# Phatt Morris Chair



## Geeze (Jan 28, 2021)

Since I moved to TN I've needed more furniture particularly an easy chair. After looking at the commercial offerings I stumbled across the Stickley version of the Morris chair from the turn of the 1900's. I plan to make the seat 30" wide so I can play guitar without banging into the arms. I use chair arms for holding coffee cups and as such they will be flat.










Being a curly maple fan I planned to use that vs. the traditional QS oak. As I looked at various plans I noted a serious use of the mortise and tenon joints. I spent some time looking at various methods of cutting the mortise from the _buy a mortising machine _or the _drill it out and square the pocket with a chisel _methods and neither appealed to me. I'd rather spend $$$ on tools I'll use more often and I dull chisels just by looking at them. Never mind actually attempting to sharpen them.

The maple I planned for the legs was a bit squirmy when I cut bits off for a guitar body and blanks for my dad to turn bowls and such. This led me to consider contrasting wood strips which also allowed the benefit of cutting the mortise pockets with a table saw and bandsaw.

I spent a couple of weeks looking at the wood I have and drawing up a plan of attack. I have an old solid modeling program that has kept me from foolish pencil drawn mistakes and it saved me again. 










Here is the first bits of curly maple and padauk rough cut on my 10" bandsaw. It didn't like cutting the 2.5" maple but we struggled through it.










After sanding to thickness I made the pocket cuts on a table saw - one end wide enough for a 1/2" bandsaw blade to finish the last cut.










Bandsaw cut



















This is the back of the front leg - I split the maple to insert another piece of padauk for the mortise pockets for the side stretchers.










First leg is in glue up presently and I get pics up as I can. 

Russ


----------



## difalkner (Nov 27, 2011)

That's gonna be a gorgeous chair!!

David


----------



## stubach (Feb 20, 2021)

Looking forward to seeing final product. 

I envy you having that much curly maple and especially that much Padauk floating around. I love the color of Padauk but have only been able to source a couple small boards of it at reasonable prices so I haven’t had a chance to work it into a project yet.


----------



## Geeze (Jan 28, 2021)

stubach said:


> I envy you having that much curly maple and especially that much Padauk floating around.


Where are you located?

First leg glued and rough sanded. Three more to go.










This is a cross section from the top - may help to make sense of the geometry,










Russ


----------



## Tetis (Oct 17, 2020)

Good afternoon! How do you plan to bend the armrest? I hope the program translates my question correctly.


----------



## Tool Agnostic (Aug 13, 2017)

I love padauk, but I always keep in mind that padauk sawdust can get into the pores of other woods and stain them. Padauk sawdust can leave stains on a lot of stuff and it is hard to get out. Be careful when sanding. Your photos show no issues - so far, so good!

The bright red/orange color of padauk changes over time, eventually turning mostly brown. Keeping it out of the light and a UV protecting finish that limits oxygen will slow down the change, but it is inevitable no matter what you do.
https://www.wood-database.com/african-padauk/
https://www.wood-database.com/wood-articles/preventing-color-changes-in-exotic-woods/


----------



## Geeze (Jan 28, 2021)

Tetis said:


> How do you plan to bend the armrest?


I'm going to leave them flat as they will hold coffee and books, I don't use them to hold my arms.



Tool Agnostic said:


> I love padauk, but I always keep in mind that padauk sawdust can get into the pores of other woods and stain them.


Boy don't I know it! I made a matched set of guitar amp head shell and speaker cab with padauk and walnut trim. Afterward when I cleaned the carpeted stairs from the garage the steam cleaners waste water turned orange! Had to hit them twice.

I currently plan to dye the chair some form of orange.

Russ


----------



## stubach (Feb 20, 2021)

Geeze said:


> Where are you located?
> 
> Russ



I’m located in Mid Michigan. There’s actually a really nice lumber reclamation business not far that reclaims barns and old farm houses. They have tons of great woods and decent prices but all of it domestics.


----------



## Geeze (Jan 28, 2021)

stubach said:


> I’m located in Mid Michigan.


It wouldn't surprise me that there's a good wood store in Michigan. I'm in central TN and drive 120 miles to the best wood store I've seen in five states. I found it by talking and visiting small saw mills in my area - one of them told me about Jeffries.

Russ


----------



## Geeze (Jan 28, 2021)

The other three legs rough shaped and in glue up.



















Stretchers next.

Russ


----------



## Tree Hugger (Sep 1, 2011)

Well you've certainly have your thinking cap screwed on tight. Always more than one way to skin a cat.


