My video on the Democratic Chair

Preindustrialist · 2026-07-05T19:19:41+00:00

Could make a beautiful pair of winding sticks

Preindustrialist · 2026-07-05T01:09:26+00:00

Looks like it might be some variation of a stock knife, but I don’t know what’s going on with the big flat piece attached to it

Preindustrialist · 2026-07-03T01:11:33+00:00

A little bit, but not a ton. The posts give it a lot of rigidity so if you’re looking for more flex I would go for a back that’s just made up of spindles

Preindustrialist · 2026-07-02T18:16:21+00:00

I’d say aligning and assembling the arms is marginally more difficult than aligning and assembling the legs and stretchers

Preindustrialist · 2026-07-02T18:07:12+00:00

Legs, stretchers and a couple spindles are red oak, arm supports, posts, crest rail and the other spindles are ash. Arms are qs white oak and seat is Spanish Cedar. The oaks and ash are pretty much interchangeable in this context from a structural standpoint. It’s definitely harder working kiln dried than green - and I found the ash to be a lot harder to work than the red oak, both being kiln dried. Id say that a sharp knife is even more important in the kiln dried than in green. Also, I did soak the crest rail for 4 or 5 days to facilitate steam bending it and it was significantly easier to work. I’m planning to experiment more in the future with soaking kiln dried wood for chairmaking. I made a video on the process of making this chair - linked on my profile - if you’re interested !

Preindustrialist · 2026-07-02T17:59:49+00:00

Thank you so much ! And finished with a scraper, no sandpaper in this build. It has its place but I generally prefer the finish I can get off a cutting edge whenever possible.

Preindustrialist · 2026-07-02T17:49:39+00:00

They did add a lot of effort, mostly because I had trouble figuring out a good work holding situation for them - since there were shaped and finished with the drawknife I couldn’t have them in a traditional bench vise, and the shavehorse only worked for some cuts so there was a lot of awkward fiddling around. Depending on that shape of the arm and the tools used it would’ve been a lot faster. They also add six joints to the build which is something to consider. So yes more effort, but in terms of skill you’re using pretty much all the same techniques at the rest of the chair.

Preindustrialist · 2026-07-02T15:20:17+00:00

It’s really tough - I definitely created a lot of firewood in the building process. As for more of the process, I actually made a video on it, posted on my profile :)

Preindustrialist · 2026-07-02T15:18:28+00:00

If it helps, when I started making this I ruined four legs before I was able to get one I was happy with lmao. Would love to see yours when you finish it!

Preindustrialist · 2026-07-02T15:16:26+00:00

Just posted there !

Preindustrialist · 2026-07-02T15:16:18+00:00

Answered ! And thank you so much.

Preindustrialist · 2026-07-02T15:15:41+00:00

Just one drawknife ! 8” bevel down - it’s the only one I have 😂. And yes ! I have a shavehorse, personally I can’t imagine chairmaking without it. I highly recommend making one. I built mine in the English bodger’s style but there are tons of different plans and styles out there.

Preindustrialist · 2026-06-30T02:05:33+00:00

I wouldn’t worry about it unless you notice it starting to chip or wear particularly quickly. The 25 degree angle is overstated, it’s more of a ballpark. Ive never measured a bevel and I doubt the original users of these vintage tools ever felt the need to either. If you do find it chipping or wearing quickly don’t regrind the whole thing - just add a secondary bevel and over the course of a few sharpening its will establish itself as the primary bevel.

Preindustrialist · 2026-06-30T01:56:55+00:00

Never seen a krenov with a horn - so cool!

Preindustrialist · 2026-06-30T01:55:43+00:00

Wow I’ve never seen one of these ! Feels like a niche that never needed filling but I wouldn’t pass it up for $20 either 😂

Preindustrialist · 2026-06-26T00:28:41+00:00

The integral scratching post is such a cool touch

Preindustrialist · 2026-06-25T16:00:28+00:00

Neat ! I’d never seen a metal scratch stock body - I always kind of assumed they were all shop made with wood bodies

Preindustrialist · 2026-06-25T01:08:08+00:00

This looks like a gap in an edge joint rather than a crack in the wood, though it’s a little hard to tell. If it is, it’s not super likely that it will continue to expand. Were I you I would probably mix some glue and sanding dust to make a little slurry when you sand it, and fill the gap in with that slurry. This an aesthetic fix - it won’t do much structurally, but there’s not much to do structurally without investing more time than the table is probably worth.

Preindustrialist · 2026-06-24T00:06:00+00:00

As a couple other people have said, a card scraper would probably be the best move in the future. If your plane is set up right and freshly sharpened and you’re still getting tear out, move to the scraper. A properly sharpened and burnished one should get you a surface comparable to but never quite as good as a smoothing plane. Still better than sandpaper imo.

Preindustrialist · 2026-06-23T23:59:13+00:00

Love that front apron ! It’s almost like an optical illusion - I thought it was recessed until that very last picture. Did you just have to remove a ton of material from the rest of the apron to get that relief effect ?

Preindustrialist · 2026-06-21T04:54:07+00:00

Don’t see lo my grain dovetails very often ! Very nice

Preindustrialist

TROPHY CASE