24 chairs and 4 dining tables

[brianh]

Making chairs and dining tables for Franciscan convent dining hall, the wood is milled from trees that came down where the new dining hall is built. A total of 24 chairs and 4 tables will come out of the wood.

After the wood was dried it was delivered to my shop it is random lengths and the edges are not ripped a bit of a sorting challenge just getting started.

The material is primarily Soft and hard maple hickory and American elm with some red oak.

The chairs I designed for them are simple, nothing flashy for the nuns. I hope to be finished in the next few weeks.

A few years ago I made the sanctuary furniture for the chapel using the cherry trees taken down.

The cad rendering is what they will look like when finished.

 

[bluebolt]

Looks like some nice work so far!

 

[4xdog]

That's a great project. Thanks for the info.

 

[manwithtools]

Holy chair parts Batman! That's a lot of work. Hat's off to you, I like the simple design. One question, why is the bottom of the back so close to the seat, I'm used to seeing a bit more space there.

 

[McFarmer]

Excellent work.

I made chairs for the patio, was going to make four but after two said screw it. Chairs are the hardest things I've made.

'Course, I've never liked to make more than one of anything, it's too hard getting them to match.

But chairs are tough because even the slightest angle can make the difference between a comfortable chair and a pain in the ****.

 

[Richard Cranium]

looks like you are well on your way, good luck.

 

[McFarmer]

Hope you don't mind seeing mine. I had to try your hosting service, seems pretty good.

 

[brianh]

manwithtools the bottom xpc is low so there is no chance of it hitting in the back the slats are a bit further in centered in the back xpcs.

Mcfarmer nice work, and yes https://ibb.co is a great pic host free easy to use and no adds. I hope photobucket goes down in flames

Here is a video I made going through making of an outdoor chair I made 36 of these for a library along with tables

And doing dovetails https://vimeo.com/87861666

 

[brianh]

Did a test assembly, I now will glue up the seats and shape them.

 

[cmandp]

I see you made templates for (I assume) all parts of the chair. Is that a router table you're using to shape all of the parts to the template?

 

[turbowoodworker]

OP, great job on the chairs. Chairs can be very challenging and production work like that can **** you dry. Kudos for tackling the task for the convent.

Please don't take the following as a dig on your work or your shop but as a safety pointer. Having seen lots of shop fires discussed on this forum, I see a very dangerous condition in your shop. You have a good dust collection system, as far as I can tell. But either some tools are not connected or it is ineffective.

I cringe at the amount of sawdust and chips on the floor (fire and slipping hazard), large stacks of milled and raw lumber, and a propane tank in the middle of the picture.

Please don't take this as a criticism but as a public service announcement. No one wants to see another "shop fire" thread.

Having stepped off my soapbox, I can't wait to see your plans for the tables.

 

[brianh]

I see you made templates for (I assume) all parts of the chair. Is that a router table you're using to shape all of the parts to the template?

Yes its a pin router I built. A 15 amp router is mounted in the table and the overarm holds a bearing the same diameter of the cutter bit. The patterns are cut on my cnc router, I design all my parts in cad, cut the templates and use vacuum to attach the template to the parts, if it is a 1 off piece of furniture I cut all the parts on the cnc router instead of the patterns and pin router.

 

[brianh]

Starting to assemble back and front sections I have a simple jig to keep it square. For non marring pads on the clamps I put rare earth magnets in wood blocks, they stay on the clamps and I like them better than the soft plastic slip ons.

 

[brianh]

Finished assembly of chair frames now have to rip and glue up enough wood for the seat bases. I am hoping to find enough red oak in the pile for all of them if not some will be elm or maple. I want to save the hickory for the tables.

The chair mortise and tenon joints I glue up with epoxy have had the best results using epoxy for over 30 years of doing this. The seat blanks will be glued up with tightbond as well as the table tops.

 

[The Cobbler]

That is some awesome work !

 

[cgrutt]

Great work thanks for sharing!

 

[Hammer1963]

Beautiful craftsmanship!

