The curves and angled joints involved in making chairs can be a time-consuming and daunting process which puts many makers off. However, these essential techniques will help you to tackle this specialist area with confidence.
Chair frames need curved components and angled joints. You might make a simple chair with the legs and the seat rails all straight and joined at right angles, but even then the back must be raked at an angle to prevent an awkward forward-leaning position for the sitter.
Mass-produced chairs are astonishingly cheap because of the economies of scale provided by jigs and CNC machines as well as replicating large numbers of parts from bulk materials. One-off chairs take a disproportionate amount of effort to make and for this reason chair-making tends to be treated as a specialist area that some bespoke furniture designer~ makers avoid. However, producing chairs in small batches, such as for a dining set, can also provide some benefits of scale to the individual maker.
A spokeshave is the perfect tool for cutting chamfers to prevent splinters forming on curved edges. This keeps them friendly to the touch and provides a light-catching visual detail.
TECHNICAL TIP
No other rigid artefact makes such close contact with the body as a chair, yet many mass-produced examples are anything but a good fit. If a chair is to be comfortable, its shape must take account of the human form. The design process is often an evolutionary one with ...
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