American Period Furniture 2007  Online Extras

The Chairmaker Part III

From the assembly of the back legs and associated parts the chairmaker turns his attention to the lower chair (frame) to which belong the front rail, fig. XVIII, m, n, both side rails, o & n and m & d, and both front legs, m & p and n & q. The front legs make the beginning. The chairmaker cannot cut (saw) the front legs out of the board satisfactorily because the wood fibers are often damaged while the tree is being cut into boards causing the front legs to become weak when they carry weight, they stand the risk of splitting lengthwise. Therefore, the chairmaker splits each front leg to the required thickness with the froe, fig. II, from a block of serviceberry wood. Afterwards he hews the split piece of wood with the hatchet, fig. I, and planes it with the jointer plane. Hereafter, he traces the leg with a template, fig. III, on the square edge piece and marks the curve and the upper square post illustrated in m & n. The latter he then saws out and planes according to its drawn dimensions. Into these square posts of both front legs towards the front is mortised the front rail, m & n, and on each side of the lower chair frame a side rail, o & n and m & d. At the same time, the chairmaker immediately scribes the mortises on the leg posts and mortises them with the mortising chisel, fig. VII. He then first curves the front legs according to the design with the Schweifeisen, fig. IX. He cuts into the beginning and the end of each curve with the bow saw and thereby makes it easier to chisel out the curve with the Schweifeisen. The front legs have to be curved with this chisel because the size and form does not allow them to be curved with the saw. The front legs generally are round in cross section on the front side and therefore cannot be planed. Because of this, the chairmaker shapes them with the drawknife and smooths them with a rasp and a scraping iron, fig. XI, p. 200, and the shark skin. Generally, the upper heavier part receives a chamfer on the outside, m & n, or is decorated with sculpted or carved work. The front rail, m & n, and both side rails, n & o and m & d, fig. XVIII, in this type of chair are carved, according to the current fashion, not only along their length, but also in height along the lower edge. Like the back legs, p. 197, the chairmaker, with the help of a template, cuts them from a board with the turning saw, planes them just as the back legs, marks their tenons and saws them, and finally curves the rail along its lower edge. All this so far has been explained before. It might be worthwhile to mention that generally the front rail, m & n, is to also receive a chamfer along its lower edge, as indicated on the copperplate. Often, it is decorated with relief carving. Lastly, the chairmaker glues the tenons of the front rail, m & n, in the mortises of the front legs, m & p and n & q, and at the same time the side rails, o & n and m & d, into these (the front legs) and into the back legs, e & f and g & h, with the help of bar clamps.