----------



## Bernie_72 (Aug 9, 2020)

I have two morris chairs and love them. Your build looks really nice so far. The contrasting wood is a nice touch and they compliment each other very well. Looking forward to seeing the end result!


----------



## Geeze (Jan 28, 2021)

Remaining stretcher sides sanded for next glue phase. 










Leg caps in glue up.










Here is the curly maple that will form the arms, stretchers and stiles. I don't know if I have enough for the back yet.










Russ


----------



## NoThankyou (Mar 21, 2018)

Irrelevant response deleted


----------



## Geeze (Jan 28, 2021)

Leg 'fronts' glued up, sanded square but not trimmed to final length.










Standing tall.



















Russ


----------



## Geeze (Jan 28, 2021)

Working on the arm - the initial pencil drawn sizing needs some tweaks.










Russ


----------



## Geeze (Jan 28, 2021)

After procrastinating a bit on cutting the arms and stretchers I dove off and cut away. Naturally I had to mix up the side stretcher and stile width which led to one of things I love about working with wood - glue more on and make it a design feature vs. a cluster.










Side stretchers with a padauk racing stripe.










On to the front stretcher nibbling away until it fit with some persuasion. 










I noticed that this leg isn't completely square due to the small gap on the back. More creative fixing time.

I also have a question since this is my first attempt at mortise and tenon joints - should they be tight [mallet tight] or snuggly slide together?

Russ


----------



## Fred48 (Mar 19, 2021)

I would recommend a snug When you add the glue the wood will swell a bit. If it was mallet tight you could easily split the joint.
Fred


----------



## Geeze (Jan 28, 2021)

Fred48 said:


> I would recommend a snug When you add the glue the wood will swell a bit. If it was mallet tight you could easily split the joint.
> Fred


Thank you Fred! I sanded them down and they wiggle slide together without brute force.

Tonight I sanded the newly widened side stretchers and trimmed them to length. 



















Tomorrow evening more tenon cutting.

Russ


----------



## Geeze (Jan 28, 2021)

Got the bottom stretcher tenons cut and fitted. Dry fit together.




























Four cuts and some fitting on the top stretchers but that will be a tomorrow evening experience. I'm get a bit excited as it's starting to look like an assembly rather than a collect of disparate parts.

Russ


----------



## smallfry (May 19, 2017)

Geeze said:


> It wouldn't surprise me that there's a good wood store in Michigan. I'm in central TN and drive 120 miles to the best wood store I've seen in five states. I found it by talking and visiting small saw mills in my area - one of them told me about Jeffries.
> 
> Russ


Hello Geeze, what part of middle TN are you in? I'm in Dickson and been looking for a wood mill/supplier with some interesting varieties of lumber. I'm after some high figure, unique stuff. Would Jeffries have this?


----------



## Geeze (Jan 28, 2021)

smallfry said:


> Hello Geeze, what part of middle TN are you in? I'm in Dickson and been looking for a wood mill/supplier with some interesting varieties of lumber. I'm after some high figure, unique stuff. Would Jeffries have this?


Sunny metropolitan Cookeville. Jeffries is 20,000 square feet of wood - hands down the best wood store I've ever seen. Tons of exotics and most of the US species. I'm a big maple fan and they typically have quilted, curly, birdseye, fiddleback & ambrosia on hand. Last time I was there I picked up 15"-17" wide [ x96" or longer ] quilted cherry, figured walnut and leopard wood. Plus 55 lb of exotic turning wood for my dad.

Definitely worth the trip, they have a Jeffries facebook page.

Russ


----------



## Geeze (Jan 28, 2021)

Top side stretchers cut and fit.



















I'm getting concerned about the stiles and glue up. Can I leave them unglued to flex a bit as I glue the 'frame' together?

Russ


----------



## m.n.j.chell (May 12, 2016)

I really like the look of those woods, and how they contrast each other. Those crisp, sharp corners look great. BUT, will they be felt by the user? I can't imagine lying or bumping against one of those edges or corners.


----------



## Geeze (Jan 28, 2021)

mikechell said:


> I really like the look of those woods, and how they contrast each other. Those crisp, sharp corners look great. BUT, will they be felt by the user? I can't imagine lying or bumping against one of those edges or corners.


Most of the edges will have at least a 1/2" round over - one for comfort, two for showing the curly grain wrapping around the edge. Once I get the pieces cut and fitted I plan to sand / dye & lacquer them then glue together.

