From the Archives: Greenwood Work Holding

That is an excerpt from Tremendous Woodworking #12, Fall 1978

Click on right here to learn the total digitized difficulty.

The important thing to creating a post-and-rung chair is working the wooden inexperienced, because it comes off the tree. Inexperienced wooden is comparatively straightforward to chop, bore, shave, and form. Because it dries, it hardens and shrinks. In chair­making, the posts are formed inexperienced, dried somewhat, then mortised to just accept the rungs, which are also formed inexperienced. However the rungs are effectively dried, then tenoned a hair oversize. When the tenons are pushed house, they tackle moisture from the submit wooden, develop tightly of their mortises, after which the entire joint dries to equilibrium with the environment. It shrinks tightly collectively. A number of additional subtleties—the submit mortises interlock, the tenons are shouldered, notched and flattened for a dovetail impact, and the grain path of all of the elements is fastidiously orchestrated-make a joint that simply gained’t come aside.

A chopping block is important. Within the woods, use the stump of the tree you might be harvesting. The stump, reduce off instantly above the roots, makes a great block for the store. Its flared, curved wooden shouldn’t be good for a lot else. Tall and brief blocks, aspect by aspect, make it straightforward to hew out lengthy again posts, as a result of they are often shifted from one block to the opposite. A white oak, elm, locust, or catalpa block will final out­doorways for a protracted whereas, however use no matter is offered. Work in a cleared space, with nobody within the airplane of journey of the hatchet head.

You want a low workbench and a shaving horse, though the shaving horse could be modified to function each. I’ll de­scribe the low bench first. The usual cabinetmaker’s bench shouldn’t be as helpful for chairmaking as a bench that’s low, slender, and heavy. It’s a bench that may be moved, sat upon, and battered.

The physique of a low bench is a heavy slab. Break up a slab between 3 ft. and 5 ft. lengthy out of heavy hardwood. White oak is greatest each for weight and for resistance to weathering. Work whereas the wooden continues to be moist. Make the slab anyplace between 2 in. and 5 in. thick and between 9 in. and 16 in. broad. The bench needs to be low sufficient and slender sufficient to be straddled comfortably, both standing or sitting. Whenever you sit astride the bench, your legs needs to be snug. Fastened dimensions usually are not necessary; make the bench match your self and your job. You’ll spend loads of time at this bench, so design it fastidiously. The necessary factor is a flat prime. If no logs can be found, use heavy planks or 2x4s glued face-to-face.

The bench posts taper up into the bench floor. It’s simpler to chop and modify them if the posts come proper via the slab. For those who don’t have a tapered reamer for making conical mortises within the slab, tapered rectilineal mortises and tenons chopped out of the inexperienced wooden with a heavy chisel may even do a great job. Don’t completely safe the posts within the slab as a result of they’ll swell and shrink all through the lifetime of the bench. If the motion of the wooden makes the posts mission above the slab, trim them off. In the event that they change into free, drive a wedge alongside them.

Make the posts from wooden that isn’t ok for chairs. Taper them to suit the tapered mortises. Drive them house. Constructing the bench is an effective introduction to moist woodworking generally and to submit and slab building particularly. You’ll discover ways to hew, chisel and bore moist wooden. Virtually no mistake is deadly with this bench. The tougher you pound on it, the tighter it should change into.

When shifting the bench, watch out that one of many heavy posts doesn’t fall out and smash your foot. I wasn’t. I’ve by no means taken the time to place in stretchers.

What you may have made is the ancestor of the frequent Windsor chair. Your bench (additionally referred to as mare, horse, buck, or trestle) means that you can align your physique together with your work. The bench places the work at your waist moderately than at your chest. You possibly can sit down at and in your work, which is a giant assist. As soon as you might be sitting on the bench or standing astride it, locking it between your knees, you, the work and the bench change into one me­chanical system—when you can safe the work to the slab.

To safe work for boring or mortising, drive three or 4 sq. tapered pegs into spherical holes within the bench. Lay sticks between the pegs and lock them in place with a picket wedge or wedges. House the holes and pegs in order that posts could be held down singly and in matching pairs. The simplicity of this holding system was exhausting to just accept till I attempted it. It was the final technique I attempted.

You may also use screws as holding units. Picket screws of ⅞-in. or 1-in. diameter are greater than sturdy sufficient. Be­trigger everlasting handles get in the way in which, make the screws with massive heads and drill holes via them. You’ll at all times have rung rejects (manufacturing unit seconds) mendacity round to place into the holes for handles.

Maintain-down yokes are mounted to the bench prime by boring a gap via the center of the slab to just accept the picket screw bolt. I don’t faucet vertical holes within the bench, however use a picket screw bolt from above the slab and a picket lever nut from beneath.

A deep-engagement pipe additionally works, with the pipe working via a gap within the bench and the screw beneath the bench. Run the pipe up via a gap within the hold-down yoke and screw a threaded pipe flange or sleeve on the highest finish. Defend your instruments by protecting with wooden any steel projecting above the bench so steel doesn’t strike steel.

I take advantage of the English model of shaving horse, additionally referred to as a bodger’s bench, cooper’s shaving bench, or shaving brake. It holds posts, rungs, and slats for drawknifing and shaving. The crossbar on the horse securely locks the workpiece in place. The shaving horse is an ideal holding system: the tougher you pull the software towards you, the tougher your toes push the lever arms away from you. The crossbar is thus compelled down on the workpiece.

The horse design I take advantage of permits extra adjustment than some variations, and it makes the horse adaptable for varied duties. My horse has two horizontal parallel beams, like a lathe, moderately than a strong slab. The work floor is nailed (with deeply countersunk nails) to a tiller that matches between the beams. Pegs pushed via the edges of the beams and the tiller modify the floor to any angle or peak. I made my shaving horse from scrap hardwood lumber. White oak is great, however virtually any wooden will do. After all you may break up the elements out of inexperienced wooden.

The shaving horse crossbar is sq. in cross part. Its spherical ends friction-fit into the aspect lever bars. Thus the cross­ bar can rotate and can at all times seat squarely on the work. One floor of the bar is notched to carry square-sectioned sticks nook up.

Shaving horse dimensions depend upon the employee. The peak and dimension of the bench ought to enable the employee’s heels to relaxation on the bottom whereas his toes contact the lever foot bar. To make a shaving horse double as a low bench, mount a heavy plank on the beams. You’ll discover a separate low bench a assist, however you may get began with out one. For those who make each a horse and a bench, or two benches, make them the identical peak, to allow them to double as sawhorses or be used to carry bigger items of labor laid throughout them.

As a result of the work floor is adjustable, the shaving horse has a wide range of different makes use of. I maintain sharpening stones or instruments with it: each my fingers are free to manage sharpening strain and angle.

Take time to make a software field or rack. Instruments get misplaced simply, and edges change into nicked and ruined within the mess. The rack have to be straightforward to maneuver from one work space or bench to a different. I’ve a rack made from sticks with tapered ends (conical tenons) jammed into mortises which can be bored and taper-reamed via post-wood rejects. The rack is certain collectively by a toggle rope. A twist or two on the rope adjusts for dimension and design adjustments.

Now we’re able to make a chair.