Contents

Chosen Brief

Analysis of brief

3-4

History of chairs

5-6

Plan of procedure

6-9

Research and Investigation

10-15

Development of design

16-24

Working Drawings and Sketches

25-31

Manufacture of project

33-41

Evaluation and Appraisal

42-45

Experiments

46-54

Refrences

55

Project brief

Chairs are an important feature of a living space and

are frequently used. Design and construct a chair
made from a suitable wood for use in a living space.

Analysis of Brief

This brief leaves me with a lot of options. A chairs design can vary massively
and have many different design aspects and this allows me to create a chair
that I feel that I would enjoy making.

A chair for use in a living space could end up being used for long periods of
time, when someone is watching TV or reading a newspaper. As such it
should be seated lower and not high like a dining chair. Something similar to
the height of a couch is what I believe would be better.

A suitable would be a hardwood. This wood would be tougher and last for
longer without getting damaged. It also has to be aesthetically pleasing and
be rustic to fit the style of the room.

Objectives
By the end of this project I should have created an A standard project that
has the following;
The chair allows an individual to sit for long periods of time in comfort
Is aesthetically pleasing made from a long lasting hardwood.

History of Chairs
The chair was uncommon until the 16th century. Before this it was reserved
for people in positions of powers such as emperors and kings. Benches and
stools were more commonly used to sit on.

Ancient Egypt
The Egyptian chair used only by the high
made of carved wood and often had ebony
inlays. The legs of the chairs were made to
animals or slaves supporting it.

class was
and ivory
represent

Ancient Roman and Greek

Ancient roman and greek chairs share common traits. The
oldest chair features zeus sitting in a thick backed chair
with turned legs. Chairs of this era were commonly made
from marble.

Medieval
Medieval chairs were common in that they
high backs, often had artistic carvings and
could be taken apart for travel. Only lords
were able to have them as they sat at the
head of the table.

had

Renaissance
It was first during the renaissance the chairs moved
away from being for heads of authority to whoever
was rich enough to buy them. The chairs were still
expensive to purchase and so they remained
uncommon. These chairs were made from timber.
They had no upholstery until the 17th century when it
became commen to upholster them. Silk and velvet
were often used to cushion seats with leather rarely
being used

18th century
Most often chairs developed around this time
large oval backs, a large seat and turned arms
legs. They were upholstered. The rocking chair
developed around this time in North America.

had
and
was

20th century
Many new designs of chairs were developed in the 20 th
century. With the use of metal and plastic new designs
could be manufactured. These include folding chairs,
beanbag chairs, egg pods, massage chairs and reclining
chairs.

Plan of procedure

My planned time management over the course of the project.

Wee Wee Wee Wee Wee Wee Wee Wee Wee Wee
k 2 k 3 k 4 k 5 k 6 k 7 k 8 k 9 k 10 k 10

Research

Design

rocessin

Assembl

inishing

xperime
ts

Research
I will have to spend an appropriate length of time on research. I will have to
compare various designs already made to find something I like. Use both
primary and secondary sources. Devolp ideas about chairs.

Design
Using what I have learned from my research I will start to create designs of
chairs. I believe two weeks to be enough to design a good project. I should be
able to start at the end of the first week of research and add to the design
over the following week.

Processing
This is where I believe I will spend the largest amount of my time. I will have
to process the wood into the desired pieces. I will have to plain the wood to
the right thickness, cut and shape all the pieces.

Assembly
Following the processing of the wood I can begin to assemble the pieces into
the chair. I can begin soon after I have some of the pieces processed to allow
myself extra time to have it well assembled.

Finish
I can spend the final two weeks sanding the wood and applying my finish to
maximise the aesthetic potential of the project.

Experiments
I have allowed myself plenty of time to complete the experiments as they will
not take too long and I can do them whenever I feel I am ahead of my
projected time usage.

Budget
I will try to use a minimum amount of money on the project. I believe that
100 would be enough to make a a chair that fulfils the needs of the brief

How my time was really used over the course of the project.
Wee Wee Wee Wee Wee Wee Wee Wee Wee Wee
k1 k2 k
k4 k5 k6 k7 k8 k9 k
3
10

Research

Design

Processin
g
Assembl
y
Finish

Experim
ents

Research and Investigation

10

I began my research by comparing and contrasting popular designs for chairs

already made, and investigating what made these chairs popular.

