smokin' joints

so, I cheated a little
and let me explain why

each back leg is 48 inches of 10/4 walnut
there are two graceful s-curve cuts exactly with the grain
a meat-powered bow saw cuts this material at an inch a minute when I'm fresh
for every five minutes sawing five minutes are needed for break

bow saws are a real workout!

for every half hour you just have to walk away
maybe get two and a half full hours in one day
for six legs that's 576 inches to rough the side profile
and another 576 inches for the main
at 75 inches a day we're talking almost 16 days of sawing
and in terms of full days, that's only two a week, max
now we're talking eight to ten weeks
then, add to that the front legs, about 25 inches long each

and you get the idea

I like to saw, and we all know practice makes perfect
but there's a threshold where experience becomes torture
I'd like to get these chairs done someday and get on with the table

my bandsaw took care of the side profile cuts in about three hours
lights dimming, the faint smell of hot walnut and ozone

and I could begin the joinery

a pegged Maloof joint by hand is not the trickiest task

carefull layout and a good bit and brace to get the rounds
then cut out the slot tenon

and then the rabbet

on the legs its pretty straight forward, lots of cutting and pairing

it always takes a few tries to get it to fit

the front legs are simply a through tenon, slot tenon and a bit of overlap on the outer surface

two more to go then it's on to carving

if you want more info on the initial chair build (I'm only doing three 'cause the first one's already done) please meander back through my blog and you'll find it