Woodworker's Journal 2008-32-6, страница 64

Use dowel centers to mark the seat back dowel hole locations on the rear legs. Drill these holes and assemble the seat back. The legs are set in place without glue lor alignment. Carry oot a full dry-assembly before opening your glue bottle.

Notch the tops of the front legs to accept the seat cushion. Note the thin saw-kerf at the bottom of the notch. This was cut earlier in the process.

Credits: This story would not have been possible without gracious help from the following people: Thomas Rati, El Tovar Hotel waiter; Eli Murphy, El Tovar Hotel bellman: Mona Mesereau, Mesereau Public Relations; and Jon Streit, Xan terra South Rim Executive Director of Operations. Thanks to all.

— Bruce Kieffer

Woodworker's Journal December 2008 64

Assembling the Chair

Finish-sand the unassembled chair parts, and ease all the exposed edges. Glue and clamp the rear legs, seat back, rear seat rail and rear rail together. Glue and clamp the front legs, front seat rail and front rail together. Now glue and clamp the front, back, side seat rails and side rails together to assemble the chair. Check the chair for square by measuring the diagonal lengths from seat corner to seat corner, as shown below. When equal, the chair is square.

Using a chisel, chop the notches for the seat cushions on the front leg tops. Use a band saw and stationary sander to shape and fit the corner blocks (pieces 12 and 13), and then attach them with screws.

Check the chair's squareness by measuring the corner-to-corner diagonals between the legs. Readjust the clamps, if necessary, until these measurements are equal.

Finishing Up

Apply your choice of stain and finish. I applied one staining coat of DeftOil Black Walnut Danish Oil Finish; I let that dry for three days, and then I top-coated that with three coats of clear Natural DeftOil finish. For a lighter color, try one of the other DeftOil walnut colors for the stain coat instead.

Bruce Kieffer is a professional woodworker and a frequent contributor to Woodworker's Journal