Sunday, March 21, 2010

boxseat


I chose to do 3 coats of Tavern Green milk paint, topped by 2 coats of Minwax wipe on poly. The milk paint is pretty forgiving. 3 coats, with sanding between each, still lets a little bit of the poplar show through.





Using 3mm braided hemp cord for a woven seat is a bit of an experiment. I found examples of it being used in 2 German chairs. This is a standard Danish cord pattern with L-shaped nails to catch the loop.



box + seat = boxseat




Here's one from the backside. I'm almost out of postcards and would like to use one of these last 2 angles for the next batch. I haven't decided which one is the winner.

Sunday, March 7, 2010

Getting close


The frame and panel top is glued-up and I profiled its edge and the edge of the frame. The blue tape protects the legs as I hand sand the frame edge.




The rounded edges help the frame and top in relating to the legs. I like how this is coming together.

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

End of the Day


The legs and rungs are glued together and into the frame. The small off-cut from the through tenon is on the floor. I used a white oak wedge with the white oak legs. The endgrain is enjoyable.



The sizes of the components seem to relate well to one another. The frame is 60" long, to fit at the end of a queen sized bed. This was the last photo of the day.

Progress


This is where I was 2 days ago. I had just finished making the parts for the frame and panel top and had to see how it all worked together. Just the box is glued-up at this point.



The rungs fit into stepped mortises. They enter the leg cleanly and bear against a small internal shoulder. Very tidy.



This is a test to figure out the hole size for the threaded brass inserts that go into the bottom of the box. The poplar box will be held to the frame by bolts that fasten to these inserts. This system allows the box to be easily reversed so that the seat can be to the left or the right of the box. This choice might become pertinent once the piece is where it will live. It is definitely worth buying the dedicated driver that fits these inserts.



It still amazes me when holes in one piece line up with their receiving hardware. With the box successfully attached, I can move on to connecting the legs to the frame. It is getting closer to being a piece of furniture. Once it can function, it's there.