DIY Network

Contemporary Dining Chair: Finishing Touches From "Wood Works" episode WWK-507

The curves and tapers of this contemporary chair create an organic blend of form and function.

The final steps in the creation of the contemporary dining chair include further securing the back with screws, and concealing the with decorative ebony caps. Finally, a wood finish is applied.

Materials:

Hand scraper
Micro-plane
Hollow-chisel mortising bit
Chisel
Wood screws
Ebony caps
Wood finish
Paint brushes
Rags

Safety Alert: Always wear safety goggles or safety glasses when
working with wood, power-tools, saws, drills, routers, etc.

Safety Alert: Always wear protective gloves, and ensure adequate ventilation, when working with wood stains, solvents and other toxic solutions.

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	Figure A
	Figure B
	Figure C
	Figure D

Finishing Touches

• Once the glue in the chair assembly has dried fully, use a hand scraper to blend the transitions between elements, and a micro-plane to blend the joint lines (figure A). This helps create the illusion that the chair was sculpted entirely out of a single piece of bubinga.

• To strengthen the bond between the seat and back, four screws are added. Pre-drill the holes for the screws, and use a hollow-chisel mortising bit to score the cuts for the caps. Carefully chisel the mortises square using a sharp chisel.

• Add the screws (figure B), and set in the square caps made from ebony (figure C).

• Break all of the edges using 220-grit sandpaper, then go over the entire piece by hand using 320-grit.

• Brush on and rub in a wood finish (figure D). We opted for a combination of tung oil, linseed oil and urethane to bring out and protect the rich, reddish color of the bubinga.

Now that you have a complete set of templates, bending forms and jigs, you can repeat all the steps of this project to create a complete set of dining chairs.

Click here to order your tools and materials for this project from Woodcraft!