Tuesday, March 24, 2015

Welsh Stick Chair - Done

It's not every day you see me finishing two projects on the same day!
Done today:  Vitrine and chair.
I painted the bits on the vitrine that I worked on yesterday.  For more info on this build, check out the previous post.  Essentially, it is a modern cabinet held together only with nails.

The exciting part, is I got finish on my Welsh stick chair!  If you remember correctly, I went to Denmark last fall to build chairs with Jonas from Mulesaw.  I viewed the build as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, as he had a couple of monster elm logs set aside for just such a purpose.  Check out the build starting here.

I didn't quite get finished with my chair in the 4 1/2 days I was there.  This project has been languishing in my shop, not because I didn't want to get it done, but because there always seems to be something that pushes it's way forward in the queue.
Well cured epoxy dribbled here to fill a void.
With a tip from Dyami to use epoxy to fill a couple of voids on the chair, there was some final clean up before finish.  I smoothed it out with a block plane, a chisel, and/or a couple different scrapers.  The West Systems epoxy I used on the recommendation of Aymeric worked easily and looks good.
Epoxy flakes in my block plane.
OK, I'm not really done.  I put the first coat of finish on today.  But, in my book that gets the project off the bench and moves it past the "almost done" category.  Using that logic, if we are past "almost done," we are done.

In the white, ready for finish.
I chose to use a finish recipe that I haven't tried before:  equal parts boiled linseed oil and pure tung oil.  For this first coat, to thin the mixture a bit I added a glug or two of turpentine balsam.  Although I hadn't tried this mixture before, I knew it would leave the chair a nice, warm color. 

Perhaps the tung oil will give it a bit more strength, we'll see.  I'll put a few more coats of this on over the next days, and in a month or two when it is completely cured, I will buff it out with some kind of past wax.  Probably beeswax mixed with orange oil.
Here is my new finish components.
I am pleased with the results.  The elm (Ulmus sp.) darkened up nicely, and the ash (Fraxinus exelsior) for the sticks and legs so far has kept a nice light color.  I like the contrast.  The Frau worries these woods won't match our walnut table, but I think it will look great.
Finished chair.
While I had epoxy mixed up, I thought I would put some in the little pinhole knots on the seat to stabilize the wood, as well as a couple other places that needed filler.  After scraping it off, you could still see where the epoxy was on the wood.  I think the wood absorbs this epoxy.  I worried a little bit that it would show, but so far I think it looks good.
Some of the more interesting grain on the seat.
Here are a few photos of the chair in different glamour poses.
Before photo.  Couresty Mulesaw.



The three-quarter arms were an attempt at making the design look a bit more modern to suit the taste of the Frau.  Olav helped with designing these, and I think they turned out fantastic.


Here is a good view of one of the bits filled with epoxy.


The pair were both finished today.
Now that this chair is off my bench, I am excited to start another one.  I have a couple more seat blanks, and this lonely chair will probably need something to keep it company.

18 comments:

  1. Looks absolutely beautiful! I've not heard of mixing BLO and tung oil. I'll have to look into that.
    Congratulations.

    Greg

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    1. Thanks, Greg! We'll soon find out if it works or not.

      I did use pure tung oil, not the varnish you get at the big box store. And the BLO I have is actually some kind of Swedish bio cold bleached linseed, without the metal driers. I hope it works!

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  2. Wow beautiful chair. This style of chair will definitely go on my to-make list. Thanks for sharing!

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    1. Thanks, Siavosh! Share some photos when you are done!

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  3. Very nice looking indeed. Love the close up shot of the interesting grain swirls.

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    1. Thanks, Robert. I very much appreciate the comment. One funny part of that patch on the seat blank is how different it was than the rest. It was very hard, and resisted planing and scraping. Only very light cuts were possible.

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  4. Beautiful! Love the wood grains, and the color turned out so nice! I love the before chair picture! You are such a nut, Brian! You take after your father. Good job!

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    1. Thanks, Mom! I take it all as a compliment.

      That tree really is the one that eventually became this chair.

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  5. Gorgeous looking chair. Absolutely stunning.
    This must be what every small elm tree dreams of becoming when it grows big.

    Brgds
    Jonas

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    1. Thanks, Jonas. I couldn't have done it without you.

      I don't know if trees dream, but I dream of making chairs out of big trees!

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  6. Hi Brian, that Welsh Chair does look great. Being one of the "Chosen few" who get to visit Brian and see his projects first-hand, I can attest to its comfort. The seat on that chair is so form-fitting there is no eed (ever) for a seat cushion to be on it. Well done!
    John

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    1. Thanks, John! It's funny, but the Frau doesn't like the look of "saddled," or carved, form-fitting chair seats, but I think she is coming around for this one. At least she hasn't banished it to the keller.

      Yet.

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    2. That is a great looking chair. Your timing couldn't be better as I am off to Kentucky in two weeks to build a Welsh Stick Chair of my own. I love your arm rest. Something tells me the look of yours might influence my chair.

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    3. Wow! Thanks, Bzirk! Make sure to share some photos. Good luck!

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  7. A beauty Brian! You should have built 2, one for your wife and one for you!

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    1. Thanks, Aymeric! I plan on building at least two more.

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  8. It really turned out nice. I like the low back style a lot in this case, very modern with roots in the past.

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    1. Thanks, Jeremy! I chose the low back style because in Drew Langsner's book he said it was a good first chait, because it is the easiest. I thought it would give me a chance to finish it in the four days allotted.

      I suppose I should have known better.

      Cheers! :o)

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