Reader's Gallery

patio chairs

comments (3) April 5th, 2011 in Reader's Gallery

barehanded505 barehanded505, member
thumbs up 2 users recommend


Redwood patio chairs, set of 4, rustic, mortise-tenon, pocket hole joinery, 1000 grit finish

I'd call myself a beginner, this is one of my first paid furniture jobs, any feedback is appreciated, thanks


Design or Plan used: My own design
posted in: Reader's Gallery, chair, tenons, rustic, redwood


Comments (3)

Matineeplayer Matineeplayer writes: they look great, way to go
Posted: 12:11 am on July 6th

rdesigns rdesigns writes: If I compare this to some of my beginner projects, your work is something you can be proud of, and I'll bet your customer got more than his money's worth.

A few improvements to the chair design might be worthwhile if you do a similar project. 1)For a relaxing sit, the seats could be tipped up maybe 5-7 degrees more since it appears that the seat is nearly parallel to the ground, which is OK for a dining chair placed at a normal dining table, but not so good for a relaxing chair that encourages lingering conversation or reading. 2)The stance, as Gezdog mentioned, is narrow and might tend to backward tipping. 3)The arms could flare out wider toward the front to make very handy "side tables"--6 or 7 inches is enough for even a dinner plate to rest safely. 4)Lastly, the rails across the back could be narrower to give the piece a more graceful appearance and still be plenty sturdy.
Posted: 9:17 am on April 5th

Gezdog Gezdog writes: Hi barehanded505! First up, congratulations on completing a "beginner's" project, and getting paid for it! It's a scenario many of us dream of. Here is my two cents worth, in the spirit of constructive criticism. Firstly, stylistically there is some discrepancy between the sizes and shapes of the legs of the table and chairs. They are not "congruent", assuming that they are designed to be placed together. Also the chairs' front legs seem to turn backwards, giving a precariously narrow stance , especially if the user scoots forward just a tad. Finally, you have obviously gone to a lot of trouble to create mortise and tenon joinery and finish at 1000 grit, but then included pocket-hole joinery, which seems at odds with your prior work on this piece. Just my opinion, remember, but I would tend to stick with one major joinery choice. You may of course have perfectly good reasons for these electives, and once again I applaud your successful commission, as well as your bravery in submitting it to the critiques of the likes of me! Well done, dude!
Posted: 4:22 am on April 5th

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