Popular Post Chestnut Posted January 3, 2018 Popular Post Report Share Posted January 3, 2018 I started working on my pair of Morris chairs. Cutting down the lumber for the legs was more work than i was expecting. The 8/4 cherry boards were 8-10 inches wide and were very heavy. Picture of all the lumber i carried in for the morris chair and a couple pieces for other things. The 8/4 stock that I'll be using for the legs and arms. My plan is to use a piece of curly stock for the tops of the arms for some added interest in the chairs. I also like what someone else did with a strip of walnut in the arms. I might separate the grain change with the walnut so the curly wood doesn't look too odd on the edges of the arms. I will probably make the walnut ply thinner than the cherry as to not dominate the look of the arm maybe 1/2 the thickness of the cherry plys. Spent some good time at the joitner and bandsaw roughing the legs to size. I set aside the wood for the arms for now. I'll come back to that when i'm closer to needing them. Things i need to do, glue up the legs and rough cut the 5/4 stock. I also really want to do a trial bent lamination so i can get used to the process before i start the arms. I plan on using epoxy and will need to get a feel for how much to mix. I was also reading that squeeze out on the epoxy is potentially a problem so my plan is to rough up the center of the plys to give the surface some bonding area as well as not clamping too much. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woodbutcher Posted January 3, 2018 Report Share Posted January 3, 2018 Im excited to follow Chestnut. Someday ill make a Morris chair or two as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattF Posted January 3, 2018 Report Share Posted January 3, 2018 Following. One of these is on my list. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pkinneb Posted January 3, 2018 Report Share Posted January 3, 2018 This will be great! I plan on doing one of these this year as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gee-dub Posted January 3, 2018 Report Share Posted January 3, 2018 Love starting a new project of that scale. I'll enjoy following along. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhighlander Posted January 4, 2018 Report Share Posted January 4, 2018 Looking forward to this, 'nut! Morris chairs are the ultimate man-cave furniture. I have never sat in a recliner as comfy as a Morris chair. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chestnut Posted January 4, 2018 Author Report Share Posted January 4, 2018 My man cave is where my tools are and I'm not sure that I'll be keeping the chairs down there Got the legs glued for the chairs and the legs for the stools cut out. I went with 8/4 for the stool legs because i could make them 2" out of 1 piece instead of having to deal with a glue line. That little guy in front is going to be my test leg. it's not full length but I'll use it for mortise practice. I'll do the same for tenon practice. After that milling i figured it was time to check the DC and sure enoguh the container was half full, so i emptied it. I also checked the filter and it has a fair ammount of seasoning on it. I don't think it's abnormal but I'm sure glad it's in the filter and not in my lungs Moved on to cutting out the main rail parts for the chairs. Working on 2 chairs side by side labeling is going to be crucial so I'm writing novels on the parts to keep things strait. PARTS! I've been using my bandsaw for ripping and i love how it's working out. I feel like i'm able to utilize more material because i have less kerf loss though i'm probably jointing and planing away just as much in the end. Figured out that I read one of the dimensions wrong on the plans. I'm realizing now that working from someone else's plans is not the easiest. How they dimension things isn't how I'd do it and it got me a bit confused. Luckily i cut every leg part but 1 drastically oversized and still have enough length. I had to scrap 1 piece so not a big deal. If Marc ever sees this helpful feed back on guild projects would be consistent dimension on plan sheets. Label the overall dimensions on 1 side of the sheet and label the location of mortises and tenons on the other side of the sheet and always adhere to the same side for each. Always have overall on left and details dims on right for example. Though this is a good thing for everyone to do even with their own designs. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan G Posted January 5, 2018 Report Share Posted January 5, 2018 Looking forward to following along! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bleedinblue Posted January 5, 2018 Report Share Posted January 5, 2018 I started this chair build last week too but you're already ahead of me. I need to get my new bandsaw before I get too far anyway though... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chestnut Posted January 5, 2018 Author Report Share Posted January 5, 2018 58 minutes ago, bleedinblue said: I started this chair build last week too but you're already ahead of me. I need to get my new bandsaw before I get too far anyway though... Are you making 1 or 2? I started the mortises and tenons last night. I just need to finalize layout and trim the rail stock then go to town crating a lot of tenons. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bleedinblue Posted January 5, 2018 Report Share Posted January 5, 2018 1 hour ago, Chestnut said: Are you making 1 or 2? I started the mortises and tenons last night. I just need to finalize layout and trim the rail stock then go to town crating a lot of tenons. Just one. After making two kitchen helpers a few months back, I'm not likely to do a double again any time soon...especially on a project of this magnitude. