Morris Chair

>
>I was wondering how difficult it would be to build a Morris chair for
>a beginner woodworker?

(snip)

Go for it. I've been hankering to build a Morris chair for several years now,
and this fall I finally started. Took me about three months, including the 5
weeks I was off on a job. I finished them up (mine and SWMBO's) on
Thanksgiving day, and it was worth every moment. Mine are QS red oak, and the
wood figure is spectacular. Thay are worth a "WOW!!" from everyone who comes
in, even SWMBO's brothers who are also woodwrokers. Let me put it this way:
how are you going to feel if you don't build them?

The only suggestion I would make is that you get a mortiser. I used a drill
press mortiser, and long for the day when I get a dedicated mortising machine.
You can cut all the mortises by hand, using a hammer and chisel, or even use a
router. But the sheer quantity (my chairs have eighty-eight mortises apiece)
argue in favor of a mortiser.

Make those chairs. You'll never regret making them. You will always regret
not making them.

John

FWIW Popular Woodworking put out an excellent special mag called
"Great American Furniture" 7/03. You HAVE to get it. There are
Morris chair plans etc that are very forgiving (fake thru tenons).
I'm currently stalling from building mine until I've got my shop up to
snuff.

It appears you have no chisels or stones. I'd buy a set with a combo
stone and learn how to sharpen and chisel well before going for it
with the good stuff. Or build a router table for the mortises. I'm
not saying you couldn't pull it off, but why risk it? If you think
you'll score more good wood and are not worried. GO FOR IT! IMO,
look at your wood for some quarter sawn oak for the key pieces and
save the walnut for later. Check out some of the neander stuff on the
web that can assist in areas where you maybe tool short.

The mag is the key, you'll see what you need to do. Good luck!

SS

Chairs can be challenging to build due to all the curves, complex
angles, and cushions/webbing. The upholstery part requires another
skill set. There may be a few hand tools and marking tools that would
be helpful. A band clamp (or just plain tourniquette ropes) will come
in handy. Full-scale drawings or template patterns are very useful.
I built a large 5-drawer dresser without power tools, it was very
challenging and took much longer to build than I first thought.


On 5 Jan 2004 09:41:08 -0800, [email protected] (Basspro*) wrote:

>I was wondering how difficult it would be to build a Morris chair for
>a beginner woodworker? I've built nice adorondak benches and chairs
>plus a kitchen cabinet so I'm not totally green to woodworking but I
>don't have that much experience either. Do you think I'd be able to
>accomplish building this Morris Chair w/leather seating with the
>following tools?
>Skil Saw
>Mitre Saw
>Table Saw
>Router (plunge and fixed)
>Pneumatic Stapler (Air tool)
>Plane
>Jig Saw
>Various Drills
>Belt Sander
>Plus I have other small tools i.e. framing squares, pipe clamps,
>c-clamps, level, t-bevel, speed square, hand sander, etc.
>
>The key components I'm missing are a drill press, band saw, scroll
>saw, Planer, Jointer, Radial arm saw. I have some white oak and black
>walnut I'd like to use that was given to me by my father. I just don't
>want to risk messing a project up like this and ruining a bunch of
>wood. If any of you think this is too much a project of someone of my
>skil level could you suggest any other projects I'd be able to hand
>where I could use my oak and walnut?

Damn, Andy ... you could add a chapter on finishing to that and sell it as a
book!

B&M's book is one of my favorites. I love their quote of Stickleys to the
effect of "not only taking more pleasure in making these things (furniture),
but also taking more pleasure in possessing them".

--
www.e-woodshop.net
Last update: 1/02/04

"Andy Dingley" wrote in message

> You can make one with an axe and a drawknife, if you work hard enough.
> Better equipment certainly makes things quicker and easier, and gives
> you the option of some ways of building it that you might not
> otherwise have.