 

[Miss the Pontiacs]

Another true craftsmen on GJ. Good job on the tables and chairs, I especially like the part where the lumber was once part of the landscape that the dining hall now occupies. Now the trees are now used to sit on and take their meals.

 

[Orionrising]

How does the vacuum work? I see the hose is there a pattern of grooves on the mating face of the template or is it a single hole?

Sent from my Moto G (5) Plus using Tapatalk

 

[brianh]

Its a single hole with gasket around the perimeter. The vac pump is a repurposed lawnmower engine it pulls on average 22-25 inches of vacuum.

With larger surface area parts that I hold down on the cnc I will use grooves in the jig to prevent the large piece from flexing down on the hole and blocking it. I use a fein shopvac for the cnc more area and volume loss though only 7 inches of vac which is OK with a larger surface area held down.

 

[brianh]

These are chairs I did for their new chapel out of the cherry trees cut down on location.

 

[turbowoodworker]

Very nicely done.
Rick

 

[littleponderosa]

Wow. You've got skills. Keep posting please.
Bill

 

[McFarmer]

Very impressive. Are you going to carve out the seats ? I used a rasp thing on an angle grinder.

 

[jhn9840]

Nice work. You are very talented. Thanks for sharing the pics.

jhn9840
John

 

[brianh]

Thanks guys.

McFarmer the seats will be shaped on the cnc router I take the cad drawn seat set up a cutting file and have it cut it out. It goes on a vacuum jig on the table for each piece I still have to hand sand the router bit marks that goes pretty quick, I have a nice bit I use for planing with a little bit of custom grinding to limit step over marks.

For 24 chairs I would go crazy shaping that many by hand. I will try to remember to take pictures of the process.

 

[RivennHewn]

All kinds of awesome here!

 

[royce]

Mighty fine work Brian
A real treat to see
Thank you

Royce

 

[Boilerhouse]

Great job - love the shop. An ol' fashioned craftsman at work.

 

[brianh]

Some more progress all the chair frames have been finished with satin varithane waterborne floor poly sprayed on. Its tougher than the post catalyzed lacquer I used for years. Water base is harder to spray, thinner coats or you get runs.

Gluing up the seat bases now, had enough red oak in the pile for about half the rest will be mainly maple.

 

[brianh]

All seats have been cut and shaped they will be on their way at the end of the week.

The blanks are held down for cutting and shaping with a simple vacuum jig hooked to a fein shop vac. It clamps down to the main CNC table.

Outline cut

Contour cut

I engrave the company name on the bottom, the holdown for this is air cylinders that come up though the table, same system I use for cutting drawer dovetails on the machine.

 

[JohnKal]

WOW! A true craftsman. Thank you for sharing.

 

[brianh]

Finished the chairs last week they picked them up yesterday.Tables are next I have enough hickory to make them all, they will be heavy but very tough.

 

[brianh]

The tables have been delivered and in place I had enough hickory to do all the tables. It is a hard wood to work with, it tears out unless the planer blades are like razors I was resharpening a set of blades often. Its also very heavy.

 

[cmandp]

They look very nice. I've never worked with Hickory but I imagine it also dulls those planer knives you just work to sharpen very quickly too ().

I see you did breadboard ends too. Biscuits to keep it nice and level with the lengthwise boards and then the bolts let them expand and contract at different rates?

 

[brianh]

They look very nice. I've never worked with Hickory but I imagine it also dulls those planer knives you just work to sharpen very quickly too ().

I see you did breadboard ends too. Biscuits to keep it nice and level with the lengthwise boards and then the bolts let them expand and contract at different rates?

Yes they allow movement while keeping it tight, Seen some nice looking table tops spit from someone making the mistake of gluing them on.

 

[littleponderosa]

That's simply gorgeous. Congrats on a helluva job well done.
Bill

 

[PugetDude]

Awesome! Always like to see true craftsmanship. Nice job on the design; well-executed. Thanks for sharing it with us.

 

[royce]

Your work is such a treat.
Thanks Brian.

Royce

 

[1/2 Cup]

brianh fantastic work and thank you for sharing..