Replies

1. 
   NickC | Oct 27, 2002 08:24am | #1

   Mortises: Determine and mark the angle on the legs. Get the angle from your drawing, or by dry-assembling the chair without the stretchers and marking across the legs with a straight-edge. No need to tilt the drill press. Just tilt the workpiece by wedging one side to the correct angle. Or you can do this by hand with a brace and a spoon bit.

   Tenons: I assume you don't have a lathe, but do you have a router table and a straight cutter? Find something round you can poke the workpiece through. A piece of pipe, maybe, or you can cut a 2-inch disk with a hole saw, then chop a 3/4 x 3/4 hole in the center. The idea is to be able to rotate the workpiece. Scribe the circle on the end of the workpiece, lay the workpiece flat on the router table in its circular jig, and raise the router bit until it meets the circle at its lowest point. You should be able to rotate the workpiece, using the jig to provide a consistent offset from the router table. This will give you a round tenon. Use a fence to set the length of the tenon, and rotate perpendicular to the fence.

   BTW, the angles can be off a bit, and the joint will still go together. There is some spring in the stretcher.

   Good luck. Nick

1. 
   witsender | Oct 28, 2002 03:36am | #6

   Hi

   thanks a lot for sharing your knowledge with me...will

   most likely explore the brace and bit both you and Davo

   described...like the slower process...but have saved router

   technique for the future...it gets better every day!

   Cheers

   Pat

2. 
   davo99 | Oct 27, 2002 04:28pm | #2

   Try using a brace and spoon bit for the mortises as taught by Mike Dunbar.  These are very easy to control and very fast to set your angles.  Use bevel guages as guides (2 if compound).  There is a reason that they call spoon bits 'Chairmakers' bits.  This is very likely much faster than setting up the drill press.

   Tenons can probably be shaped by hand as well.  Use a very fine saw to cut the shoulders (after marking with guage) , rough out with a sharp chisel, then use a rasp to bring to fianl shape and size.

3. 
   RSRose | Oct 27, 2002 10:54pm | #3

   Pat,

   "Hi All

   I am making my first chair"

   Does that mean that you have no experience at all making chairs, or that after some instruction you are about to embark on making one?

   It sounds like you have little or no experience. You are certainly entitled to try methods until you find one that works. But I suggest reading about methods that have been tried and do work.

   Two of the best books to read are "Chairmaking and Design" by Jeff Miller, The Taunton Press and "Tables and Chairs, The Best of Fine WoodWorking," The Taunton Press. They are very well illustrated and describe strategies to accomplish your goals as well as every other aspect of chair making.

   I have no afilliation with Taunton Press.

   R

   
   

   ---

   Edited 10/27/2002 3:57:26 PM ET by Rich Rose

4. 
   witsender | Oct 28, 2002 03:27am | #4

   Hi

   Thanks for taking time to share your

   thoughts...much appreciated and useful

   Cheers

   Pat

5. 
   dcarrara | Oct 28, 2002 03:29am | #5

   If you want to read a book written by a Welsh guy who has been making chairs for years with only hand tools, try

   "Welsh Stick Chairs"

   by John Brown

   Dario

6. 
   fredsmart48 | Oct 28, 2002 08:38am | #7

   tendons are not hard to make if you use a router Say you want a 5/8 inch diameter.

   you use a 3/4 inch bushing and a 5/8 cutter. I like that size because you can get a long cutter and the distance from the out side of bushing to the cuter is 1/8

   to get a 5/8 tendon you need a round 1/2" some thing like a dowel.

   to get a 3/4 tendon you need a round 5/8"

   you put a screw in the center of the 1/2 dowel and then fasten it down now just now just run the router bushing around the 1/2’ dowel you end up with a 5/8’ tendon

   if you want to cut the 5/8" tendon at 6 degs you clamp the stock at 6 degrees