furniture making

Gragg Chair Fabrication Completed

It might have been the hottest week of the summer, well over 100 degrees in the attic where I am doing all the Gragg chair project (admittedly only about 85 outside) but finally the construction is complete.  Now it was time to move on to sculpting all the edges and profiles of the elements.

Virtually every single component was ovalled, tapered, smoothed, and shaped to add the elegance that this chair deserved.  Even in its raw state immediately after final assembly it is a thing of beauty, after a the surfaces are sculpted it is sublime.  The primary weapon for much of this process is a spokeshave, or more properly, a whole selection of spokeshaves I’ve assembled over the past 45 years.  The main workhorse of the stable is the tiny patternmaker’s spokeshave I made In 1979, if I recall correctly.   It is the tool closest to the hammer head.  Another favorite is the “pig’s ear” spokeshave I probably got at a Martin Donnelly auction but I cannot remember precisely.

Systematically I went over every element, shaping them to be a harmonious whole.

Shaping the triangular glue blocks imparted tremendous elegance, and a few final touches made it ready for paint.