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COPYRIGHT 2010 by The Taunton Press, Inc. Copying and distribution of this article is not permitted.
anatoMy of an heirlooM Arm rail,
7⁄ 8 in. thick
⁄ in.
58
Cleat
Front leg,
3 in. square by
43 ⁄ 8 in. 1613 ⁄16 in. overall
length
Tenon, ¼ in.
thick by
51 ⁄ 8 in. wide by Knee
½ in. long shell
16° Ball-and-
Knee block, claw foot
3 in. sq. by
23 ⁄ 8 in. long
SPLAT AND
SHOE
SIDE LEG/
SIDE ARM
ARM AND
CREST RAIL
Arm rail
Rabbet, ½ in.
deep
Back leg/
back arm
Tenon, ⁄ in. thick
38
by 25 ⁄ 8 in. wide by
1 in. long
Knee Knee block
block
Back rail
41 ⁄ 8 in.
Knee
block
Glue block
Front leg
A set of full-size
plans created
for this article by
Society of American
Period Furniture
Knee block Makers members
Knee Robert Whitley and
block Craig Bentzley is
BACK AND SIDE available for $175 by
RAILS Side leg/ contacting cbentzley@
side arm verizon.net.
NovEMBER/dECEMBER 2010 65
COPYRIGHT 2010 by The Taunton Press, Inc. Copying and distribution of this article is not permitted.
Shapely rails But Straightforward joinery
joined and held together by the crest rail.
The chair’s front rails are S-shaped and include a rabbet to support the upholstered seat. The arc of the arm is not a constant radius,
Each back rail begins life attached to a shoe that receives the carved back splats. so use care when laying out the parts.
To ensure matching profiles, nest the two
arm blanks together using double-stick tape
FRONT RAILS
and rough-cut them on the bandsaw. Clean
Rough-cut the them up on the router table using a tem-
rabbet. Re- plate and a bearing-guided bit. Bandsaw
move the bulk the crest rail to rough shape. Using the arms
of the waste
as a template, clean up the crest rail on the
using a dado
blade. Cut to the router table, using a flush-trimming bit. Now
lowest point of cut the ogee-shaped ends on the bandsaw.
the rabbet with Glue and screw the three parts together but
one pass, then leave any further shaping until later.
clamp a stop Once the glue dries, locate the mortises
block to the in the arm rail for the leg tenons. First, use
tablesaw and
the drawing to locate the mortise for the
raise the blade
into the station- back-leg tenon and drill it on the drill press.
ary front rail as Place the tenon gauge you used earlier
shown to make over the end of each side-leg tenon, and
the deeper cuts. then use a Forstner bit to mark the center
of each tenon. Use a clipped nail to drill
rabbet cut into the inside top faces of the round bead on the front face and top edge a small hole in the center of each tenon.
front rails. To cut the rabbet, first lightly of each shoe. Now cut the tenons on each Inserting another clipped nail in each hole,
scribe a parallel line 1⁄ 2 in. from the front of end and cut the shoes’ side profiles on place the dry-assembled chair base upside
each rail to establish its edge. Remove most the bandsaw. Finish shaping them with a down on the arm rail. Align the two sec-
of the waste with a dado blade, then trim chisel and scraper. Excavate the mortise tions, push the nails into the rail, and drill
to the scribe line using a gouge and chisel. in the top of each shoe and then carefully mortises centered on the nail holes. You
Again, leave a little extra to be removed carve the bead returns at each end of the can now finish shaping the arm rail.
adjacent to the front leg after glue-up. mortise. When both shoes are profiled,
The two rear rails also incorporate a shoe saw them from the rear rails. The back splats complete the chair
that will house the bottom of the back splat. Dry-fit the four legs to the seat rails to To make the back splats, first dry-fit the
The shoe starts out as part of the back ensure that all joinery is correct and that all arm rail to the base to establish the dis-
rail but is cut away. This ensures a perfect four legs land firmly on the floor. tance between the top of the shoe and
grain match and provides a bigger section the arm rail. On a piece of scrap the same
to handle when shaping the shoe. One long arm made from three parts thickness as the back splats but an inch or
Before cutting the tenons, use a router The construction of the arm rail is simplic- two longer, cut an angled tenon that fits
table to shape the cove and the quarter- ity itself: The bottom two parts are butt- into the shoe. Rip off a 1⁄4-in.-thick piece
BACK RAILS
Shape the shoes. Use a bullnose bit in a Bandsaw the ends. With the front profile cut, Take off your shoes. When you’ve finished
router table to cut the shoe’s cove. Cut the bead draw the side profiles on the back of the shoe shaping the shoes, cut them away from the
with a corner round bit. and cut them on the bandsaw. back rails. Remove the small tab at each end.
66 F I N E w o o d w o r k in g
COPYRIGHT 2010 by The Taunton Press, Inc. Copying and distribution of this article is not permitted.
Arm rail
curve it
and
carve it
The armrest
flows around the
back and sides
of the chair. You
need to locate
the mortises
accurately for the
arm posts and the
splats.
Two parts shape the third. After shaping the two sections of the arm, A tricky cut made easy. A hand screw provides
screw them to the crest rail to act as a template for shaping it to match. a stable platform for bandsawing the ogee-
Use a flush-trimming bit in the router table. shaped ends of the crest rail.
Scraps help. Use a scrap of wood to find Chop the mortise. Carefully clamp the Angle the tenons with accuracy. Use a tenon jig and
the height of the splat and the angle and arm rail so that you can chop the splat narrow dado set to form the tenons at each end of the
location of the joinery. mortises. back splats.
length with the ends at an angle of ap- feel for the final look. Complete the splats shape the front post to form a continuous
proximately 16°. Use an angled tenon jig by smoothing all the saw cuts and lightly curve. Then you can carve the knee shell
to cut the tenons. Trim them to width with chamfering all the exposed edges on the (see Master Class, FWW #210) and then cut
a handsaw and a bench chisel. rear faces with curved and flat files. away the rabbet in the back of the front
Once you are satisfied with the joints, leg post for the seat frame.
spray-mount the pattern to the front of Carve and shape as you assemble I prefer to glue up the remainder of the
each splat. Bandsaw the outer profile and Add the front knee blocks, which should base in two stages, as it is less frantic and
use a scrollsaw or fretsaw to cut the inner fit flush to the bottom of the rail and the there is enough flex in the base to allow
pattern. This design has an interlaced ef- face of the adjacent leg post. Once fitted, this. Because you can’t use the front leg
fect created by carving away material at simply rub-glue them into position. Some- post for clamping when gluing on the
the points of intersection. Make the initial times a bed-spring clamp helps hold them side legs, you’ll need to attach clamping
cuts with the pattern attached, but remove in place until the glue sets up. Now glue blocks to the front rails. These are simply
it to complete the carving to get a better the front rails to the front post, and then sandpaper-backed blocks attached with a
68 F I N E w o o d w o r k in g
COPYRIGHT 2010 by The Taunton Press, Inc. Copying and distribution of this article is not permitted.
Assembly claMP, then shaPe
Keep the front leg post square to provide a flat surface for Finish shaping
clamping the front rails to it. After glue-up, you can also the front post.
extend the seat-frame rabbet onto the back of the front post. After you have
clamped on
the front rails,
you can extend
After glue-up, their curve and
front of post is rabbet onto the
carved to match post.
front-rail curve.
Rabbet for
seat frame
Glue block