Russ


----------



## m.n.j.chell (May 12, 2016)




----------



## Fred48 (Mar 19, 2021)

I would be tempted to clamp the front and back rails whilst you glue up the side frames. If the frame came apart and fell to the floor it would damage the work. 
When you do the glue up, ensure it is carried out on a flat surface.


----------



## Geeze (Jan 28, 2021)

Stile time. The wood that I planned for them was a 1/4" too short. Luckily I am a certified wood addict and have extras in the form of some 3x3x30" curly maple cut on a table saw then bandsaw for width. Here are the stiles rough cut and sanded square.










Russ


----------



## Unfinished Projects (Mar 9, 2021)

Geeze said:


> Since I moved to TN I've needed more furniture particularly an easy chair. After looking at the commercial offerings I stumbled across the Stickley version of the Morris chair from the turn of the 1900's. I plan to make the seat 30" wide so I can play guitar without banging into the arms. I use chair arms for holding coffee cups and as such they will be flat.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I've always liked that style of chair. Looks comfortable.


----------



## Geeze (Jan 28, 2021)

Stiles cut.










Keyway cut on the underside of the arms - not shown.










I cut and fitted padauk to fill in the stile slot.










Time to shape the arms, figure out the back and seat base.

Russ


----------



## Fred48 (Mar 19, 2021)

Looking great


----------



## Geeze (Jan 28, 2021)

Fiddley bits tonight. I'm itching to get sanding / dyeing / finishing so I can get to gluing. The padauk spacers were glued in with a dab or so to hold them in place for sanding. The top stretcher is on the table in this picture.










I started mocking up the arms to give them more form than just a plank. Still need to drill the 'recliner' holes at the rear section.










Also began the tilting side frame of the back. I made the rear stretcher too low which partially blocks the back's access to the pivot pin to be drilled in the legs.










As soon as I solidify the back geometry I can order the leather cushions to get them on the way.

Russ


----------



## wvcknights (Mar 31, 2021)

Awesome work!!


----------



## Geeze (Jan 28, 2021)

Experimenting with round overs on a scrap piece. I'm not a fan of routers on figured wood as tearout is not my friend and I'm also running a shop in a garage and don't want to annoy my neighbors as they are loud. So I draw some witness lines -










Then cut a bevel with a high angle plane -










Run a random orbital across the bevel to remove the small bits of tearout then sand in transition bevels on either side of the first bevel then 'round' the sander to smooth the flats [80/120/220 grit] -










I stuck some water on for the wood grain pop. I just love how the curly follows the round.










This is the procedure I use on my musical instrument cabs and furniture. My intent is to round most of the pieces of the chair - I estimate about 30. I'm a bit daunted at this moment but this rounding is going to make the chair gorgeous. I'm thinking of building a fixture to hold the orbital sander in place for the smaller pieces like the stiles so I only have to control one thing at a time.

I've got some amber dye coming and plan to do some test spots to see how it gels with the padauk or with straight lacquer.

Russ


----------



## m.n.j.chell (May 12, 2016)

It's going to be stunning, I'm guessing. Good luck getting them all finished evenly.


----------



## smallfry (May 19, 2017)

Geeze said:


> Sunny metropolitan Cookeville. Jeffries is 20,000 square feet of wood - hands down the best wood store I've ever seen. Tons of exotics and most of the US species. I'm a big maple fan and they typically have quilted, curly, birdseye, fiddleback & ambrosia on hand. Last time I was there I picked up 15"-17" wide [ x96" or longer ] quilted cherry, figured walnut and leopard wood. Plus 55 lb of exotic turning wood for my dad.
> 
> Definitely worth the trip, they have a Jeffries facebook page.
> 
> Russ


Thanks. I'll have to make a trip.


----------



## Tool Agnostic (Aug 13, 2017)

This has been so much fun to watch and a great learning experience. I gotta admit, the slow buildup of suspense is killing me!


----------



## stubach (Feb 20, 2021)

Tool Agnostic said:


> This has been so much fun to watch and a great learning experience. I gotta admit, the slow buildup of suspense is killing me!


I’m right there with Agnostic. Can’t wait to see final product.


----------



## Geeze (Jan 28, 2021)

Tool Agnostic said:


> I gotta admit, the slow buildup of suspense is killing me!


No more than me! I suffer from 'HURRY UP AND GET IT DONE!' syndrome. This build is testing that severely.

Russ


----------



## Geeze (Jan 28, 2021)

Dye and lacquer test. L-R clear, orange, yellow and amber. I have some amber shellac coming Monday.










I didn't like the stile width of a fat inch and wanted to get them in the .750" neighborhood. The maple is extremely hard and just laughs at 80 grit in a drum sander. So I cut .100" off each side, smoothed them with a drum sander and mow they're about .770" before finish sanding.

