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Fools Rush In
As I prepare to build, I like to break a project down into its
component parts. Each side of the base of this chair is a
subassembly of two legs connected with rails. These are joined
with rails front and back and are capped with the distinctive
bent arms. The back of the chair is a separate unit that pivots
and adjusts with a simple mechanism.
One obvious challenge is making the arm, but that is simpler
than it seems. The rails and slats below the arms seem simple,
but the slope that makes the chair appealing complicates
these parts.
The fi rst step in making this chair is to draw a full-size lay-
out of the side assembly. It’s a good exercise in understanding
how it all goes together, and it’s an indispensable reference for
the actual sizes and angles of the component parts.
The top edge of the top side rail is angled, rising from a
height of 1^5 ⁄ 16 " at the back leg to the full width of 3^1 ⁄ 2 " at a
point^3 ⁄ 4 " behind the front leg. The bottom edge of this rail is
parallel to the fl oor, and perpendicular to the legs. The bottom
rail is a constant width, but it meets the legs at a slight angle;
the back is^3 ⁄ 4 " lower than the front.
That slope makes the through-tenons on each end of the
lower rail a little trickier, but the real complication is that each
of the vertical slats is a different length. After drawing the full-
size view, I switched gears and made the legs, which gave me
something useful to do as I pondered the implications of the
angled ends of the slats.
Trees Don’t Grow Like That
Quartersawn figure on all four sides of the legs was a feature
of original versions of this chair, and I used the same method
used in Stickley’s Craftsman Workshops. Three pieces of
13 ⁄ 16 "-thick material were laminated into a stack. After letting
the glue cure overnight, I dressed the surfaces on the jointer.
Then I glued a^1 ⁄ 8 "-thick piece of quartersawn wood to the
side edges of the leg laminations. These thick veneers were
sliced on the band saw and cover the unattractive side grain
(as well as the joint lines) on the legs. After an overnight wait
for the glue to cure, the legs were dressed down to 2^3 ⁄ 8 "
square.
The edges of the legs are beveled, with the bevel ending at
the glue line between the solid and veneered edges. I placed
the finished legs on the full-size layout to locate the tenons at
the tops, and the mortises, marking the locations directly on
the legs from the drawing.
I made the^5 ⁄ 8 "-wide through-mortises with a hollow-chisel
mortiser, working from both sides with a^1 ⁄ 2 " chisel and bit.
That size bit takes less effort to plunge into the work, and I
centered the mortises by cutting one side of the joint, then
flipped the workpiece so the opposite side was against the
machine’s fence.
I also cut the angle on the back legs, and the 1^1 ⁄ 2 " square
tenons on the tops of all the legs before proceeding. The
tenons on the ends of the side rails were cut, and I dry-fit test
assemblies of the sides. I located the taper for the top rail
from the test assembly and after cutting it on the band saw, I
put each side assembly on top of my drawing.
Use This to Measure That
I marked the locations of the vertical slats on the top and
bottom rails, along with the mortises for the slats. Then, with
a lumber crayon I marked each mortise with a number. I put
each slat in position, numbered each with the crayon and
marked the shoulder locations directly from the rails.
Each vertical slat is a bit longer than its neighbor, and if the
slats move sideways along the rail the length will change. A
slat that is slightly long or short can be moved for appearance
Measure once. A full-scale drawing provides a reference for most parts of
the project. It saves time, and prevents measurement and layout errors.Keep your head straight. A tapered piece of scrap below the workpiece
keeps the mortises oriented vertically.Tapered scrap1 132-141_GustavStickleyMorrisChair.indd 134 32 - 141 _GustavStickleyMorrisChair.indd 134 3 3/25/13 9:54 AM/ 25 / 13 9 : 54 AM