CHAIRS AND SEATS.
[Illustration: Fig. 46.--Armchair.]
For the armchair (Fig. 46) select four slightly curved legs about 3 in.
in diameter; the front pair are 2 ft. high and the back pair are 2 ft. 9
in. high. The front seat rail is 1 ft. 2 in. long by 2-1/2 in. in
diameter, the back rail is 1 ft. long, and the side rails are 1 ft. 3
in. long, their ends being trimmed to fit the legs, and fixed with
inserted ash or elm dowels 7/8 in. in diameter; see Fig. 47. The height
from the ground line to the seat top is 1 ft. 4-1/2 in. The battens
forming the seat rest on the side rails, and cleats are fixed to the
inner sides of the four legs (see Fig. 48) to support the extreme back
and front battens. The arms and back are made in three parts, the
scarfed joints coming immediately over the back legs. The trellis work
is then added, and finally the struts and dentils are fixed around the
seat. The chair can be made from unbarked wood without any dressing, or
the bark may be removed and the wood, when dry, can be finished in stain
and outside varnish.
[Illustration: Fig. 47.--Fixing Seat Rails to Leg of Armchair.]
[Illustration: Fig. 48.--Plan of Armchair Seat Frame.]
The garden-seats about to be described will look very effective if made
of oak that has had the bark removed and the small twigs trimmed off
clean; they should be finished in stain and varnish. In construction
they are fairly simple.
[Illustration: Fig. 49.--General View of Garden Seat.]
For making the seat shown by Fig. 49, first select the three back posts,
with their natural curves as much alike as possible. In diameter they
should be from 2-1/2 in. to 3 in. Select also two arm-posts and one
centre leg for the front. Next cut two seat rails for the back and one
rail for the front, 5 ft. or 6 ft. long as desired, and cut two side
rails (see Fig. 50) and one centre rail, each 1 ft. 7 in. long. Work the
ends of the rails to the shape of the posts as shown by Figs. 51 and 52,
so that they make a fairly good joint, and bore the posts and rails with
a 7/8-in. bit 1-1/4 in. deep, to receive dowels made of ash or elm.
These are preferable to tenons formed on the rails themselves. Now try
the whole together temporarily, and make good any defects.
[Illustration: Fig. 50.--End Elevation of Garden Seat.]
[Illustration: Fig. 51.--Joints of Rails and Posts for Garden Seat.]
Then take the pieces apart, and coat the joints with a thick priming
consisting of two parts of white-lead (ground in oil) and one part of
red-lead thinned with boiled linseed oil. Drive the joints home and fix
them with nails or screws and wipe off the surplus paint.
[Illustration: Fig. 52.--Arm-rest for Garden Seat.]
[Illustration: Fig. 53.--Part Plan of Seat.]
[Illustration: Fig. 54.--Another Garden Seat.]
The top back rail and the arm-rest can next be fitted. The ends of the
back rail are worked bird's mouth, to fit the posts. The arm-rests are
treated in the same way at the back; they fit in vees cut in the front
posts, and are fixed with nails.
[Illustration: Fig. 56.--Vertical Section, showing Front Rail, Cross
Rail, and Battens.]
[Illustration: Fig. 55.--Cross Section of Garden Seat.]
Measure off and mark equal spaces for the struts, the ends of which are
trimmed to fit the rails and posts. Secure them with two nails at each
end. The seat (Fig. 53) is made up of split saplings laid as shown, with
the ends pared to fit the rails and bradded on. Finally, fit the struts
between the seat rails and the lower part of the posts.
The framework for the chair shown by Figs. 54 and 55 is on the same
principle as that already described. The segmental battens forming the
seat run longitudinally, and their ends are shaped to fit the outer
rails. The battens rest on a flat worked on the centre cross rail (see
Figs. 55, 56, and 57). Fig. 56 also gives a part cross section near the
centre leg, and shows the front rail placed out of centre and the cross
rail resting on the leg, to which it is firmly nailed. When the seat is
more than 5 ft. in length the battens require intermediate supports,
which can be cut from split saplings. The panelling on the back is fixed
to the top and bottom rails and supported in the centre by a wide
longitudinal rail and two vertical rails at the mitres of the diamond
centres. These are fitted in and secured, and then the vertical split
twigs are fixed partly on them and also on the rails. Finally, struts
are fixed to the seat rails and legs and covered with short twigs, with
their lower ends running in a regular curve.
[Illustration: Fig. 57.--Part Plan of Seat.]
A rustic garden seat with canopy is illustrated by Fig. 58. Where shade
is required, the back and canopy offer facilities for securing it, as
they can be covered with climbers. Fig. 58 is not drawn to scale, but
the explanatory diagrams (Figs. 59 to 64) are 3/4 in. to the foot.
[Illustration: Fig. 58.--Garden Seat with Canopy.]
The upright posts and all the more important pieces will best be formed
of somewhat small larch stuff; the smaller straight sticks may be hazel,
birch, or withy. The last named, stripped of its bark, and used in some
parts only, will form a pretty contrast with the darker rods. In filling
spaces in back and canopy, a few pieces of crooked stuff are used; these
will probably be of apple-tree.
[Illustration: Fig. 59.--Front Elevation of Garden Seat.]
[Illustration: Fig. 60.--End Elevation of Garden Seat.]
[Illustration: Fig. 61.--Plan of Canopy for Garden Seat.]
[Illustration: Figs. 62 and 63.--Back and Side Views of Canopy Panels.]
[Illustration: Fig. 64.--Plan of Seat.]
The two posts A, on which almost the entire weight is sustained, should
be let into the ground not less than 2 ft. They rise 5 ft. above the
ground-line. They are set at a distance, measuring from centre to
centre, of 4 ft. apart. The smaller posts (marked B), which support the
seat, stand 17 in. in advance of those last named, and should be let
into the earth 1 ft. The broad seat thus given is essential to comfort
when the back of the chair is upright, as it must be in this instance.
Two principal cross-pieces are nailed against the main posts. The lower
one, of halved stuff, is 15 in. from the ground, and carries the back of
the seat. The other is close to the top of the posts, and carries the
back of the canopy. The canopy is chiefly supported on the three
wall-plates, C (Fig. 59), which rest at one end on the heads of the
posts, and towards the other on the struts, D (Fig. 60). Fig. 61 shows
in plan the arrangement of the principal pieces forming the canopy: E E
are the rafters of the gables, the lower ends of which rest on the
wall-plates, and the upper against the pinnacle, F (Fig. 61). The back
rafters are marked G G, and these rest their lower ends on the
cross-piece and their upper against the pinnacle. Fig. 62 shows the
filling-in of the two back panels of canopy; Fig. 63 that of the four
side panels.
The filling-in of the back of the seat is clearly shown in Fig. 59.
In Fig. 64 the seat proper appears in plan. Its front and ends are of
halved stuff, nailed to the posts. The spars forming the seat are placed
with spaces between them, that they may not hold moisture; for the same
reason, it is advised that they should be of peeled withy.