Cherry Bench build

[Yonak Hawkins]

Prashun, I rather like the look of the meatier slats .. with the rather substantial other components. Do you intend to sculp board 4 on the right (especially between the posts) so it's a little less angled and sharp ? It would go well with other more flowing parts of this attractive bench. Do you intend to have an apron on the front ? .. I guess I'll find out in future posts.

[Prashun Patel]

Thanks, Yonak. I'm not done with the shape yet.
Here's an embarrassingly neander drawing of what I'm going for. The rearmost slat will not be bevelled. The frontmost slat will be flat, and then will curve downward.
I'm no scoop expert, but in general, it seems like the deepest part of the scoop is best placed near the rear, with a gradual rise to the front, and then a dip to relieve pressure for the bottom of the thighs. The bottom of my scoop falls a little rear of the center line.

edit: I moved the scoop back a tad. To do this, I took the #1 slat down to 3/4", and then altered the bevel of the adjacent boards. The 3rd pic here is messy (I realize I am a far messier woodworker than most posters here. My shop, glue-ups, and pics all look so sloppy.)

[Prashun Patel]

I fit the headrest yesterday. The order of operations here took some thinking, since the headrest will be curved in two dimensions, and will have spindle holes along the bottom. I've settled on:

1. Cut tenons
2. Cut face and rear curves
3. Cut bottom curve
4. Drill spindle holes
5. Cut top curve

I also have completed the seat. I had to leave the front and back in sections for now so I can squeeze them between the legs (note to self: glue up arm LAST next time...)

Off-topic comment: I'm not intending to be instructional here; just sharing my journey. I listened to a lot of FWW Shoptalk Live this last weekend, and realize there is some serious opposition by many pros to hobbyists posting anything remotely instructional. Personally, I enjoy sharing my journey - and things I've learned through experience or researching. I also believe that bad advice is quickly corrected by others who know more or differently. I've corrected others similarly. I thank the Internet and the generosity of pros and amateurs alike with EVERYTHING I've learned about this craft. I for one, am going to try to keep paying it forward (and seek validation; it's a lonely sport, this woodworking). Caveat emptor.

[Gordon Eyre]

Thanks for sharing your journey with us. I have enjoyed watching this all come together and look forward to seeing the finished product.

[Von Bickley]

Thanks for sharing your journey with us. I have enjoyed watching this all come together and look forward to seeing the finished product.

+1.... I agree with Gordon

[Pat Barry]

With regard to your point about posting 'instructional material', I don't see this as being instructional, however I sure would like to see some instruction from you on the sculpting work you have done because I think you are a pro at that for sure. Keep up the good work, post what you want, and don't worry too much about what the pro's think.

[Prashun Patel]

This part has been tricky! I cut the headrest and drilled the holes for the spindles. I decided on 1/2" holes in the seat and 3/8" in the crest. Because of the sweep of the back leg, the bottom of the headrest and the top of the seat are not co-planar. I'm opting for bent spindles, which allowed me to drill all holes at 90 deg. I'm using a Veritas tenon cutter to form the ends. Bent spindles mean I have to turn them in the former by hand, though. Here's a pic with a test spindle fit.

I don't see a way around making and fitting each spindle by trial and error, since they'll all be slightly different in length, and because the headrest sweeps about 1/2" front to back.

I'll use a tapered reamer to tweak.

I decided on a 2" spindle spacing.

I also had a chance to shape some of the seat. I made a choice to incorporate walnut 'rings' in between the front-most slats. The reason is that when the front of the seat is swept down, adjacent laminations of the same type don't look right; you get unsightly rings that are not close enough to look purposeful, yet different enough to draw the eye. Contrasting rings at least makes it seem like I did it on purpose... As a visual reference, these rings also make it easier to obtain symmetry on the front curve.

I am not sure about the top sweep of the headrest; I think I might drop it even lower. Things are feeling a little top heavy...

[Ben Martin]

Prashun,

I really like how this is coming out! Your attention to detail with the seat is very nice, and agree that the Walnut is pleasing to the eye.

Ben

[Prashun Patel]

I put a new 3/8" 3tpi blade on my bandsaw, and started cutting out the spindles. I need 25 of them. I thought about pattern routing them, but they're just too skinny (3/4" at the thickest part) for me to feel comfortable with that. Also, the last time I pattern routed long, skinny parts, I kept blowing out the ends.

I trace the template with a sharpie marker. It seems counterintuitive, after learning that joinery is best marked as finely as possible. But on the bandsaw, it gives me a target to cut through. I also find a thicker line gives me more confidence. It's a chicken-egg thing; The thickness helps mask any slight deviations I make, and hence I move more swiftly, and make fewer such deviations. I use a simple rasp and block plane (both skewed to 90deg) to do any final fairing. In the end it's not much slower than doing it at the router.

I really need to learn how to use Sketchup. Design-as-you-go is dangerous. I realize that the Windsor Bench I modeled the spindle spacing off of has (critically) marginally thinner spindles. I'm undecided whether to plane them down to 9/16" before rounding over....

The spindle ends are formed with the 1/2" and 3/8" dowel formers from LV (they are basically big pencil sharpeners). Rounding over the edges with a trim router helps to get the spindle centered into the sharpener.

[Prashun Patel]

After a few spindles, I was looking for a way to do this that involved less stooping and inspecting. I started running my block plane UNSKEWED over the convex side, focusing pressure on the nose. This has greatly improved my ability to 'find' the true curve without having to look. I was able to feel the bumps, and new immediately once I'd reached the curve; the shaving was long and continuous over the entire length (tearout notwithstanding )

On the concave side, I sharpened up the flat bottom spokeshave and did the same. Unbelievable. I start at the center and keep moving outward on the instroke and outstroke (think like those pendulum Pirate-ship roller coasters that swing back and forth with increasing amplitute).

I feel like I'm learning more about these blades each time I use them. That final pass is poetic. And the finish is perfect (tearout notwithstanding )

These simple devices are genius, and I'm glad I'm forcing myself to become facile with them (long way to go yet...)

BTW, yes I know some of these have grain run-out. I made extras so I could....um...'cherry' pick the ones that are straightest and matchiest.

[Bobby O'Neal]

Looking good. I like reading from others as they discover tools and processes. It lets me know I'm not on my own.

[Malcolm Schweizer]

Absolutely love this one. I am about to build a Sam Maloof rocker. After that who knows- I may try something similar to this. Imitation is the greatest form of flattery.

[Sean Hughto]

I gotta make this forum a regular stop. Lots of good stuff here. Prashun, this is a wonderful bench. Deft shaping all around - mice balance and weighting or the members.

[Prashun Patel]

Thanks for the comments.

Boy, do these spindles take a long time...

I had forgotten how great this little rosewood contour plane is. I think it was $17 from LV. This plane doesn't work well for me on broad curves. But on tight ones (where the contact point is a little sliver) I think it works amazingly well. Something about that mouth. It took me a while to learn how to adjust the depth, but now I just tap it on the bench to move the blade in and out.


The pencil sharpener style dowel former is usually best secured in a vise. Then the stock can be chucked in a drill and fed through rapidly. Because my spindles have an arc, I wanted a way to easily turn the sharpener keeping spindle in a vise. A c-clamp makes a poor man's crank handle.

[Prashun Patel]

Just to bring closure to this thread: regrettably, I've decided to terminate this project. One too many aspects were just not working for me. Thanks for watching.