to cut some rift stock large enough out of the 4x10s. If they're dry enough. Thanks, kiki! Best, Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coop Posted May 29, 2014 Report Share Posted May 29, 2014 Bill, You are doing only the legs in walnut? The reason for asking is that I have 300 bf or so of cherry that I have been air drying for almost 2 years and would like to use it. The problem is, when I had the mill slice the tree up, it all came out as 5/4. To do the legs in this, I would have to glue up 3 pieces and I'm not sure how that would look. I could buy 8/4 cherry but am afraid it wouldn't match the wood I have, in grain or color. The walnut sounds like a good contrast. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuilderBill Posted May 29, 2014 Author Report Share Posted May 29, 2014 KC, Doing the legs and side slats in the walnut and I think the corbels .If you download the Stickley Mission catalog and scroll to page 112 you'll see the best shot of the Metro Morris, the next page has some smaller pix. In the full-page shot it almost looks like the corbels are cherry but in the smaller pix they definitely are walnut. I'm not going to do the splayed legs but I like the contrast and the subtle curve on the bottom of the side rail and the more pronounced curve on the front rail. Take a look. Best, Bill. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coop Posted May 29, 2014 Report Share Posted May 29, 2014 I'm glad you sent this. This is the chair I liked best in Marc's "History & Design". Even like the material for the cushions as the room mine is going in has a dark leather couch. And your right about the walnut. I think I'm there on the wood Now if I can just farm out the laminating cause that's probably where I will screw up and waste a bunch of wood. This will be a first to try bending. Thanks Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nholderbein Posted June 10, 2014 Report Share Posted June 10, 2014 I'm interested in some opinions on simple design changes, particularly a few minor things that could be changed at the point where Marc currently is in his build. If you have seen the thread on my builds then you know I'm building 2 chairs and stools. I made the decision to build two based on circumstance and didn't really think things out. Last night I was browsing through Greene and Greene Masterworks, with a little extra attention on the chairs. What I noticed is that in the photos where you see multiple Morris chairs in a room, none match. There are matching chairs across different houses, maybe even different rooms...but you don't see 2 of the same chair in one room. I'm wondering if I should try to make each chair a little bit unique. I'm fairly new to this stuff, so I don't want to get too far from the plans. It seems like it would be fairly easy to do an alternate slat design. Maybe some kind of difference in the leg taper? I would appreciate some feedback on the subject of building matching chairs vs different chairs, as well as any ideas for opportunities for minor changes to the design. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tpt life Posted June 10, 2014 Report Share Posted June 10, 2014 You aren't Greene or Greene. Suit You. Don't attempt to clone every single detail. If you want matching chairs, no one has the right to tell you that you shouldn't want them. It will still be "inspired by" Greene and Greene. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nholderbein Posted June 10, 2014 Report Share Posted June 10, 2014 To clarify, I'm not trying to take this in a G&G direction at all. I'm not interested in bringing any G&G details into this design, the observation just happened come from a G&G book. I found a few more examples of the same outside of the G&G context. It's more of an interior design question than a woodworking one. I think that having slightly different chairs makes the statement that they didn't come off of an assembly line. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tpt life Posted June 10, 2014 Report Share Posted June 10, 2014 Clarification understood. Actually, this is not a great way to show skill in handwork in my opinion. We do not strive to make a Windsor dining set all unique to "prove" hand work. Only opinion, take it with salt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuilderBill Posted June 10, 2014 Author Report Share Posted June 10, 2014 .......... I think that having slightly different chairs makes the statement that they didn't come off of an assembly line. I kind of like that idea. Something subtle like the different slat arrangements you mentioned. Just something to make someone look twice. Just my $.02 worth. Great project so far, like your build thread. If I can ever get my shop straightened out I'll be starting mine. Best, BG Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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