How to build this very curvy chair?
Hello All:
I want to build the type of chair in the attached photo. It is a caned creole fauteuil (seat).
My wife’s grandfather was a cabinetmaker on a French Island in the Indian Ocean. This style of chair was a specialty of his. Her folks still have a couple of them, and I have seen them at the house.
I am not so concerned with caning it since I’m sure I can get a kit and/or book on the subject. Rather it is the curves and grain in the arms, legs and sides that I am worried about.
When I have seen the chairs in the past, they did not strike me as being bent laminations, but I could be wrong. I must admit that I never looked at the seats with a specific interest in building them, so I did not take note of grain directions, etc.
This is not the type of project I have any experience with, and I wouldn’t want to begin without having plans or, at least, some guidance.
If anyone has any ideas, I would greatly appreciate some help. It would also be great to find some plans, even for a similar project that I can then adapt.
Thanks
Replies
quesne,
If you google "campeachy chair plans" , I bet you will get the information you are seeking. Thomas Jefferson had one.
Ray
Thanks very much. Unfortunately, it appears to be a dead end. I did a search, but it comes up empty for any information regarding woodworking plans. I greatly appreciate the tip, however, since I did not know that a chair of this type was at Monticello. I am sure the name "campeachy" will figure into my research from now on.Thanks again!
I think that bent lamination would be the strongest and the most simple way to proceed, and would probably end up looking the best. One form for the upside down"U" which would be the legs and feet. Another form for the sides that make up the back and seat. Where the arms join the seat, there are several places that will give trouble because of the short grain. I'm guessing the thickness is approx. 1 1/4". You could glue these up with 5/8" stock, two layers, staggering the joints, and then trimming them flush. This swirl where the arms go into the seat, looks like too tight of a radius to use bent lamination. Bill
This forum post is now archived. Commenting has been disabled