How to make a curved chair

These curved chairs look great as feature pieces or when used in a bedroom. But I think their contemporary design allows them to be used anywhere, in any setting.

 

 

 

 

instructables.com

 

 

If you are wondering how to make a chair with a curved seat, this project shows you the secret. It's not as difficult as you might think. These curved chairs look great as feature pieces or when used in a bedroom. But I think their contemporary design allows them to be used anywhere, in any setting.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Inspired by the above design on instructables, I wanted to make this curved seat stool or bench for my dressing table. I thought the curved design would look lovely with the little girl's dressing table project I have in mind. Although, the curved seat on its own is a nice feature piece for a modern bedroom. Unfortunately the original design isn't sturdy enough for everyday use, since it's made as a photo prop, so I looked at how to take this design and make it sturdy enough for regular use.

 

 

 

 

YOU WILL NEED:

Note: All sections 12mm SupaWood unless otherwise specified 

1 of 1000 x 900mm (or 2 of 500 x 900)

24 of 50 x 300mm - slats

Pattex No More Nails adhesive

1 metre length of chain 

3.5 x 50mm cut screws

Rust-Oleum 2X gloss white spray paint

 

 

TOOLS:

Drill / Driver + assorted bits
Countersink bit
Jigsaw + clean-cut blade
Orbital or random orbit sander and 120- and 240-grit sanding pads
Long steel rule or straightedge
Hammer and smaill nail
Dremel Multi Max and MM450 saw blade
Tape measure and pencil 

 

 

Buy materials and supplies needed for this project at your local Builders Warehouse. Not all Builders offer 12mm SupaWood but you can obtain timber and board from a variety of suppliers.

 

 

HERE'S HOW:

 

 

 

 

1. The first thing you need to do is to draw to two complete circles, one 50mm wider then the other. The easiest way to do this is to  find the exact centre of the board and hammer in a small nail. Use a length of chain with a pencil through one of the links to draw a perfect circle.

 

 

 

 

2. Before removing the nail, measure and mark at 10cm on either side. You will use this mark for drawing the legs. 

 

 

 

 

3. Measure in 100mm (10cm) from the edge on both side. Place the rule at the 100m (10cm) mark in the centre and to the 10cm line at the bottom. Since the rule is 50mm wide I was able to use this draw the outline for cutting the leg. 

 

 

 

 

4. Use a jigsaw to cut out the shape and then transfer this onto the other half of the sheet for cutting out. 

 

 

 

 

5. I am using a 12mm thick piece of supawood that was left over from a previous project but doubt this will be strong enough, so I cut a second piece to add onto the back of all the legs. The cut section is glued onto the leg and clamped until secure. This means that the legs are now 24mm thick and definitely strong enough.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

6. To create the seat I cut 24 of 50mm slats to  length of 300mm.  These were glued onto the back of the one side section and left for about an hour.

 

 

 

 

7. The other side was glued on top of the existing arrangement. You will need someone to help you to place the side perfectly on top to ensure that the bottom slats don't move. Pop something heavy on top (I used paint pots) and leave overnight. 

 

 

 

 

 

8.  While the slats are glued in place, I don't think this is strong enough, so I drilled 2mm countersunk pilot holes every 3 slats and used screws.

 

 

 

 

9. Bending and fitting the hardboard / masonite seat cover was the hardest part of this project. I placed the board centrally over the seat and then added a couple off full paint pots to hold in place while I drilled countersunk pilot holes and used screws to secure to the frame.

 

 

GOOD TO KNOW
Set the drill / driver on medium speed so that you don't go right through the board when adding the screws - I did this a couple of times!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 ABOVE: The hardboard / masonite seat top is in place and now I can remove the paint pots and add a few more screws along the top of the seat.

 

 

10. The two side section (on the outside) were added in the same way, minus the paint pots of course. I started at the bottom, working from side to side until reaching the top. You need to bend the sheet evenly otherwise it will break.

 

 

 

 

11.  Fill all holes with a dab of Pattex No More Nails adhesive and let this dry before filling with wood filler. I find the wood filler doesn't crack as easy if you do this, plus it dries a lot faster if you use less wood filler.

 

 

 

 

12. I used my Dremel Multi Max and MM450 saw blade to cut off the top of the hardboard / masonite excess at the                 top off each arm. 

 

 

Finishing

I sanded all the wood filler and cut edges smooth and do any additional touch-ups before painting. Gaps around the seal edge will be filled with acrylic sealer before painting, since wood filler will just crack with movement in this area.

 

 

 

 

I painted the project with Rust-Oleum 2X gloss white. Before you spray add a thin layer of glue of wood filler to the cut edges before painting. You will need to sand smooth if you use wood filler. This helps prevent the paint being sucked into the edges and using more paint.

 

 

 

 

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