Replies

1. 
   hammer1 | Nov 01, 2009 02:35am | #1

   I would guess your table saw isn't flat. Do you know how to use winding sticks to check the top?

   Beat it to fit / Paint it to match

2. 
   BG | Nov 01, 2009 01:31pm | #2

   Slopdrop,

   That has happened to me tons of times. I have to work hard to avoid it from happening. I think of it as a cockeyed glue up and there are generally two causes for me: One, to have too much tension in the joinery and, two, related, the tenons or stock is not square. The individual joints can look fine...they just don't align with the joint across from it....because the stock or tenon shoulder is not square.

   The good news is, in my opinion, it makes no difference in your Morris chair.

3. 
   JeffHeath | Nov 01, 2009 03:18pm | #3

   Put the chair in its final resting place, (i.e...your family room) and see if it rocks. If not, you're done. If it does rock, all you need to do is shorten one of the legs that it rocks on. Back in the shop, put some 80 grit sandpaper on your tablesaw, and rub the chair leg bottom back and forth over it, continuing to check it frequently. When you've stopped the rocking, it's done.

   Not a big deal.

   Jeff

4. 
   Dave45 | Nov 02, 2009 04:55pm | #4

   I really doubt if your saw table is 1/4" off, and would bet that you have at least one "bad" joint somewhere in the chair.

   If minimal hand pressure straightens the chair, the weight of the clamps probably kept it flat until they were removed which allowed some internal stress to raise one leg.

   You might figure out which joint is "bad" by placing some tape across the joints on the lifted leg and pushing the chair flat. If you get wrinkles in the tape, that joint needs work.

1. 
   Slopdrop | Nov 02, 2009 05:15pm | #5

   I would agree that the table isn't out 1/4". The strange thing is that if I orient the chair the way it was clamped on the table, freestanding it sits flush and flat. As soon as I turn it 90 degrees it gives a 1/4" in gap under one leg. Then if I turn it 180 degrees from that position it goes to the opposite corner. I know that the frame is slightly racked, but how would you suggest I fix a bad joint?

1. 
   Jfrostjr | Nov 02, 2009 05:21pm | #6

   You can always situate the chair on a shag rug.Frosty“If you put the federal government in charge of the Sahara Desert,
   in 5 years there’d be a shortage of sand.” Milton Friedman

2. 
   JohnWW | Nov 02, 2009 06:01pm | #8

   If the chair goes in and out of flat when you rotate it then your saw's table is out of flat, most saws are.This is usually caused by a combination of table warpage and the wings either rising or dropping a bit. Some of this can be corrected, especially the wings, but I would never assume that a saw straight out of the box is even approximately flat.John White
   Shop Manager for FWW Magazine, 1998 to 2007

3. 
   hammer1 | Nov 02, 2009 06:23pm | #9

   Think about it, if one leg is shorter than the others and you place it on a flat surface, you can rotate it in any direction and that one leg will always be short. The only way it can touch down is if the surface isn't flat. Even if you build it out of square, if the four legs are touching down and stay down on a flat surface during assembly, they will make contact no matter which way you turn the chair.The only way to make a chair leg shorter or taller than the rest, if glued up on a flat surface, is to have a surface that isn't flat. Your saw top may be flat everywhere you place a straight edge, but one corner could be tipped or twisted lower or higher. Winding sticks will quickly show if this is the case.If the chair twists when it comes out of the clamps, that twist will be the same on a flat surface no matter which way you rotate it. The fact that you say you can push down on the chair and the legs will touch calls into question the strength of the construction but it doesn't answer your question of why it touches down in one direction but not in another.Beat it to fit / Paint it to match

1. 
   Slopdrop | Nov 02, 2009 06:36pm | #10

   I appreciate your input. I am aware that the table top is the issue. I will build a torsion box for any future projects. My concern now, however is how to repair the existing joint(s) (if possible. I realize I will have to shorten the leg(s) to make it sit level otherwise, but I am hoping to do that as a last resort since the legs are cut with a curved clubfoot and cutting some off may be be visibly noticeable. Again, thanks for your advice.

1. 
   Jfrostjr | Nov 04, 2009 05:53pm | #11

   Before you alter the chair legs to match an uneven saw table, try the chair on a truly flat surface.Frosty“If you put the federal government in charge of the Sahara Desert,
   in 5 years there’d be a shortage of sand.” Milton Friedman

5. 
   Marsupial | Nov 02, 2009 05:37pm | #7

   You have twist in one side of the chair.

6. 
   mike4244 | Nov 05, 2009 12:20am | #12

   Have you sat on the chair yet ? If the chair doesn't rock, enjoy it and forget it. If it rocks add a pad to the low side.Probably won't be noticeable if the pad is smaller than the foot.If you made the claw foot with a pad, the pads are usually 1/4" or so thick,then remove half the pad and add some to the low chair leg.

   mike