<snip of a world of good Stickley lore/advice>

You've got enough tools to do the job if you've got a handsaw, a plane or
two, and some good chisels.

A proper Morris chair has _lots_ of Mortise and Tenon joints, so your skill,
or lack thereof, at cutting these with hand tools, or your skill in making a
jig to do them with a router, would be the most likely place you would go
wrong.

Might want to practice cutting these, or making a jig to do so, on before
you tackle the chair.

I would say a small mission style end table, with spindles, may be a better
place to start until you get some experience with this furniture style.

That said, just because I'd never done something before has never stopped
me, so I doubt that I would follow my own advice ... if you feel up to the
task, go for it .. maybe a little more slowly. ;>)

--
www.e-woodshop.net
Last update: 1/02/04


"Basspro*" wrote in message
> I was wondering how difficult it would be to build a Morris chair for
> a beginner woodworker? I've built nice adorondak benches and chairs
> plus a kitchen cabinet so I'm not totally green to woodworking but I
> don't have that much experience either. Do you think I'd be able to
> accomplish building this Morris Chair w/leather seating with the
> following tools?
> Skil Saw
> Mitre Saw
> Table Saw
> Router (plunge and fixed)
> Pneumatic Stapler (Air tool)
> Plane
> Jig Saw
> Various Drills
> Belt Sander
> Plus I have other small tools i.e. framing squares, pipe clamps,
> c-clamps, level, t-bevel, speed square, hand sander, etc.
>
> The key components I'm missing are a drill press, band saw, scroll
> saw, Planer, Jointer, Radial arm saw. I have some white oak and black
> walnut I'd like to use that was given to me by my father. I just don't
> want to risk messing a project up like this and ruining a bunch of
> wood. If any of you think this is too much a project of someone of my
> skil level could you suggest any other projects I'd be able to hand
> where I could use my oak and walnut?

On 5 Jan 2004 09:41:08 -0800, [email protected] (Basspro*) wrote:

>I was wondering how difficult it would be to build a Morris chair for
>a beginner woodworker?

You'll be needing a copy of Bavaro & Mossman's
"The Furniture of Gustav Stickley"
<http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/094193635X/codesmiths-20>

Great book, good description of Stickley, covers one of the Morrises
with full plans and construction notes and it's also an excellent
example to all authors of project-based woodworking books.


The reprinted original catalogues are also useful to anyone looking
for the breadth of Stickley designs
"Stickley Craftsman Furniture Catalogs"
<http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0486238385/codesmiths-20>


>Do you think I'd be able to
>accomplish building this Morris Chair w/leather seating with the
>following tools?

You can make one with an axe and a drawknife, if you work hard enough.
Better equipment certainly makes things quicker and easier, and gives
you the option of some ways of building it that you might not
otherwise have.

The question is what the awkward bits are, and how you approach them.
There are a great many choices in "building a Morris chair"

Design variations:

- Fixed or adjustable back

- Straight, bent or curved arm

- Wide or narrow spindles

- Straight or curved back splats.

- Legs of sawn timber, veneered, or quartered.

- Through legs or stopped

- Leather or fabric upholstery

- Finishing

Strictly, all Morris chairs have an adjustable reclining back. This is
the feature of Morris' own chair that Stickley copied, givign rise to
the name. However we don't all want to build these, and the
non-adjustable is just as comfartable, yet takes up less floorspace.

The arm is a complex piece to make. Small chairs #324 can use a simple
straight arm, but this looks awkward on a large recliner #332. The
bent arm #336 is easy, if you're equipped for steam bending or you can
source suitable knees (timber that's grown bent at the factory). The
classic #369 bent arm is made by laminating two pieces (B&M describe
it) and either a bandsaw, or some finicky hand-sawing.

Wide or narrow spindles are a stylistic variation. The narrow spindle
version is generally thought of as more attractive, but it's obviously
more parts (and perhaps more difficult too). BTW - Can someone please
tell me the history of the narrow spindle chairs, particularly their
production dates and the design number - they don't even exist,
according to all my Stickley catalogues !