Design Features
A chairs main function is to sit in. A chair should be made so with the
intention that someone could be sitting in it for long periods of time, such as
when watching tv or reading.
With this in mind I investigated what makes a chair comfortable and
uncomfortable.

The seat can be evaluated from different perspectives: the height, depth,
width, slant,and contour (see Figure 6.1, Chair Design for Comfort).
The seat height is the distance from the chair seat to
the floor. Your feet should reach the floor comfortably and
not dangle. When the seat height is too low, your hips are
below your knees, which distorts the lower back, creating a
backache.
The seat depth is the distance from the front of the
chair or sofa seat to the back, around 20-inches for most
people. For kitchen type chairs this seat depth is around 16
inches. If you are tall or long from the knees to the hips, you
may need a deeper seat. The seat depth determines to a large
extent the support you get from the chair back. If the seat
depth is too short, you will get back support but not knee
support. If the seat depth is too long, you will not get back support and you
will get pressure
under the knees. If the chair edge causes pressure under your knees, your
leg circulatory system
is reduced, causing swelling and pain in the lower part of the legs.
The seat width is the distance from one side of the seat to the other. The
seat should bewide enough so you can move easily without failing off either side. The bones
in the middleof each buttock support the weight of the upper half of the body; therefore, the seat
should bedesigned so that your body weight is centered on the seat, not on the sides.
The seat slant is the change in angle from the front of the seat to the back. The seatslant helps
keep you from slipping out of the chair or sofa. A slant to 1 inch lower at the back will hold
you in the seat.

11

The seat contour is the area where the seat is not totally flat. This feature is found onlyon hardsurface seats, not on cushioned seats. The seat contour is designed so that when you sit in the
chair, the weight of the body is in the middle of each buttock and the center of the
back. Check the contour of the seat for your particular body.
-UtahState University

With this information I looked at some common designs and how they share
common features that are discussed above.

This is a chair that I believed would be comfortable.

With its design it fulfils most of the needs of a
comfortable chair.
But it also has a strong disadvantage in that it is a
very modern design meaning it would not suit the
area in which the chair is meant to go.

This chair has a very simple design and would be used in

a dining area. From it I can take some ideas like a wide
sitting base and the height for a base.

This chair is similar to design 1 in that it has a high

back, arm rests and a wide seat. Its back rest has a
slight curve to the follow the natural shape of the
back. It also has curver armrest so as that it
provides comfort for the entire forearm from the
elbow to the wrist .

12

Investigation
To begin my investigation I measured chairs in my home. I measured both
the height and angle of dining chairs and couches to try and find an ideal
size.

Here we can see that the height of the dining chair came out to be ( 475mm)
I find this to be slightly too high to comfortably sit in for long periods of time.

Here we can see that the height of the sofa's came out to be (500mm's)

13

Although this is very slightly higher I found it to be more comfortable. The

addition of a long seating base and armrests allowed me to sit more relaxed
making it more comfortable. The dining chair had no supports and forced me
to sit upright making it tiring and uncomfortable after periods of time.

I measured the backrest angle too. With many different people using the
chair i will be designing perhaps an adjustable back could be better. This
would allow people to adjust to their preferred angle for the desired action
( reading or watching tv etc ) instead of having the one set angle for
everyone.

14

Development of Design

15

In this chapter I will be develop a final design of a chair that I believe I can
construct and that it will fulfil the needs of the project brief

Here we can see many different designs of chairs. From these I hope to find
ideas and designs that I can adapt to my brief to better my own final design.
This is a morris chair as I have
previously discussed. This chair
design really appeals to me and I
believe it could be the chair that has
the most options to develop.

This rocking chair, while aesthetically

pleasing, does not fit the room
appropriately. I do however like the
curved design of the back rest and I
believe I could use something similar
to this in my design.

I do like the design of this chair. It has a nice

shape to it, but the seat curving into the
backrest would be very time consuming to
create as each piece would need to be
individually curved and bent to fit the chair.

16

This chair has a very plain design. It

would be more suited to outdoors and
not to the inside. The wide armrest would
provide comfort for sitting in and could
possibly be used in my own design.

