31 Comments

  1. wow so much info in 45 minutes thankfully there is a rewind button, these are the type of chairs that will outlive us all, i honestly dont think i’d use the axe i’d try and keep as much of that quater sawn oak as possibly there are a number of spoons in that waste wood as its not cheap,

  2. Great episode, and nice to see that the axe option is not just for spoons, but yes like Eddy, I would be sad to turn the waste wood into chips rather than an offcut for something or other.
    And nice to see the sharpening in context: it’s a less than 2 minute operation before getting back to the real work. In the endless debates on sharpening methods this practical aspect is rarely discussed – being able to sharpen and get back to work quickly is usually vastly more important than obsessing over the theoretical details.
    I used to stress about it, but after moving to diamond stones, it becomes routine.

    1. I quite agree, once i got reputable diamond stones, i just breeze through sharpening!
      I also agree about the waste wood, its one time i would take the piece to the bandsaw for rough shaping, to make use of the waste wood- perhaps some round spindles in the back, rather than 3 straight boards…

  3. So excited for this series! I have a set of chairs that are very worn from a family of active children 🙂 Can’t wait to develop the skills to replace my chairs with my own hands. The solidity of this design will be great for my needs.

  4. Great to see the axe going. Hew to the line & let the chips fall where thay may.

    Can we hope for an “interlude” episode soon on making a bowsaw? That would be a handy alternative that would leave some usable offcuts.

    Could you comment please on making a template for these parts if one were planning to make a set of four or more chairs? It seems to me that the time to prepare a plywood or hardboard template would be repaid with consistency & time savings in repetitive layout.

    1. If you make a back leg you could easily lay it down on cardboard and trace it out. Use your Stanley knife to cut it out and you’ll have a quick template that doesn’t cost you in wooden materials. The other option if you have your wood dimensioned for all the chairs would be to transfer straight off the leg onto the other blanks. What do you think guys? Sound logical, is there a better way?

      1. This sounds like a great approach for one batch. If there will be time delay from one chair or set to the next, I admit that I like the more durable edges of hardboard for repeatable tracing / scoring.

        1. I don’t think it matters too much but it’s still early. I think the critical parts would be that the 8″ flat area and the top and bottom corners of the opposite edge align on both back legs. Like the 2 pencil maneuver Paul used when making edge joints. Additionally if you refer to the drawings, all of the mortises for parts that connect the rear legs are parallel to the front edge.so I intend to rough the rear legs out individually and finish shaping them together.

    1. Don’t forget that these ones are short and shallow, so won’t take long. The compound angles may make them more involved though.

      I’m just about to glue up the coffee table, which I think has 40-something mortices. Chopping those was ok – it was the layout that took the time!

      George.

      1. That’s interesting George – you can see why Paul talked about the layout being the most important part. He mentioned before about the head guy in a workshop doing all the layout and other workers doing the joinery.

        1. This search gives 5 results of Paul talking about Axes 😉

          The one I linked above is a guy who does a lot of carving, so it’s shaped well for that, and isn’t too far in shape from a normal joiner’s ax.

          This also has a good view of the different shapes, but I think picking a few up and seeing how they feel is probably the best start.

          My Ax was actually inherited from my Dad, it’s of a kind he’s used for 20 years that I remember that has a metal shaft, covered in rubber. It’s not pretty, and probably not “the best” but it does the trick.

          1. I have several axes and non come close to the Robin Wood you have linked to. It is a brilliant axe at a very good price, his service is also first class. I highly recommend this as a good woodworking axe.

  5. Paul and company,
    I want to thank you for the video’s of the Dining Chair that you are presenting. I have been waiting for this for a long time. The presentation is great and the design is very good also. I will be building several of these and I am looking forward to the next chair project. Your teaching is greatly appreciated.

  6. Very nice work and methods for removing the bulk with an axe.

    I’ve not seen many woodworkers in USA or England use an adze instead of an axe. Adze was very useful tool back in Armenia—from my memories.

    Has anyone here use this tool instead of an axe?

    Cheers
    Jake

  7. I have a converted Stanley similar to Paul’s that I occasionally use for a scrub plane. But my go-to scrub is an old wooden purpose built scrub plane with a 1-1/8″ blade that hogs wood off so fast it is scary. I found this plane at a garage sale It’s body is about 10-1/4″ long and 1-3/4″ wide. It has a front horn (handle) and no makers mark. If you can get one don’t hesitate.

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