Popular Woodworking 2005-04 № 147, страница 64

Tricks and secret weapons to assist the beginning (or city-dwelling) bodger.

Cheating at

Chairmaking

Comb

After building my first stick Windsor chair using traditional tools and green

wood it was like I was on crack. Like thousands of woodworkers I returned home from my first chairmaking class aching to replace every uncomfortable (and ugly) chair in our house.

But there was a problem. Several problems, actually. None of the tools in my workshop were the chairmaking tools I'd learned to use in the class. And

Spindle deck

Arm stick or spindle

Seat

Leg

Side stretcher

Illustration from "The Story of a Developing Furniture Style" by Leopold Stickley

a couple hours with a calculator and the Highland Hardware catalog convinced me that my credit card didn't need that kind of onetime workout.

Plus there were other barriers besides tools. Getting green wood is a challenge in some cities. And making room in a crowded shop for chairmaking activities can be a head-scratcher.

I knew it was time to cheat.

So I talked to professional chairmakers and would-be bodgers about how they work around their limitations. And I focused the jig-making part of my brain on the chairmaker's universe.

And most importantly, I launched into making another set of chairs, despite the murky water ahead of me. The following pages contain the best tricks, cheats and workarounds I encountered in my search. Not all of them will work for you, your temperament or your pocketbook (though most of them are dirt-cheap solutions).

But these cheats do work for me and other chairmakers. It is our hope that some of them might help you launch your next chairmaking project.

— Christopher Schwarz, executive editor

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Popular Woodworking April 2005