Settled on the Settee

Last weekend I had an open invitation for friends/family/local wood workers to come over and check out some chairs and my shop. Had some excellent conversations and got to share a lot about chairs and their construction (a reader was even able to make it out!). I might’ve even made a few converts to stick chairs (the Irish inspired chair was a big hit). A friend brought a co-worker along and they both expressed interest in making some stools, so I hope to have them back out soon. It was a lot of fun and I would love to do another one some day, this time with more notice and with a wider ‘net’¹.

As for the Settee, it’s up on my bench going through the final stages of ‘make pretty’. I didn’t fully document the build since I was shooting from the hip for a lot of it, and the final stretch was no exception. I made upwards of 6 combs before I finally settled on one I liked. I say upwards because I ran out of leftover construction lumber and eventually made the last 2 out of soft maple, going to far as to plug and re-drill the holes a few times to get my final spacing (and to save on material). I had one that I enjoyed the look of, but when I actually sat in the settee, it didn’t feel right. The outer-most stick was drawn too far in, causing it to make contact with my shoulder in a weird way (this version can be seen in the above photo). It didn’t hurt or necessarily feel uncomfortable, it was just not what I’m used to or expecting when I sit in a stick chair.

After I traced out my ‘final’ comb, I made the 11th hour decision to alter the sweep. I used a french curve and traced a section that blended well enough (to my eye). The idea was to push the offending stick back a little more to reduce that contact. After I cut the outer curve, I traced a 1-1/2” wide line using a gauge to mark my inner curve and cut it out.

Last minute comb shape change

The resulting comb was much nicer. The old one wasn’t ‘bad’ per se, but it just didn’t feel right. Then it was a matter of fiddling with the spacing (something I had been TRYING to get right, but still wasn’t there). I could see it in my head, but I just couldn’t translate that to the comb. One didn’t have enough splay in the outer sticks, and then the next one had too much. The outer-most stick is spaced out more than the rest of the sticks in the seat to help with that splay (since it’s also on the section of the arm where the curve starts), so I was walking a thin line between flexing it in splaying out too far². After some plugging and re-drilling of the 2 outermost sticks, I finally landed on a comb that would work. It’s possible I had been staring at it for so long I was never going to find something I was truly happy with (always focusing on how it differed from what was in my head), but I was able to accept this one so I could finish the chair.

As for the shape, I settled on something simple, with a 10deg bevel in the front/back and slightly rounded ends. I fought with the idea that something this big deserved a grand comb with more shaping/ornamentation, but ultimately, that’s not ‘me’. This feels more ‘vernacular’, though maybe that’s my internal justification for taking the easy way out. I’ve got quark curdling/resting as I type this up, so I should have it painted by tomorrow.

Speaking of paint….Nick Kroll’s book on milk paint is ready to order! In addition to sharing the recipe openly, he’s also responded to a ton of feedback and questions about the paint. He’s incredibly passionate about it and you can tell he cares deeply when you hear him talk about it³. I’m very excited to give it a read (I ordered my copy as soon as I got the alert that it was ready). It’s the last day (Oct 31st) for free shipping from LAP so that’s one more reason to order it today⁴.

1. I had posted the event to local FB wood working groups 2 weeks ahead of time. I knew if I waited longer, I might drag my feet and not actually do it, so I gave myself that personal deadline of posting and hosting ASAP.

2. If you’ve ever seen a lobster pot chair, this was the effect I was trying to avoid. I’m not a huge fan of the inward flex/splay of those outer sticks and my eye would immediately draw to it if there was any inward flex present.

3. Don’t believe me? You can check out his Bench Talk 101 presentation here.

4. Obligatory not sponsored mention. No one asked me to promote or even mention the book. I just love supporting passionate crafts people and the companies that support them. I paid full price for my copy and will likely buy more as gifts.