Before.










After.



















I wanted to round the edges - don't own a router - and was a bit overwhelmed with the prospect of my usual use of an orbital sander after I plane a 45° bevel to round the edges. This process works real well when the work piece is stationary. Not so much with 12" pieces. I had an epiphany last night about building a fixture to hold the orbital disk up so I could use both hands on the work piece.










Works very well.

First stile beveled.










Rounded.



















I also went back to look at the cushion company to see what leather - they have vinyl that looks like leather - cushions would run. In a rust hue its $500










In mulberry - really speaks to me - its $810










Decisions decisions decisions.,,

Russ


----------



## Bob Bengal (Jan 2, 2021)

I like the thinner styles too.

I'm surprised you don't have a router. It sure hasn't slowed you down much lol.

Nice sander fixture.

Wow!


----------



## Geeze (Jan 28, 2021)

Not much time tonight - a side project is in work too.

Cut the bevel on five stiles










Had enough time to rough sand and first round over on three










Russ


----------



## Geeze (Jan 28, 2021)

Switched up the process a bit as it was hard to control the 67° 'step' bevels so I cut those with the #3 plane then sanded. I had been avoiding finishing these as it was a bit work to get them to 220.



















Received some amber shellac and so far it may replace the orange. I tried one coat with a gap in the middle and two coats [the other one...] then sealed with lacquer.




























Now to raise the back lower stretcher an inch to allow the seat back to swivel correctly.

Russ​


----------



## m.n.j.chell (May 12, 2016)

Really looking fantastic.


----------



## smallfry (May 19, 2017)

Geeze said:


> Sunny metropolitan Cookeville. Jeffries is 20,000 square feet of wood - hands down the best wood store I've ever seen. Tons of exotics and most of the US species. I'm a big maple fan and they typically have quilted, curly, birdseye, fiddleback & ambrosia on hand. Last time I was there I picked up 15"-17" wide [ x96" or longer ] quilted cherry, figured walnut and leopard wood. Plus 55 lb of exotic turning wood for my dad.
> 
> Definitely worth the trip, they have a Jeffries facebook page.
> 
> Russ


Took me a while but I finally made it to Jeffries. Long 3+ hour drive but worth it. Had a lot of exotic woods like you said and I bought several pieces. Real nice selection of figured maple, but short on birds eye that I was looking for. It's the best source I've seen so far around this part of the country. Real nice folks.


----------



## Geeze (Jan 28, 2021)

smallfry said:


> It's the best source I've seen so far around this part of the country. Real nice folks.


Cynthia and Bob are great! I suspect I'll be making a trip on Saturday.

I've been traveling and flat out procrastinating as I pondered the fix for the rear stretcher that was 2" lower than it should have been. Rather than recut the tenon I'm adding 1.5" of padauk and a .5" cap of curly maple on top.

Padauk bits cut and run though a drum sander in glue up.










I also have rigged up some part hangers that allow for rotation while their being shellacked and lacquered.










Project ooching forward...

Russ


----------



## Geeze (Jan 28, 2021)

Back stretcher altitude adjustment glued together.










I started rounding the legs tonight. Witness lines half of the eventual radius










45° bevel cut in with a high angle #3 plane










Transition bevels cut as well



















Tomorrow evening sanding the final round on leg #1










Russ


----------



## Bob Bengal (Jan 2, 2021)

Must be a joy to watch that grain as you work it.


----------



## PPBART (Oct 7, 2011)

Love this thread! I've gotten several ideas that make me consider mods to the plans for my own chair. Really looking forward to the final product!


----------



## Geeze (Jan 28, 2021)

Finally got off dead center and ploughed ahead with the back design. I figured if I didn't like it I can burn it.

Going with .750" curly maple sides and a .500" padauk center that I will notch out the mortis joints in.



















A shot of the back of the chair with the 'fixed' rear stretcher. I cut the mortis too low and decided to add a strip of paduak and a maple cap.










I have been experimenting with thinning the amber dye to something similar to the amber shellac that whipped my finishing skills.

Russ


----------



## difalkner (Nov 27, 2011)

This is looking good!


----------



## Bob Bengal (Jan 2, 2021)

Geeze said:


> I figured if I didn't like it I can burn it.


Nooo, give it to me, I'll burn it, I promise.


----------



## Geeze (Jan 28, 2021)

Back padauk strips notched. I used the dado on these.



















First one clamped.












Russ


----------



## Geeze (Jan 28, 2021)

Back stretchers & tenons cut today.



















