When Mike was making his back spindles he asked if they would break very easily. This is just a little taste of how strong those "flimsy little spindles" are if you split it from a log.
Try doing that with a dowel rod.
Today Mike got his entire chair glued up and painted. By a little after 1:00 on Thursday he had all the parts glued up and ready for paint. After we came back from lunch Mike was ready to to begin painting.
Here is a proud man with a great looking chair, and rightfully so. In my opinion, it looks so much like an antique Windsor from 200 years ago. Mike put a lot of hard work into it and has something to really be proud of, and I think it shows.
With the chair completed a day early, Mike went ahead and painted it up. He wanted an antiqued look and chose a Black over Red milk paint. He did a great job at looking at were the natural wear areas would be and just did enough to make it look authentic.
This photo shows just after the Linseed Oil was applied. What a great looking chair. If all mine would turn out this nice, I would be so pleased.
Once the Oil had set on for ten or fifteen minutes, we wiped it down and this is it. Like I said before, I am overly happy with how well Mike did on his first handmade chair. Something that can go on and be an heirloom for his grand kids and even his grand kids' grand kids. Mike, my hats off to you buddy. Congratulations
I would love to build a chair with you one of these days. It will be a while before I'm back down to that part of the country though.
ReplyDeleteLuke,
ReplyDeleteYou should try one. They're a blast to do and so rewarding, but be warned, they get into your blood and you'll have a hard time making anything else from then on if your like me. Tables, Cabinets, Beds, etc. just don't have the same draw. Starting from a log and turning it into a functional piece of furniture, you actually get to a bigger sense of pride for some reason. Cabinets, tables etc. are cool to look at, but you sit in a chair and feel the little imperfections, all the facets left from the tools, the way the seat cradles you, all that stuff, it really takes on a different relationship than most furniture.