This chair has some positives to it but I

This chair is elegant in design
however I do believe it has some do not believe it would be used as a
downfalls. I do not believe that this chair for relaxing in as some of the
other designs I have pictured here.
design would be suited to the
project brief.

After comparing these six designs I believe the Morris chair would be the
preferred option. It adequately suits the needs of the brief. Using design
ideas from the other five chairs the design can be further improved upon and
I can create a chair that is perfect for the design brief.

Backrest
I have a lot of options for the backrest. Have drawn some possible ideas
here.

17

I like the first one because of its originality and simplicity. The backrest slats
are slightly curved to surround the back and shoulders. This allows a person
to relax into it and be supported. The slats are simple to make and can be
joined using just dominos. This saves a lot of time in a project like this.
The second design is made of three vertical slats of wood. They are
connected at the top and bottem. There is a small circular design near the
centre. I like this one because it is aesthetically pleasing but having just three
pieces of wood could make it uncomfortable and the small semi-circle cut
outs could dig in to a persons back.
The third design has a rectangular frame with four vertical slats running the
full length of the backrest. This is quite an attractive design as well. The four
vertical slats have a slight curve in it to conform to the persons back. It also
features a eclipse on the top of the frame. The slats on this design could be
hard to reproduce and have each the exact same.

I decided to go with the first backrest design as I feel it fits the rest of the
design best. It also can be made reasonably fast and appears to be strong
and comfortable.

Side slats
These designs are for the side of the chair. They will connect the top and
bottom of the chair.
The first design has eight thin rectangular pieces of wood. This is a very
simple deisgn to make. The eight slats could be reproduced very easily with
no differences. I could connect them using dominos.
The second design I have drawn uses eight turned pieces of wood. While I
feel that this looks very good making eight of these on the lathe would be
very time consuming and to make each of them the exact same would be a
very difficult task. I would have to drill holes and have the ends turned so
they fit tightly into the holes.

I selected the first design because of the simplicity. I believe the turned
pieces would look very well, but it would be too time consuming and difficult
to make eight of them for the side of the chair.
18

Armrests
Unfortunately had few options that I could use with the armrest.
The first design I a rectangular piece of wood. It has a slight angle of five
degrees from the front to the back. It also has a taper running on the outside
of the armrest. At the back there are five holes. These are the spaces where I
could place a small turned piece of wood to support the angle of the
backrest.

The second design has a more curved armrest design. It also has some
extruding rectangles of wood on the top. These are spacers where I could
place some sort of piece of wood to support the back of the chair.

I believe the first design to be better as I think the holes with the turned
round supports would look better and be more functional.

Final Design
After consideration of these designs and of the purpose of my brief I selected
the designs I feel will create the best chair. I believe these additions I have
made will add to the function and aesthetics of the chair.

Choice of materials
19

Ash is a very light coloured wood. It is strong and flexible and can withstand
heavy usage. This could be a very suitable wood for the project.

Mahogany is a very dark wood. Because of this it would not be fitting for the
room as it would too strongly contrast the lighter colours already present.

Oak is a very attractive and sturdy hardwood. It comes in different variations

allowing it to be used in many different settings. This wood could also be
used in the design and construciton of this chair.

Pine is lightly coloured has dark grain patterns that stand out. I do not
believe this would be suitable as it is a very soft wood and could easily be
damaged.

20

Teak is a wood with a dark grain and a heavy grain patterns creating an
aesthetically pleasing wood.

Cherry wood comes with a light shade of red. I do not think this would look
well it the current room as it would stand out too strongly.

Through comparing these woods I think that oak would be an appropriate

wood for the chair and the room. White oak would be best for this because of
its lighter colours and shades compared to red oak. White oak is a very dense
and strong wood. It is also water and rot resistant making it useful in a wide
range of projects.

Design Specifics
Joints
I compared various joints that could possibly be used in the chair. These
would support the weight of a person so the joint had to be suitably strong
and also fit the design of the chair and not look out of place. I considered the
various different designs based on their appearance and strength/suitability.

21

Stopped mortise and

tenon

Through mortise and tenon

Bridle Joint

Stopped Housing Joint

22

After comparing these I decided that the through mortise and tenon joint was
best as it is a strong joint that can withstand heavy weights. This joint is also
attractive as it reveals the grain pattern on the end grain of the wood.

