Loren Woirhaye
Member
- Joined
- Oct 3, 2007
- Messages
- 124
I have this upper back issue that's been taking a long time to heal so I've been focusing on getting some things done I've had in mind for quite some time.
[attachimg=1]
Walnut dining chairs. The back, seat rail and rear legs are steam bent walnut. I found kiln dried walnut steam bends adequately in these sorts of non-extreme bends. I use a backing strap and end block from Veritas. Setting up for any one shape, making the form and all that is time consuming but the bending itself is a rapid process. The slats are bent oak. A slight s-curve was achieved by rapidly bending each slat both ways against a curved form using the back strap in order to crush the cells on both faces. Then they were clamped to dry on a form made to the slight serpentine profile. They are springy so I didn't have to get the curve perfect, just close enough so I could stick them in the mortise in the crest rail and clamp and screw them into a "half mortise" in the lower frame.
[attachimg=2][attachimg=3]
This is another bent wood chair prototype... this time in oak. The oak had been sitting around drying for a long time and the part I used for the back surface-checked when steam bent. The front legs are slightly bent off the corner and the seat frame is bent on the same form I used for the walnut side chair above.
[attachimg=4]
7 string guitar I had in mind to build for several years... used in Brazilian music and other styles. I had bought a Brazil made 7 string some years before and played it for a year or two before selling it. It took me at least 4 more years to get around to building one. There are compound teardrop soundhole cutaways one either side of the neck. They do help the player hear better what's going on and left hand access to higher frets is a little easier.
[attachimg=1]
Walnut dining chairs. The back, seat rail and rear legs are steam bent walnut. I found kiln dried walnut steam bends adequately in these sorts of non-extreme bends. I use a backing strap and end block from Veritas. Setting up for any one shape, making the form and all that is time consuming but the bending itself is a rapid process. The slats are bent oak. A slight s-curve was achieved by rapidly bending each slat both ways against a curved form using the back strap in order to crush the cells on both faces. Then they were clamped to dry on a form made to the slight serpentine profile. They are springy so I didn't have to get the curve perfect, just close enough so I could stick them in the mortise in the crest rail and clamp and screw them into a "half mortise" in the lower frame.
[attachimg=2][attachimg=3]
This is another bent wood chair prototype... this time in oak. The oak had been sitting around drying for a long time and the part I used for the back surface-checked when steam bent. The front legs are slightly bent off the corner and the seat frame is bent on the same form I used for the walnut side chair above.
[attachimg=4]
7 string guitar I had in mind to build for several years... used in Brazilian music and other styles. I had bought a Brazil made 7 string some years before and played it for a year or two before selling it. It took me at least 4 more years to get around to building one. There are compound teardrop soundhole cutaways one either side of the neck. They do help the player hear better what's going on and left hand access to higher frets is a little easier.