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chestnut Posted January 5, 2018 Author Report Share Posted January 5, 2018 4 minutes ago, bleedinblue said: Just one. After making two kitchen helpers a few months back, I'm not likely to do a double again any time soon...especially on a project of this magnitude. Oh i like the doubling up i can probably make 2 as fast as i could make 1. I'm writing a novel on the board though as to where it's located and what chair it's on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chestnut Posted January 6, 2018 Author Report Share Posted January 6, 2018 Mortise technique. I did Marc's technique where you plunge the ends and then go back and forth to remove the middle lowering each time with the turret stops and it works great Then i tried a method that Mattias uses with his pantorouter where you make a series of plunges and then basically clean up the tiny bits left between plunges and that worked great too. Is one more right than the other? Marc's Mattias's 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coop Posted January 6, 2018 Report Share Posted January 6, 2018 So 1 mistake = 1x2. Make no mistake about it. Looking good nut. Good luck bud, watching this all the way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhighlander Posted January 6, 2018 Report Share Posted January 6, 2018 Drew, the spiral bit I use for plunging such mortices seems to work better with the Matthias method. YMMV Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mick S Posted January 6, 2018 Report Share Posted January 6, 2018 I've had better luck plunging the ends then removing the middle. The multi-plunge method always seems to result in the bit skipping across the mortise when you try to clean it out causing a slightly wavy effect. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chestnut Posted January 6, 2018 Author Report Share Posted January 6, 2018 11 hours ago, wtnhighlander said: Drew, the spiral bit I use for plunging such mortices seems to work better with the Matthias method. YMMV It was a bit faster yes but the walls had indents on them. 10 hours ago, Mick S said: I've had better luck plunging the ends then removing the middle. The multi-plunge method always seems to result in the bit skipping across the mortise when you try to clean it out causing a slightly wavy effect. Yes i noticed that on a few as well. Mine looked like where the bit plunged it vibrated or deflected and left an indent. I think I'll be using epoxy on the assembly so it's not a huge issue. Also with how big these tenons are i don't think it's an issue but on something smaller i'd probably use the other method. I did 50/50 so if a chair falls apart I'll make sure to see why. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhighlander Posted January 6, 2018 Report Share Posted January 6, 2018 Maybe the results I got with the plunge method were because I was using a bit of smaller diameter than the mortise width, and a template to define the mortise. No wavy walls, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chet Posted January 6, 2018 Report Share Posted January 6, 2018 Probably just a mental thing but I seem to get a better result with Marc's method. I also added a second edge guide, one on each side of the work and that really stabilizes everything a lot more and eliminates any possible side to side movement. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chestnut Posted January 6, 2018 Author Report Share Posted January 6, 2018 1 hour ago, Chet said: Probably just a mental thing but I seem to get a better result with Marc's method. I also added a second edge guide, one on each side of the work and that really stabilizes everything a lot more and eliminates any possible side to side movement. I never thought about 2 edge guides that's a good idea. I can only install 1 though. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post shaneymack Posted January 6, 2018 Popular Post Report Share Posted January 6, 2018 8 minutes ago, Chestnut said: I never thought about 2 edge guides that's a good idea. I can only install 1 though. Here is another less expensive option. Pretty simple to build 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan G Posted January 6, 2018 Report Share Posted January 6, 2018 1 hour ago, Chestnut said: I never thought about 2 edge guides that's a good idea. I can only install 1 though. What router are you using? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chestnut Posted January 6, 2018 Author Report Share Posted January 6, 2018 Just now, Alan G said: What router are you using? Porter cable 890 The edge guide is super nice solid with precise adjustment. Also despite it not being green the DC was top notch i didn't wear my respirator and never smelled a thing (it was hooked up to my ct26 though) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wdwerker Posted January 7, 2018 Report Share Posted January 7, 2018 I just looked up your edge guide. It's the single trapezoidal bar style ? If you got a piece of 1/4 or 3/8 plexi and drilled it to use as a base (just use the original as a template) it would be easy to adjust the edge guide to locate the bit correctly then just add a fence strip on the opposite side with a couple of small C clamps. I've made router bases for years using the old one as a template. Clamp the piece to the old base, drill through one screw hole, poke a screw in as a pin & drill the next one. I've used a forstner bit for the center hole. Drill plastic at slow speeds. I usually buy longer screws. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chestnut Posted January 7, 2018 Author Report Share Posted January 7, 2018 6 minutes ago, wdwerker said: I just looked up your edge guide. It's the single trapezoidal bar style ? If you got a piece of 1/4 or 3/8 plexi and drilled it to use as a base (just use the original as a template) it would be easy to adjust the edge guide to locate the bit correctly then just add a fence strip on the opposite side with a couple of small C clamps. I've made router bases for years using the old one as a template. Clamp the piece to the old base, drill through one screw hole, poke a screw in as a pin & drill the next one. I've used a forstner bit for the center hole. Drill plastic at slow speeds. I usually buy longer screws. It's this one. The plexi is a good idea I'll have to keep that in mind. I just finished all the mortises on the legs but my next project will have as many mortises as this one. Next project is a couch in the same bow arm style. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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