This 15-stick comb-back armchair is inspired by the famous Scottish Darvel chairs; it is one of the most technically difficult chairs I make. This particular example is set up as a chair for dining or working at a desk, with a fairly upright back at 13° off the seat.
The chair has a poplar seat. The undercarriage, arm and comb are oak. The sticks are ash. The seat is 17-1/2” from the floor, just slightly less than modern chairs. Overall, the chair is 41-1/4” tall and 27-1/2” wide.
The seat is lightly saddled and tilts back about 1” from front to back, which increases its comfort.
The chair is finished with a light green acrylic that is hard-wearing. All the chair’s joints are assembled with hide glue, so it can be repaired easily by future generations. Plus all the joints have been glued, wedged and/or pegged for durability.
This chair is being sold via a random drawing. The chair is $1,400 plus domestic shipping. (I’m sorry but the chair cannot be shipped outside the U.S.) If you wish to buy the chair, send an email to fitz@lostartpress.com before 5 p.m. (Eastern) on Saturday, Jan. 22. In the email please use the subject line “Chair Sale” and include your:
- First name and last name
- U.S. shipping address
- Daytime phone number (this is for the trucking quote only)
After all the emails have arrived on Jan. 22, we will pick a winner that evening via a random drawing.
If you are the “winner,” the chair can be picked up at our storefront for free. Or we can ship it to you via common carrier. The crate is included in the price of the chair. Shipping a chair usually costs between $150 and $250, depending on your location.
— Christopher Schwarz
P.S. This chair is the same design as the one on the cover of “The Stick Chair Book.” Yes, you may now call me “Shameless Plug Schwarz.”
Topic for a future blog post- what makes this more difficult? The # of sticks? The narrow armbow? And thanks for the warning- I’m still gearing up for my fist attempt!
Mostly the bent parts.
Beautiful! I have a beauty I would like to sell before the dogs get to it.
Very nice – well done, If you wanted to improve the design, you might make the front legs more upright so they don’t get in the way and the bottom of the back legs directly under the top of the back for best stability
Those sound like some really great ideas – go build it! The world needs more stick chairs!!
Purdy!
SP Schwarz! I love it. Nice chair by the way, especially tge vent parts.
The bent parts, too (%@$&!!*% autocomplete)
Not sure what it is but this one is particularly appealing to me. Maybe I’m just a sucker for seafoam…
Ever timed how long it takes you to go from a stack of lumber to the finished chair? A Jennie chair takes me 14-16 hours from the log to the finished chair. That’s spread out over a couple of weeks. I have no idea if that’s good or bad.
Less than three days. But I don’t start with a log. I start with a pile of kiln-dried lumber. But it has to be split and sawn to make a good chair.
Wow, nice chair!
“All the chair’s joints are assembled with hide glue, so it can be repaired easily by future generations. Plus all the joints have been glued, wedged and/or pegged for durability.”
I understand the hide glue part but what about the wedged and pegged part? Could the joints still be disassembled for repair?
Yes. If the joint becomes loose, the pegs are easily drilled out and the wedges can be pried out.
This is a great looking chair and I really like the color.
Curious why acrylic paint and not milk paint? Is there any stain or other color beneath the acrylic that will be revealed with wear?
There is a red wash under the acrylic. I had some trouble getting the milk paint to stick. So I fell back on the acrylic that I know very very well.