Ash/Oak Dining Chairs

year and a half more experience

not much difference in my chairs.
the seat cushions on these will be alot better.
I curved the back legs. Thats about it. In my next life Ill make one good set of fancy dining chairs. Not until then.

I wanted to make sure the chairs are sturdy enough.
I didnt need a rocket scientist or engineer with gauges.
I gave it the fat boy test. I put a piece of plywood where the seat would be, and sat on it, then stood on it. It didnt fall apart. I figure I weigh double what most people who will sit in it will, so Im satisfied.(very sad)

on those other chairs, the first ones I made. My wife wants me to take off those ugly black cushions and put a solid piece of wood for the seat, then shell cover the wood with a cushion. Ill get to it eventually I told her.

Ok Allen i did some searching for you. Take a look at Tod Evans thread here and think of what Larry said about the router. You still got quiet a few to go and it would be a whole lot easier with a little jig like Tods and a router. Might even be a good excuse to buy another tool

Great chairs by the way. I like that back.

making the jig to cut them out is easy enough understood, but I already did another chair, and started to chisel out a third.
Time invested in making a jig vs what I have left to do might be a wash by now.

the jig I made for the forstner bit worked, but not as well as I wanted, mainly due to my poor eyesight, misalignment of the pieces, and my poor hand strength. Clamping it was easy, but it moved a bit so I had to hold it on.
My son thinks the chairs are fabulous. A few bad spots mean nothing to him, they are all hand made. whatever.
Im not thrilled with this build. Its a let down for me after the buffet unit.
I did not purchase the correct wood, this wood just had way too many faults.
I havent had much time off from work to be here or work on them. This week Imworking 6 more straight days, 11 hour days, so I doubt Ill get to anything.

I did not rush anything. The wood chipping out or splitting slivers while Im sanding or working on it has nothing to do with rushing.
I told my son this week I have only Sunday off this week, and if he wants any progress on his chairs, its not possible since sanding is a difficult task for my myasthenic arms and hands. I cannot hold the sander or use blocks too long before the muscles just surrender. Im feeling great lately, but it is what it is, and I accept it.
There was an incredible spotting(sight) in my yard today, still there.
My son got out of bed today and drove an hour to come help me sand his chairs. Incredible, he must really want them.
Wont do him no harm. Let the computer wiz kid get a taste of sawdust, maybe hell like it.
I set him up outside with a nice workbench and a few blocks, some chisels, scrapers, orbital sander, and hes working hard.


all that worm eaten ash, I started jointing what I had resawn today, and I think all that stuff will make nice end tables. Im in need of 4 end tables, 2 for my son, and 2 for a person that helped my daughter get through the long difficult interview process for her job.
Im really busy the next month. I have to devote tremendous time to my business, to get it ready for saying bye bye, Im painting my driveway tar this sunday, and I have to stop the chair work to work on a temporary bed for a relative coming in. Im going to build it out of standard 2x4s and 2x6s, my contractor friend has alot of it laying around, and if I need too, Ill buy a few pieces. Simple construction, glue, wood screws and wood. Not bed hangers, just screw it all together. Will post the pics of it when I get to it, probably next week.
I figure I can work on finishing the chairs, milling the ash for the tables, and making the 2x4 temp bed all at once over the next few weeks.

thats the spirit allen get him to join in on the fun and he might just becaome your right hand man!!!

I can use him for either my left or right hand man these days.
uh.

I dont know why I unscrewed the jig and threw it out, when I was done, I didnt think it was necessary to keep. It was just 2 pieces of wood glued and screwed at a 90 degree angle with a top added with a hole drilled through at the leg top so the bit would be guided. Seemed all the chairs were slightly off, maybe 1/16 to more, but that slight difference put the jig in different spots.
some of the spots, the first pic, came out ok. Even if I went a bit too deep, the seat bottom will cover it, no problem.
the next picture, its clear to see the jig moved foward on me and I cut into the seat rail. Im not sure how noticable it will be with finish applied and fabric over seat. IF I have too, Ill cut and shape and glue a piece of wood to take out that dip.
some pics, some spots on the back where I put in some slivers to cover the slight gaps. Im not sure if my lack of clamping pressure caused those or my poor cutting. Im going to have to invest into some kind of tenoning and mortising jig because my hands just arent cutting it anymore strengthwise, and movement or slipping of the grip ruins delicate cuts.
these four need some final light hand sanding, they are in the finish room, so Ill touch them up, then clean them off, then start applying oil. Ill get to the final two sometime week after next.

Allen you are freaking amazing. Your place is like a factory. Those chairs look great. You are right about the areas that have issues no one will ever see. I think woodworkers of the past did the same. Its only us machinist modern day perfectionists that are worring about areas no one ever gets to see.

As to the mortising, I am presently getting my bits together to build the router mortising jig that Carol has in her book. She used to sell them as i think kits but not sure anymore. This jig allows you to clamp a leg in it and then the router sits on top of a guid and runner and you just simply move it back and forth.

There is one for the tennons too so you end up with round tennons.

I aint doing that but will be using the mortising part for roughing out then chop the ends square with a chisel and make my tennons as per normal.

This might help you cause it holds the piece steady in the clamped up section on a table. The router is supported on the fence tops so no weight or positioning issues. All you would have to do is put the router on and push it forward. Then lower the bit and repeat. No pulling down on the mortiser lever issues needing strength.

