Library (Dining Chair)


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Morning All,

First post here.  Been looking for help on this project all over the web, and have been coming up empty.  Hopefully this is the place.

I am trying to come up with some plans and them build a set of dining chairs patterned after the "Library Chair".  Can't seem to find a already developed set on the web.  Needs to have a wood seat, vertical seat back, splayed top back, and curved top and bottom back rails.  That aside, I started down the trail of teaching myself SketchUp, and developing my own (ouch).

The issue I am encountering that I could use your insight on is the alignment of the seat back.  Given that the top-back rail is a different radius and in a different plain than the bottom back rail, how do I align the 3/8x2 back verticals?  I've attached a screen shot of where I am this far (I tried but could not figure out how to add and image to my post.  I'll keep working on adding that to clarify my questions).

Any insight on my two problems (chair back and image upload) would be appreciated.

Thanks a bunch,

Greg

 

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Thanks for the welcoming guys.  The file is a .pdf  The only option I find for attaching a file is "Insert image from URL".  Unfortunately when I click this, the prompt is looking for a webpage as opposed to a file name.  I'm looking to attach a file directly from my computer.

Any insight would be appreciated.

 

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Hey hey hey, looks like I'm in.

On 7/8/2023 at 9:36 AM, bug_hunter said:

Morning All,

First post here.  Been looking for help on this project all over the web, and have been coming up empty.  Hopefully this is the place.

I am trying to come up with some plans and them build a set of dining chairs patterned after the "Library Chair".  Can't seem to find a already developed set on the web.  Needs to have a wood seat, vertical seat back, splayed top back, and curved top and bottom back rails.  That aside, I started down the trail of teaching myself SketchUp, and developing my own (ouch).

The issue I am encountering that I could use your insight on is the alignment of the seat back.  Given that the top-back rail is a different radius and in a different plain than the bottom back rail, how do I align the 3/8x2 back verticals?  I've attached a screen shot of where I am this far (I tried but could not figure out how to add and image to my post.  I'll keep working on adding that to clarify my questions).

Any insight on my two problems (chair back and image upload) would be appreciated.

Thanks a bunch,

Greg

Hope this helps with my question above.  Shoot me any questions or requests for additional information.  Thanks in advance,

Greg

chair-test.pdf

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It might help to take a view from directly overhead, and compress it into two dimensions. Since your model is already well formed, this should illustrate all the intersecting angles quite clearly. The tenons of the rails should be perpendicular to the face of the verticals, so the tenon shoulders are where the angle is formed.

Or maybe I misunderstand the question?

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I've attached a top view for reference.  I can make the tenons work.  The issue that I am having is with the vertical back slats.   If I place them centered on the lower cross rail, aligning the center of each end with the center of the bottom rail, and then align the center of the top of the back slat with the center of the top rail, the ends of the slats are not centered on the top rail.  Not sure if I confused or clarified with that statement.

chair-top.pdf

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Ahhhh, now I understand. The vertical slats need to be angled to provide even spacing aling the bottom, and along thw top, although the top and bottom spacings are different.

Using the overhead view, I would locate the common focal point for the radii of the lower and upper rails, the draw a series of rays from that point, intersecting both arcs, to represent the vertical slats. The intersections should indicate where to place the mortices for the slat tenons.

A less abstract method to use in the real world would be trial and error with a pair of dividers, adjusting the step size to mark off an equal number of steps across the top of the lower rail and the bottom of the upper rail. One of those accordian-style equal spacing pointers would make short work of that.

https://www.amazon.com/Trend-P2P01-Point-Up-24-Inch/dp/B004NPYBSA/ref=asc_df_B004NPYBSA/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=312021463413&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=6442057985821104294&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1026012&hvtargid=pla-524491169999&psc=1

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On 7/10/2023 at 5:47 AM, wtnhighlander said:

Using the overhead view, I would locate the common focal point for the radii of the lower and upper rails, the draw a series of rays from that point, intersecting both arcs, to represent the vertical slats. The intersections should indicate where to place the mortices for the slat tenons.

This is where my envisioning falls apart.  The lower and upper rails are different radii, therefore there is no common focal point.

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5 hours ago, bug_hunter said:

This is where my envisioning falls apart.  The lower and upper rails are different radii, therefore there is no common focal point.

Then the equal-space divider tool is your friend. Sewing stores sell them for locating buttonholes, if that is easier to find than a woodworking store.

The arcs don't have to have a common focus to use dividing angles for layout, but two focal points mean two layouts. Just divide each arc into equal divisions, use the divisions to mark the center of each mortise.

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On 7/10/2023 at 6:15 PM, wtnhighlander said:

The arcs don't have to have a common focus to use dividing angles for layout, but two focal points mean two layouts. Just divide each arc into equal divisions, use the divisions to mark the center of each mortise.

Got that, but let's say I divide the lower rail into thirteen equal sections to come up with center points for the four center point location of the back slats.  If I align those slats tangent to the lower rail, I do not believe the back slats will be tangential to the upper back rail.

 

Maybe I am making this more complicated than it needs to be.  Most chairs I see have either straight top and bottom back rails, circular slats. or parallel (same radius) top and bottom rails.  All a lot simpler that the splayed back.

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@bug_hunter, from your second drawing, you are showing 3 mortises and one slat, so you will be having four slats total? Ooops, I see that you answered my question in your last post and I’m hoping I’m answering what you are asking. With 4 back slats, none will be located in the middle of your back, you would have to have an odd number for that to happen. I wish I knew how to use a divider (my next goal), but I have to rely on a tape measure. If you take the length of the upper and lower back rails and divide these numbers by 5, that will give you the center points for your 4 rails. It will probably be easier to use metric dimensions. They obviously will be further apart on the top rail but will be symmetrical. 

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