Bar Stools- Working the Angles

The next part is the back seat strecher. This part determines the angles for the rest of the back joinery. I start with a full size drawing of the top of the seat. This is my first layout, I decided the seat looked too square, the front rail was lengthened by 2". Unfortunately I neglected to photograph the updated plan.



The back legs are angled inward. This splays the legs for a stable footprint, and gives the back a outward and upward look that is visually pleasing and physically comfortable. The part dimensions are taken directly from my drawing.

The back legs and seat rail are clamped together and traced to find the dimensions and angles for the seat back crest rails.



This is a photo of the way I determined the rung angle, but I used the same technique for the crest rails.



These parts will be curved, so they are milled from 8/4 stock.



The parts are dry assembled, and the profile of the leg is traced onto the crest rail. The top is tablesawn to the same angle as the leg. An arc is then drawn from a template, and bandsawn. The amplitude of this arc is 1/4".





Because the back of the leg is not parallel to the front, the bandsaw table is tilted to make that curve.





The bandsaw marks are removed at the edge sander.



Working from the full size drawings of the seat side and top, the side rails are cut. Having your knees slightly higher than your hips is important for long term comfort; this seat will rise 1/2" over it's length.



The front seat rails are cut next, and now I have a model to assemble and test for comfort.



WANTED!