I had built a mortising jig like 3 years ago, when I got my first router.
Simple, just wood an screws.
when I found the delta drill press had an attachment, with 4 or 5 different size square bits, wow, I was able to do 100s of mortises in a day.
And now, with the jet mortiser, its quite a bit easier to use, gets me tired after a while, but I did all the chair mortising in one day and eve some tenon work.
I think Ill stick with the mortiser for all future mortising work, it works well for me currently.
Now, making little trim cuts and round curves, thats another story.
I made an error in judgement. I can grip and hold a drill much easier than the router. I forgot my dewalt had a pistol grip attachment, that would have made my life very simple to then build the jig. I found it today while looking for a plate for the ryobi. I could have held it by pistol grip, not struggled to keep it straight while holding the big thing around its body.
Next time. (but never dining chairs.maybe another project


My sons a cool character. He came over to help because last night he purchased a 55 inch sony 3d lcd screen, and now needs another entertainment unit since he onlly had the one I gave him.
Hes hinting.so now I got 2 entertainment units on my list. Ill build 2, let him take the one he likes.

allen levine said:

Im going to have to invest into some kind of tenoning and mortising jig because my hands just arent cutting it anymore strengthwise, and movement or slipping of the grip ruins delicate cuts.
.

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Hey you had me going there for a minute. I thought i was seeing things in your previous post.

sorry, I meant tennoning jig.

these 8 day weeks and 10 hour days are killing me.
I wont get to much woodworking, wont even touch the sharpening this week, but I wanted to touch my current project, so after work today, I managed to oil 4 chairs with first coat.
some of the white oak is coming out much darker, and I tried to match parts up, but there will be noticable areas.
Im sure a second coat will add much more color and even things out a bit more.
Maybe with the ash and oak I would have been better off with some kind of prestain treatment, then some light maple colored stain, but its too late.
I tried to match the other pieces.

on a positive note, they announced today that New York City had its hottest summer on record this year, and today it was something like 97 or 98, and Im able to work indoors with finishing since my daughter moved out and left me her red walled room for a finishing room, complete with cable tv, stereo, and AC.as soon as we put in the maple floor, I wont be allowed to finish in there anymore.

allen its normal for white oak to have light and darks,, its the way it grows and where its harvested from.. they look fine to me in the pics.. nice work again,, mr.. gettur done guy

Everything looked a little red to me.

Bill Satko said:

Everything looked a little red to me.

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and Im leaving it like that. It took me decades to figure out women, and now I got it.
if I dare repaint that room, or even do anything that hints I want to redo the room, my wife will have me building furniture, putting up new window treatments, putting in the floors(we have the floor already), hanging new lighting fixtures, etc........I aint that stupid bill.
Im leaving the walls red, did ya notice I took the tarp away from underneath the chairs, dont care if the carpet gets stained.
I want that room for a few years to use as a staining, oiling and polyurethane room.
Im trying to make it so the wife will never want to walk in there again.
I got a radio in there, a 32 inch tv, ac, and the fridge is only 35-40 feet away.

Im putting together the other bedroom for her, she wants a guest room. I dont know why. I dont need to have anyone over. I dont want to hint to my kid its ok if she wants to come home again. I like my freedom. My wife watches those shows on hgtv and is nudging me every day, wouldnt that look nice or something like it in Marissa's old room(my daughter).....I want no part of it. the room is mine. I might put a lock on it.

allen levine said:

...I want no part of it. the room is mine. I might put a lock on it.

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Now that's funny.

The chairs are looking great from here, Allen. It may be visible in person, but I sure can't see the mis-matched wood in the pics. I also think it's great that you Shanghaied your son into doing some of the grunt work on the chairs. Having furniture you've made is obviously something he's proud of, but by putting a bit of sweat equity into them himself, he gains an even better appreciation for your work...and the pride that comes from helping to make something he'll use for years and years.

Gotta hand it to you Allen - I have yet to get up the nerve to try a chair (other than a couple of Adirondack chairs I built a few years ago. But they don't count)

Yup, you are giving me the confidence to give them a try.

well i am still not gonna show my better half the chairs allen and i have gotten new ones a year ago so i dont have to attempt them.. i will let you do the hard stuff..

while I certainly appreciate the kind remarks, I will get better pictures, clearer to show the mismatched areas and a few chipouts.
My son has been a big help lately.
Hes coming over sunday to finish the last two chairs,(sanding) and thats after we paint the driveway.
He couldnt make it tonight. I had to take down my 20 foot tent canopy because they are expecting 40-60 mile winds tomorrow from the hurricane, and I didnt want the tent pipes busting out anyones windows.
I got my BIL over a short while ago and we took it down and secured everything else.

I have to take a short break from the chairs and build a 2x4 bed for company this week. They wont sleep on an air mattress or a bed mattress on the floor.
I told my wife, no problem.Lag screws and glue.

Allen the finished chairs look great. I think you being a typical woodworker. We can all see the problems in our work that no one else even notices. Its because we look at every microscopic detail while we build it and then think it stands out more than it does to every one else.

I think the color of the wood looks great. You got a very lucky son getting oak chairs hand made for him.

When you sending him the bill for all this custom furniture.