23

24

25

26

27

28

29

30

Manufacturing

31

Legs
I began to make the legs of my chair by using the thicknesser to bring down
the wood to the size that I needed. I needed 635mm wood but the thickest I
could get was 500 mm wood. This meant I would need to glue two separate
pieces of wood.
I planed the wood down starting with the cupping down to provide a stable
base for the wood.

With the wood planed down I cut the planks into the required length for the
four legs of the chair. I glued two of the planks together to get the right
thickness for the legs. I clamped them tightly to try and get a seamless edge
on the four legs.

I ran the plank through the table saw to get the four legs for the chair. Using
the mortise drill I cut 10mm mortises through the legs. This is what will
connect the four legs and the sides of the chair.

32

I began to cut out the sides of the chair that will connect the four legs. With
the wood planed and cut to length I had to cut two of them at an angle. This
is where the armrests would lie and so had to be sloped. I used a band saw
and cut it down to the slope that the armrests would lie at. I then sanded it to
try and achieve a smooth flat finish. I had to be careful as to not ruin the
slope at which I had cut them out.
I also cut the tops of the back legs of the chair to the same angle that the
sides would be at so they would lie flush.
I marked out the tenons using a mortise gauge set to 10mm. Using the band
saw I cut them out. They were too tight to fit so I had to use a chisel to make
the tenons narrower while still achieving a good fit.

I wanted to join the top and bottom of the sides of the chair. To do this I cut
out thin sections of oak. I decided to use a domino joint on them as this
would be the quickest and strongest joint to use.
I drew two connecting lines on the tops and on the sides. I used these to line
up the the dominos. I tested it out on waste pieces of wood first to make sure
the domino would be in the middle of the pieces and not too close to the
surface.

33

With the pieces lined up I cut out the holes for the dominos using the domino
jointer.

I filled the holes with glue and placed the dominos inside. I joined it with
clamps and left it to dry.

I started to make the front and back tenons that would connect the sides of
the chair. I followed the same as I did for the front and back. I cut the tenons
out using the band saw and I cut the mortises out using the mortise drill. The
mortise drill would not go through the full thickness of the legs so I had to
drill half way and flip it and go in from the other side.

I cut out two thin strips of wood and drilled them onto the inside of the
tenons. This seat slats would be placed on top of these.

I needed to make five seat slats for the back of the chair. These were going
to be curved so I had to first make a template to base the curve on. I cut the
template I liked out of mdf and used it to trace the curve onto the oak. I
34

cutout the five straight pieces on the table saw and I cut the curve on the
band saw. I did not get a smooth cut using the band saw so I had to spend a
lot of time sanding the curve with an orbital sander to get a smoother curve.

35

Armrests
I cut out two pieces of wood for the armrests. They were longer than the
width of the chair as it allowed for the seat angle to be changed by placing
>>> against the back of the seat.
I also tapered the length of the armrests starting 140mm from the front. I did
this with the bandsaw as it gave the chair and better look. For the front of
the armrests to be horizontal I had to flatten out the top. I also had to slide a
wedge in under it so that it would lie flush against the top of the front legs.
I flattened the top of the armrests using the bandsaw and sanded it to a
smooth finish.
I cut the wedge out from some waste wood I had. I made it too long and tried
to fit it in and keep sanding it down until It lay tight to both the armrest and
the top of the legs.

When I was happy with how the wedge looked I glued it to the armrest. I
clamped it as tightly as possible so as the lines wouldnt be visible between
the two separate pieces. When the glue had dried I the sides and cut off the
overhanging waste I had left over.

I needed to drill holes at the back of the armrests. This is where the back
seat angle could be adjusted. I had to cut five holes in each armrest. I used a
10mm forstner bit to drill the holes down 40mm. Unfortunately I drilled one
armrest on the wrong side. I had to find a way to hide the wrong holes and
re-do them on the right side.

36

I decided use the router to cut a trench along the five holes and slide in a
piece of wood to cover it up. I thought this would look better than using plugs
as the grain would run evenly with the rest of the chair. I routed out the
trench using a 15mm bit until I was just past the last hole. I cut a 10mm
thick piece of wood and sanded it until it would slide in the trench. After I
glued it I sanded it down flush with the rest of the armrest .

