Michael Woodburn, Wulgulmerang Via Buchan,Vic

Carver 07
Blackwood
930 h x 550 x 550mm

I had begun this journey of discovery and was looking for direction when I saw the sculpted chairs of Sam Maloof. These gave me a standard to aim for and the problem of drawing a chair that did not look like one of his.
It has taken years for this chair to evolve but when a client asked for a setting it came together relatively quickly. It had to fulfil the normal requirements of structural integrity, aesthetics, comfort and weight along with having high broad arms to support the user as they rose. The setting comprises two carvers to this design and four side chairs with lower arms to fit under the skirt of the table.
The leg to seat join was developed by Sam Maloof and like the finger joints in the back legs are cut with a router, the arm to the front leg is a mortise and tenon joint.
The upper portion of the back legs are cut from solid with the lower section laminated to achieve the bend and align the grain with the compression stress. The front legs are turned.
The chair is assembled from oversized components using epoxy glue then it is time to turn on the music and shape it using whatever tool fits the particular curve. This includes planes, gouges, rifflers, surform and traditional rasps, sandpaper and lots of elbow grease.
The finish is Organoil Tung oil applied over 4 to 5 days and rubbed in first with a power sander and then by hand. Topped with a wax I make from tung and carnauba.

Photo: Peter Desmond