- A Walnut Windsor Chair – Introduction
- The Log
- Transport
- Rough Lumber
- Seat Blanks
- Legs
- Arm Posts and Tapered Holes
- Carve the Seat
- Turn the Undercarriage
- Assembling the Seat and Undercarriage
- Spindles
- Arms
- Assembling the Spindles and Arms
- Crest Version 1 — The Form Bent Laminated Crest
- Crest Version 2 — The Steam Bent Crest
- Final Assembly
- Detailing
- Finishing a Walnut Windsor Chair
- Final Notes
Entry 13
Some Assembly Required – Part 2
Assembling the Spindles and Arms – 1/12/2008
With the arms and the spindles finished, it is time for the second assembly step. Shown here are the arm posts, short spindles, long spindles, arm assembly and wedges.
Those three dreaded words again. If everything goes according to plan, it will look (almost) like a chair. Before starting the assembly, the holes for the short spindles are drilled in the arms. I use the center back long spindle to position the arm and hold it next to an arm post. I then drill the hole, sighting it by holding the drill at the same angle as the arm post. The hole is then tapered (using a fid) to match the taper of the arm post. The arm is put into position over the two arm posts and the back spindle. Now the remaining four holes are drilled for the short spindles. The picture at the right shows this being done. After checking that the spindles all fit through the arm holes, we are ready for assembly.
This assembly process proceeds in three steps. Step one is to glue and wedge the arm posts into the seat. I put glue into the tapered socket and then insert the arm post. A good rap from the mallet seats it securely. Then, flip the seat over and put glue on the wedge. The wedge is driven into a slot in the end of the arm post. The combination of a tapered hole and a wedged post locks the post very securely into place. Once the glue has dried, the excess length of the arm posts is trimmed off as shown at the right. I use a chisel to level the arm post flush with the seat and step one is done.
Step two involves gluing each of the four short spindles and seven long spindles into its hole in the seat. A little PVA glue into each hole and this is done. Not shown is one of the detail steps of the fitting of the spindles. The holes in the seat are 1/2 inch and each spindle has a turned end. Each is placed into its hole in the seat and the profile of the seat is marked on its side. Since the holes are drilled at an angle, the shoulder of the turned spindle does not (yet) sit flush against the seat. After marking, I use a back saw and chisel to remove the marked portion of the shoulder of each spindle tenon. A little trimming with the chisel and each spindle tenon sits flush with the seat.
The third step of the assembly is to slide the arms into place, glue and wedge them. The last three photos show this process. The next to last photo shows the arms almost into position. It has been pushed down over the long spindles that go through the back of the arms. The short spindles and arm posts have been just eased into their holes. At this point, I put glue on the long spindles, short spindles and arm posts just below where the arms are sitting. As the final push on the arms to set them in place is done, this pushes the glued part of each spindle into the arm.
I should note that the fit of the arm onto the spindles is tight. Also, since the short spindles and arm posts go through the arms at an angle, I have to use some muscle to move the end of each spindle or post to meet the hole in the arm. This can take a little time, which is why I do not put the glue on till after the arms are almost in place.
Now, I use my mallet (rubber, dead-blow so as not to mar the chair parts) to coax the arm into its final position. Working around the arm, it is moved about a 1/16 inch at a time for the last 3/4 inch or so. This takes a few minutes and is the one place where I have had the assembly process go seriously wrong. On two occasions (in 17 chairs), the arm has cracked and split while being coaxed into final position. One arm was made of cherry and one was made of mahogany. In both cases, there was an internal swirl in the grain of the wood. The stress of being coaxed into position was too much and a loud snap announced the failure of the arm. In both cases, I had to quickly remove the arm and clean up the glue. The cherry chair is still sitting in my shop, awaiting a new arm assembly. A new mahogany arm has since been made and assembled onto its chair. Interestingly, I have never had this problem with maple arms (used on 6 chairs) or walnut arms (used on 7 chairs). The lesson: Nature always sides with the hidden flaw.
Once the arms are in position, they are wedged from above. The arm posts already have slots cut into their ends. A little PVA glue on the wedge and it is driven home. Since the ends of the arm posts are tapered, fit into tapered holes in the arms, and the posts are wedged from above, these joints are secure. For the short hickory spindles, I follow the wedging method described in Dunbar’s book. I cut the spindle off just above the arm. I position a 1/2 inch chisel on the end of the spindle and give it a sharp rap with the mallet. This creates a small split into the end of the hickory spindle. A wedge with glue is then tapped into the split, locking the spindle in place in the arm. This also ensures that the glued area of contact between spindle and arm is “clamped” so that a good, strong glue joint will result. The wedged spindles can be seen in the photo at right. Note that the wedges are ALWAYS at a right angle to the grain of the arm. This puts the wedge pressure into the end-grain of the arm. If not at a right angle, the pressure generated by the wedge will split the arm.
After the glue dries, the ends of the spindles will be trimmed flush with the arms. A back saw (I prefer the Japanese saws that cut on the pull stroke) and a sharp chisel will make short work of this step. (December, 2007)
The time to shape the spindles and arms and assemble to the seat: 53 hours. Total so far, 98 hours.
Spare Time 