Sellers Home Dining Chairs: Episode 1
Posted 6 April 2022
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So many of you asked how Paul pulls together a design, and in this chair episode, we took the extra time to walk you through the processes of designing what is most likely one of the most difficult pieces to design. Simply put, chairs are the single most abused furniture item in any home. People scoot on them full weight, rock back on the legs and side lean too. They are also the most used step-ups in the house, so they need to have both strength and resilience. There are many design techniques in this one episode, so much to learn. You’ll see Paul switch from one idea and experiment to adopt something very or subtly different simply to make the design work more efficiently. We love it.
What a really great masterclass on Paul’s furniture design process. Thank you to provide us so much rich informations on the “hidden” work.
Fascinating. And valuable. Thank you Paul and team.
If I adopted Paul’s prototype process, I’d be over my wood budget in heartbeat!
Nonetheless, glad to see his process. Great information and even better view to what goes on behind the scenes during the design phase.
As a professional 3d designer and amateur woodworker, making the design in a 3d software make this process a little bit easier. But, based on my own experience, getting a real world size prototype(s) is very important, in 3d it’s very difficult to understand the size/scale relation with the real contextual space between you, the object and the surrounding environment. Furthermore, the ergonomic design is almost impossible to validate without this phase. When I started woodworking I was amazed how different the expected result was looking compared to my 3d model visualization.
I can’t play this video on my Mac with iOS 12.3 running Chrome
Lucy, try the alternative video player link above the current video.
Thanks Paul. It’s very helpful to me when you show this. Out of curiosity, how much time do you think you spend trying different things before settling on your final chair design?
After watching Paul laminate chair pieces I thought, why didnt I I think of that. Simple. I’m not a consumate craftsman like Paul Sellers. Design or prototype ? My ability stops at drawing stick men to play hangman with my grandboys. Everyone has a different skillset no matter what “clay is on the wheel”.
Woodworking Masterclasses has taken the skillsets I lack out of the equation and allowed me to craft heirloom pieces for everyone dear to me. Albiet, some probably should have been prototypes.
Make something. You might amaze yourself.
That was a very useful view into the design/prototyping process you go through, Paul, thank you for that. The value of a full scale 3d model is really clear in making trades on final sizes, heights, etc. Especially if you are, as in this case, looking to make a larger number of pieces in the end, while simultaneously trying to take into account that you are going to be teaching a hundred thousand people how to make the unit! With the cost of wood these days, and the fact that most of my pieces are one-offs, I’ll most likely have to stick with your other suggestion of mocking up pieces from heavy cardboard. You can’t get the real feel of the item, since you can’t sit in it, but it at the least gives you the feel for massing and the fit in the final space. As always, this was a great motivator and a way to get the mental juices flowing on how to apply what you are teaching to all of my projects. Merci.
I really like this format. Once you are a couple of projects in, you realize that all those points – taking time up front, prototyping, wood prep, layout etc. – very much determine the final result. Thank you very much and I would love to see more of it!
very fascinating discussion about design. Thank you.
Very interesting to watch. It’s surprising just how how much work goes into a design.