Birth of Mary Chair pt 2

Today was working on the back legs/posts of the chair.  It's hard to tell exactly what's going on in the picture, but it appears to be a combination of beads, fillets, and coves.

If this was a turned leg, it would be pretty quick to do.  However, this is in a square post, which means saws, gouges, and a mallet.

Layout

The layout lines are more for guidelines and getting the saw depths correct.  The gouges are really what determine the curves (at least for me).

Cutting the depth lines

Roughing to the lines with gouges

Basically, this is a case of rounding the beads with the inside of a #9 gouge and then removing everything that doesn't belong on the sloped section starting with aggressive cuts and then smoother and flatter gouges.

The two legs, roughed out

Test layout of back

Then I made the upper back rail.  It went so quick, I forgot to take any pictures.  It's still rough, straight from being sawed and the curve hasn't been smoothed down yet.  The tenons are cut, and are pretty much ready to go.

Next up are mortises and cleanup.

In progress shots for the reproduction of the "Birth of Mary" chair by Holbein.

It's a fairly straightforward chair, with some interesting pieces.  

First, the front legs are turned and the back legs are square, which isn't unique, but is unusual.

Second, the seat is woven.  Also not unique, but somewhat unusual, particularly in a new chair.  Most chairs were made with solid or inset seats.  If the seat was broken and couldn't be easily replaced, a woven seat might be made.  

Third, the circles on the back of the chair don't connect, which would be a common gothic design motif if they did.

So, here are a couple of pictures from the work in progress.

Layout

Power tools getting a bit of help

Cutting the rails

Marking the ends

Turning

The decorative front rail

Cutting the front posts.  Pretty cherry.

Transferring the marks from the first front post to the second.  (shhhh, it's a secret how I get them to line up)

Last of the turning complete

Next up: Making the back posts and doing the joinery.

Oseberg Chair complete

Some shots from the completed Oseberg chair.  Once the new owner makes the seat for it, I'll get some more shots.  These are mostly from a local event called Kingdom Arts & Sciences.  It is always interesting to see what people are up to.

The oil coats mellowed the Maple quite nicely.  My only quibble is the joint on the front panel.  It's too obvious to me, but it's less so in person with better lighting.

Oseberg Chair - Almost finished

Here's the almost finished Oseberg chair.  It needs to have the pins and pin holes put in, the false seat holes drilled and it needs to be oiled.  The join between the two main boards on the back have both been bevelled to fool the eye.  The boards are not entirely glued in, but will move over time (used a modified breadboard end technique) so I wanted it to not look so obvious.

Oseberg Chair

Oseberg Chair

Next up in the shop - The Oseberg chair.   It will be interesting to make.  The original is made of Beech and the front and sides are not panels, but are solid wood, with the center lowered to give it a paneled effect.  Originally, it had a seat woven into the panels, somewhat like a rope bed.  I'm not going to be making the seat, but instead will make a frame that a seat can be built onto that will simulate the effect of the original cushion.

The original was painted.

Chair from the Oseberg Burial

Woodworker's notes:

1.) The mortise and tenons are rounded and not square, which is unheard of in later construction.
2.) Construction will be out of hard Maple as a substitute for Beech
3.) The front and side panels are all one piece with horizontal grain.  I will be using multiple boards and will try to match the grain
4.) The back posts are triangular, getting the angles for the mortises may be tricky.  Being able to drill the ends of the mortises will help with this.
5.) Unknown trouble - "Here there be dragons"

Something from the East

A post from FB tonight put me in a more Oriental mood.  Both of these lanterns are based on Japanese lanterns but have been wired for electricity.

Most of the woodwork was done by hand.  It was just easier that way.  The tall, dark one is Walnut, with a turned top and bottom.  The blond one is Maple.

I used plasticized shoji paper for the fill.  It works easier than regular paper and is more durable.

The photography is terrible on the large one because I can't get close enough to it with my cell phone to take a decent picture.

Turning

Nothing much today, just some turned ware.  The canisters are cherry and are variations based on the Mary Rose findings.  The bowl was a gift and is made from walnut.