I managed to not add in the tenon length to the OAL of the stretchers. Artful fix time. I'm testing gluing in a center piece of curly maple to widen them. The other option is to cap the back sides but I'm not sure I have enough of the right curly maple.

Russ


----------



## Geeze (Jan 28, 2021)

End grain glueage isn't the solution for this adding width issue. Adding endcaps is. I didn't like the ratio of the sides to the stretchers so they got milled down as well.



















I cut the tenons horizontally.










Can't have too many styles of clamps.










I'm getting close on the back pivot and reclining arm pins. Currently 3/8" stainless socket flat head screws with either brass threaded of stainless threaded inserts.

Russ


----------



## Geeze (Jan 28, 2021)

Got in the SS flat head screws and the SS inserts. Had a friend in our shop make 1.525" x 1/2" with a 3/8" bore bushings.










Stuck in the rear leg.










Need to countersink the hole a bit more on the back uprights,










The first iteration of the back stops.










The extent of the recline - I expect way too much.










Russ


----------



## PPBART (Oct 7, 2011)

Beautiful work, and so well documented! I just finished my first Morris chair ("Another Morris Chair") and am already thinking of doing another to address all the lessons learned. I really love the contrasting woods in your chair and will almost certainly do that next time..


----------



## Geeze (Jan 28, 2021)

PPBART said:


> Beautiful work, and so well documented! I just finished my first Morris chair ("Another Morris Chair") and am already thinking of doing another to address all the lessons learned. I really love the contrasting woods in your chair and will almost certainly do that next time..


Thank you! I have another one to go figured walnut and so far I'm thinking zebrawood as the center bits.

Arm / back angles calculated at 5° increments off of square - thank you autocad - out to 20°.










Back angle test fit.










First gen back stop in action.










Arm trimmed and bandsawed to shape.










Tomorrow planing and sanding.

Russ


----------



## Geeze (Jan 28, 2021)

So it's finished and at home in South Dakota awaiting 7" red buffalo hide cushions - client promised to send pics. 

I stopped for some small projects and to get a submission ready for the E Tennessee Master Workers show my wood store owner 'pushed' to enter. She said 'I don't know if you do this sort of thing but, _you need to do this! _So I fiddled with that and got some bits to enter learning way more than I wanted to about photography. Good news and bad news there - I was selected to display but they canceled the show. 

The reality was I was intimidated by this project - it had been awhile for that feeling - and I tend to work when I'm inspired so it helps to have several projects going. I want creating with wood to be fun and not a job.

Last decorative bits to be shaped and fitted were the corbels.










So back to the chair - sanded the 29 pieces to 220 then ready for dye. The client wanted black with a hint of red. I'm a big fan of RIT fabric dyes as they have colors that pop and are sorta UV resistant. On goes two coats / rubs of black.










The padauk didn't color like the curly maple - not surprising.

Then on to the General finishes Merlot. These bits are lacquered as well.










The Merlot went more toward the purple as it reacted with the black.

Now it's lacquer time. Been on the low humidity this summer UNTIL I needed to spray. I hung all of the parts to spray on plastic draped square curtain rod out of 2" PVC that rested on my garage door tracks. 8 gauge copper wire is my friend - easy to bend and strong. I ran a small fan to vent through a shrouded hole out the door. 

The lacquer was problematic as lots of blush [dull spots] on the maple appeared as it reacted to the high humidity. Surprisingly the padauk wasn't affected.

My options were a $200-$300 dehumidifier which would be overwhelmed when I opened the garage door 12" to vent or back to the second bedroom aka The Kill Room. I muddled over frame ideas for stability and simplicity as I didn't want to parts to bash into each other.

So I now have a 2" PVC swing set.










Crank the AC, stick a shrouded exhaust fan in the window and off to the lacquer races I went.










Reclining back stops.










As I learned getting photos for the show shiny stuff is hard to photograph well.










I threw in some couch cushions and it was blissful to sit!










I'll post final pics when the cushions arrive - the client, my dad, is a much better shooter than I am.

Russ


----------



## difalkner (Nov 27, 2011)

Beautiful, Russ, just beautiful!!!


----------



## PPBART (Oct 7, 2011)

Geeze said:


> ...I'm a big fan of RIT fabric dyes as they have colors that pop and are sorta UV resistant...


I never thought of that -- now I gotta give it a try!


----------



## stubach (Feb 20, 2021)

I am in awe of your skill and attention to detail. That chair is gorgeous. My daughter would kill for a chair that had those colors in it. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------

