Category Archives: Woodworking

Building A Morris Chair

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Several years ago, I decided that it was time to buy a Morris chair. I’d seen them in my craftsman books and magazines, and always wanted one.

However, most of the chairs that were in my price range were made overseas. I wanted one that was made in the USA. Of course, those were all pretty pricey.

Plus, I always thought it would be cool to sit in a chair that I made. There was only one problem — these chairs are made of oak, you need a nice table saw and other specialized tools, which I did not have.

I decided that I would see if I could find a precut kit, that required sanding, glue-up, and staining.

After looking around, I contacted a woodworker who actually taught a class on making a Morris chair. I thought about taking the class, but by the time I flew across country, paid for a hotel, meals, and the course, I could have afforded to buy the pricey USA made chair.

Instead, I asked the woodworker if he’d make me a kit. We settled on a price, and several weeks later a fifty-plus pound box showed up.

I began by sanding, lots of sanding with different paper grits. Once sanded, the assembly began. I had to invest in a number of wood clamps, but I have used them many times since.

The pictures below, give you a pretty good idea of the assembly process.

Here is the chair completely glued up. Oh, the supervisor had to come over and inspect my work.

There is a lot that you can do in staining a project. I simply wiped on a red oak stain and later a clear satin finish.

Finally the cushions, not cheap, but I found a local upholstery shop to do the job. It turned out great!

Looking back on the project, I am glad that I did it. Today, there are more purchase options that are reasonably priced, but if you want to get more involved, the kit is a fun way to go.

Ottoman Tray

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My brother asked me if I could make a tray for his living room ottoman. I said that I probably could, but what do you use it for?

He explained that it can be used as a tray to serve drinks or food, and when not in use, it sits on top of the ottoman to hold magazines or decorative items.

Here is the finished tray:

He provided me with the dimensions, and said to keep it simple. He wanted it to look rustic (I’m good at rustic), so I suggested that it be made from pallet wood. He did not want it stained or with handles.

Fortunately, I had a couple of salvaged pallets, so with hammer and crowbar, I began the disassembly process.

I like working with pallets for the recycling aspect, but often you are only able to get just a few pieces of usable lumber from each pallet. The disassembly takes its toll; so plan accordingly for your pallet projects.

Once I had enough usable lumber, I cut the needed pieces to size, and did some preliminary sanding with my electric sander.

Next, as seen below, I used my biscuit joiner to cut two slots into the edges of each bottom piece, so that a wooden biscuit could be inserted. This can clearly be seen in the first picture. The second picture shows all of the bottom pieces ready to be glued and clamped.

With the bottom all glued up, I added the sides, using biscuits and glue as well.

Once the glue set, I performed a final sanding on the box, using different grits of sandpaper. Pallet wood can be a bit rough and I did not want him to damage the ottoman upholstery.

Once fully sanded, my work was done.

A simple gift for my favorite brother!