Back splats should be curved, which means bending or bandsawing from
thick or curved stock. But the back cushion is well padded, so you
could just make them straight and no-one would notice.

The legs are generally made from top quality pieces of timber, chosen
for their good figure. However Gustav liked ray-flake figure so much
that he also veneered the flatsawn sides of the leg, so that it was
visible all round. Few people bother with this today. His brothers
took the other route and assembled the legs from four sections, so
that each piece only needed to be cut from thin stock. This is a more
popular router today, particularly if you can't find suitable heavy
stock.

Most of the chairs run the upper end of the front leg through the arm
and stop it with the signature end-grain pyramid. Personally I don't
like this (particularly for the bent-arm) as the function of an
armchair's arm is to store teacups. If you do cut pyramids, it's also
helpful to use a bandsaw to make them accurate.

Original upholstery was leather, but this is expensive today and has a
reputation for being difficult to work. I don't think there's any
substitute though, and you should look at the pricetag of a moden
Morris from Stickley.

Finishing - personally I reproduce the original ammonia-fumed finish
quite closely (with some allowance for using English or French oak,
not American).


Construction variations:

- Preparing the timber

- Mortice and tenons

- Legs

- Steam bending

- Surface finishing the timber

- Sewing

- Finishing


The timber needs to be good quality quartersawn white oak. Anything
else just doesn't cut it. There's a surprising quantity of it too. If
possible, try to have the whole lot supplied from the same log, to
avoid possible colour differences later on.

It's entirely possible that a project of this size, and local timber
prices, could be enough to justify buying a portable thickness planer.
It's certainly worth considering.

Some of the timber may need to be steam-bent. For this you may wish to
obtain it green, if you can. Certainly avoid kilned timber in favour
of air-dried (although I'd suggest air-dried for the whole lot
anyway). If you have the time and storage space, some chair-makers
bend stock for back slats well in advance, then leave it a year or two
to air-dry afterwards.


It's Stickley, so you're going to be doing mortice and tenons by the
bucketload. Get used to it ! (OTOH, he's light on dovetails)

I use a square chisel morticer. It's just about the cheapest and
ugliest one you can get, but I wouldn't be without it. In the
hypothetical "Make chair in an empty shop" scenario, I'd buy another.
There is no way I'm doing it without, when it only cost me £99.

Other ways to cut the mortices are by assembling the side rails (where
the innumerable spindle mortices are needed) as a sandwich, with a
table saw and a crosscut sled to cut the dadoes.

A router jig would cut the mortices too. But watch it for the narrow
spindle version, because they also need to be enough and square enough
to stop the spindles rotating. Turning the spindle ends down and
fitting them into a drilled hole isn't enough.


With decent timber, the legs can be sawn from solid. If you're after
the four-sided figure, then I'd suggest using the four piece technique
rather than veneering. It's easy to do, you set up a lock mitre bit in
a router table. Alignment and height adjustment is crucial though, so
take your time and cut a few dummies first.


Stickley Craftsman is a very rectilinear style, so I've never liked
the curved arm variants. OTOH, I'd regard straight rear slats as
cutting a corner too many. I'm no fan of steam bending oak, so I do
mine by bandsawing from solid, using curved stock. Getting hold of
this stuff needs a close relationship with the feller or sawyer, as
bent timber is usually reaction timber that's regarded as
firewood-only (unless they're a boat builder). Some of them do keep it
around though.

If you don't have a bandsaw, then get a drawknife. You can shape these
from solid quite easily with one, it's not a huge amount of work (more
than a bandsaw though) and it's great fun ! Sawing the angled tenons
on the end is another job where the bandsaw is useful though, or else
some more careful hand sawing.


