I’m building some barstools with glued up 19″ cherry seats and armrests mortised to the back posts and supported in the front with posts mortised into the seat. Do I need to be concerned with the expansion of the seat causing the armrest joint into the back posts to fail? Hope my description of my concern is clear enough.
Thanks in advance for the advice.
Jimmy
Replies
Not to worry
I'd agree that most chair designs allow enough flex in the components that seasonal wood movement isn't a big issue. For example, if the seat expands, that would cause the tops of the legs to move, as well. But, the bottoms of the legs are free to move, too, as the leg pivots against the stretchers. A similar situation exists with the arms, since the distance between the arm fronst isn't restricted.
If, on the other hand, one were to M&T a wide, solid panel back into the seat without allowing for movement, something akin to gluing the entire length of a breadboard end on a table, something is bound to fail.
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