With many of the pieces manufactured I began to glue it together to form the
square base of the chair. I firstly glued the front and back of the two legs with
the piece in the middle that I had previously dominoed. Once that had set I
glue the two sides together to form the base of the chair.

Before placing the armrests on the chair I cut four decorative curved pieces
that would be placed on the centre of each leg supporting the armrests. I cut
out four equal lengths of wood on the table saw and cut a curve into it using
the bandsaw. I joined them to the legs by adding some glue and using the
nail gun to fasten it.

37

To join the armrests to the rest of the chair I was going to use dominos again
because of their ease and strength. Firstly I placed the armrests where they
were going to go. I traced a line on the edge of the side and on the bottom of
the the armrests. I placed the bottom of the domino jointer along these lines
and cut them out. I used 8mm dominos. I did this three times on each side. I
finished it by filling them with glue and clamping it, leaving it to dry and set.
I also made the bottom of the seat. I cut out five lengths of wood on the table
saw and used the nail gun to fasten them to the chair. A cushion was to go on
top of these five pieces.
I attached the back rest to the chair by drilling a hole through the backrest
and into the leg using a 10mm drill bit. I put a bolt through the back rest and
secured it to the chair.

I made dowels for the backrest and armrest using a lathe. I could take these
in and out of the holes I had drilled in the armrests to adjust the angle of the
backrest.
I cut out a 200mm square length of wood and placed it in the lathe. I used
the roughing gouge to bring it to a cylinder and then used the shaping tool to
make the dowel. I put a chamfer on the end of the dowels.
Finally I made caps for the tenons on the side of the legs. I used wood for the
thickness that I wanted the caps to be. Using the chop saw I cut trenches in
the face of the wood. I cut the cap out and sanded the insert until it fitted

38

inside the mortise. I did it this way so as the end grain would show and it
would look like a real tenon. I added glue to secure the caps in place.

Stool
I decided to make a footstool to make the chair look more complete when it
was finished.

I cut out all of the wood needed and planed it down. I firstly sanded it using
120 grit sandpaper and finished on 240 grit sandpaper.
I used dominoes all around the stool for speed as making mortise and tenons
would take too long.
I put five millimetre dominos in the lats between the top and bottom rails but
used thicker for the rest as it needed to be stronger.

39

With the tops and bottoms glued together I domineod the tops of the stools.

Evaluation and Appraisal

40

Throughout the project I was able to improve my skills and knowledge of

construction.
I gained experience using many tools and power tools including
thicknesser, bandsaw, table saw, chop saw and mortise drills.
I also learned how to use the router, something with which I did not
have experience with before this project.
I was able to learn about how to manage projects. I now know how to
better manage my time, how to stay productive and how to plan ahead
of time to have things ready.
I now have an in depth knowledge of oak and in what situations it is
best used in. I learned its positives as well as its negatives.

I would like to say that I am happy with the project I made. I enjoyed making
it from first to last and I am confident that it is done to a high standard and
that it will achieve a high grade.

41

Appraisal of project
I feel the original plans I made were good and if I had not made any mistakes
during the project I could have finished it quicker and have achieved a better
finish on it. I believe this chair fulfils the needs of the brief that were lined out
as I find it to be very a very comfortable chair that I am able to sit in.
The adjustable back rest angle works well and is easy to change. It will allow
me to change how I sit depending on whether I am working or just relaxing.
The wide armrests at an angle of five degrees is, I believe to be optimal. It
supports the entire length of your arm and with the addition of a cushion to
raise the height at which you sit it doesnt put any strain on your shoulders.

I also would make some changes to the project where I were to repeat:

Firstly I would have been more careful when I was cutting out areas. For
example in the curves on the back of the chair I cut them untidily and I had
to waste time sanding them to a better finish. I also unnecessarily spent time
fixing my mistake on the armrests. I could have had the final project
completed in better time had I not drilled the wrong holes.

The step I took in fixing the armrests was not satisfactory and if I had the
time and resources I could have better adapted the design to allow for the
holes instead of trying to cover it up.