Craftsman has large flat areas, which show up planer marks
beautifully. You're going to need a scraper plane here, so go and buy
a #80 if you don't already have one. Cheap and useful.

With a few of the finishing scraps you're going to use later, smooth
them and finish them with your favoured finish. Then look in horror at
how obvious the planer marks are.

When you've finished it, go round and do it again. I'm not kidding
about how planer marks leap out from wide pieces of hard, flat oak
with a shiny finish on them.


There are two cushions to sew. So find a real leather supplier, find a
decent sewing machine and get down to it. Leather isn't hard to sew,
and it isn't even tough work to sew, but it is unforgiving of errors.
No unpicking seams when they're in leather ! (or else you're
hand-sewing to put it together afterwards). They're the simplest of
box cushions, so any domestic machine has the capacity to do it. Use a
sharp leather needle though, and suitable thread.

The hardest part of leatherworking is finding a good supplier. It's
not common these days and you can waste a lot of time trying to get
half of what you need through a rag trade that doesn't really want to
help. Price goes down a _lot_ if you buy from high up the food chain
too.

If you're in the UK
http://www.leprevo.co.uk/hides.html

For a filler, go with foam. Get a good grade and don't just buy it
locally. PU foam is nasty cheap stuff and lowers the tone of the whole
project. I'd use natural latex (Dunlopillo, or a few others) in a hard
grade. Compared to feather, it doesn't have the sagging or slumping
problems. It's also worth (especially if you do use feather) putting
the filler into an inner cushion cover, then sewing through this to
hold the shape.


To finish it, then to my mind there's only one way; ammonia fuming for
colour, then shellac over oil. Ammonia is dead easy (search around or
read the B&M book).


As to tools, then you seem to have teh main thing which is a good
table saw. You're sawing a lot of rectangular stock where neat
accurate edges are going to be highly visible. Think about a couple of
blades here; something that rips heavy oak without stalling, and
something that leaves a good surface that won;t take long to plane up.

As to planes, then I think you can almost do without. (!). A block
plane and a scraper plane will do all you need, if only your machining
can leave a good enough surface. That said, they don't hurt. A #92 is
usually out on my bench for this sort of work.

You'll want some good chisels. Oak (especially if you're in England)
is hard going. I use Japanese chisels, two each of my main sizes, and
I hone daily.

You don't need a jointer, but you're going to be relying on the table
saw instead. Now I've made these on just a £200 cheap saw and no
jointer, so you _can_ do it. But get that blade running true and
square, and make sure the fence is accurate.

The thickness planer is essential. Either yours, or your timberyard's.
You do the maths.


>If any of you think this is too much a project of someone of my
>skil level could you suggest any other projects I'd be able to hand
>where I could use my oak and walnut?

So all told, I think you can do it. I think you've got the necessary
equipment too, with a couple of cheap additions. You probably haven't
got enough timber (it never goes as far as you hope).

I don't think you _should_ do it though, not as a first Craftsman
project. It's too big, too many parts, too much work before you've
finished it. I _strongly_ recommend that you get the B&M book first,
read through it and then make one of the little pieces first.

http://codesmiths.com/shed/furniture/photos/goth_mirror.jpg

http://codesmiths.com/shed/furniture/photos/table_603.jpg

It'll give you a chance to familiarise yourself with the techniques,
particularly for finishing. You'll get the overall chair project
finished faster as a result.



--
Smert' spamionam

On Mon, 5 Jan 2004 12:40:19 -0600, Swingman <[email protected]> wrote:
> You've got enough tools to do the job if you've got a handsaw, a plane or
> two, and some good chisels.
>
> A proper Morris chair has _lots_ of Mortise and Tenon joints, so your skill,
> or lack thereof, at cutting these with hand tools, or your skill in making a
> jig to do them with a router, would be the most likely place you would go
> wrong.
>

I'd wager by the time he's done, he'll be MUCH better at M&T than when
he started.

Much like drywalling your way out of a closet.