42

I can find the height of the chair to be a little low. It forces me to sit with my
knees well above my hips which is an uncomfortable position to be in for a
long time.
The supports on the back of the armrest could be a little weak and over time
could leave marks on the back side of the back rest.

43

Experiments

44

1. Title To find the optimal thickness of wood for the seat.

2. Introduction
The aim of this experiment was to compare the strength of various thickness
that would be used in the base of the seat. The seat could be supporting lots
of weight so it is important to decide what thickness of material could be
used that wouldnt bend or snap.
3. Preparation & planning
Materials needed
12 Mm wood
18 Mm wood
25 Mm wood

I set up two stools 620mm away from each other. This is the same distance
between the back and front of the chair.

4. Procedure
1. Place the 12mm wood across on top of the two pieces of wood. Record the
height before adding weight.
45

2. Gradually add weight until it either: Snaps or supports bodyweight.

3. Record the depth that it achieved if it supported full bodyweight.

4. Repeat the same procedure for the other thicknesses of wood.

5. Results
12 mm
18mm
25mm

Depth
6mm
3mm
1mm

Suitable
No
Yes
Yes

6. Conclusion & evaluation of results

The 12 mm wood was shown to be too thin to support bodyweight. It would
be careless and dangerous to use this thickness of wood for the seat of my
chair.
There was minimal bend in the other two thickness of 18mm and 25mm
showing that either of these could comfortably support anyones bodyweight
when spread across five of them.

46

1. Title To find the most optimal back angle for the backrest.
2. Introduction
The aim of this experiment is to find the backrest angle that is most
comfortable among a sample of students. This will be used as a basis to
make the final backrest design.
3. Preparation & planning
I got two square pieces of wood and placed a hinge between them. This was
to act as the seat and backrest which could easily be adjusted between
people. I also selected a random sample of students to test this on.
4. Procedure
1. I selected a sample of 20 students from different years in the school.
2. This allows me to use people of different sizes to decide the best angle for
the chair.
3. I had the people sit on the hinge I had made and had them lean forward or
back to different angles. I asked them whether they liked this angle and I also
asked them to find their favourite angle

5. Results

47

19
16 of
No.
students
which
12 liked
10 this angle
9

44
0 0

9
No of
5
students
favourite
2
angle 2
0 0 0 0

6. Conclusion & evaluation of results

All of the students only liked the angle between 90 degrees and 120 degrees,
with nearly everyone liking the angle of 100 degrees. A majority (45%) also
had an angle of 100 degrees as their favourite. Using the data gathered from
this experiment I am able to construct a chair which will account for all
peoples preference. I will have the max angles on my chair between 90 and
120 degrees to account for everyone who will sit on it.

48

1. Title To measure the effectiveness of different finishes against heat and

moisture.
2. Introduction
I conducted this experiment to determine what finish would suit my project
the best. Changes in moisture content in wood need to be minimised
because rapid changes can cause damage to the wood such as shrinkage,
cracking and cupping.
3. Preparation & planning
I cut out four samples of timber and got three different finishes consisting of:
Varnish, Danish Oil, Wax.
4. Procedure
1. I got the moisture content of the four pieces of wood indoors.

2. I applied the finishes to three of the pieces and left the fourth one as a

control.

3. I left the in a container full of water overnight.

49

4. I measured the moisture content after twenty four hours and again after
forty eight hours.

5. I left them over a radiator for one more night and again recorded the
moisture content.

50

5. Results
Oil

Varnish

Wax

No finish

First day

7%

7%

7%

7%

Second
day
Third day
Fourth
Day
Differenc
e

19%

20%

20%

24%

23%
15%

22%
16%

23%
14%

>25%
12%

8%

6%

9%

>13%

6. Conclusion & evaluation of results

All three of the finishes helped protect against the moisture and heat but
varnish proved to the best finish. This is because finished like the oil were
absorbed into the wood whereas the varnish forms a barrier around the
outside of the wood protecting it.
The control had over a 13% change in two days. This would cause cupping
and splitting in a real large piece of wood.

51

Refrences
Get Constructive - Eva Corcoran, Sean King, William Nolan
Solidworks www.solidworks.com
Popular Woodworking Magasine www.popularwoodworking.com
Woodsmith Magasine www.woodsmith.com

52