Dry Bones

When you are old, I want you to recall these few hours. I want your 

dry bones to quiver with joy when you think of them

Gustave Flaubert 

Above are a few shots of a pair of rockers that recently went to Boston. Pretty happy with the way they turned out. Next up are two C-arms and of course their bends.

On most all bends I make extras, in case one breaks I can just keep going,  And for all my bends I have at least two forms so I make doubles even if I'm only making a single chair. The extra time to prep extra pieces is minimal and it really pays off in less down time.

Usually this isn't a big deal with bends that go in one plane. After the bend has cooled a bit I clamp a board across where the hands are going to be and bend the next piece. However, with a C-arm, the bend is multi plane so I have to keep the hands from spreading AND keep the bend a the elbow at the correct angle.

So I came up with this super simple fixture to hold the hands and back at the correct distance and also it holds the back from opening,  So like in these two chairs, all four pieces bent beautifully so I have two arms drying on the fixtures and I'll leave two on the forms.  I have to say I've never had C-arms bend as easily as these did. I now wear grippy gloves which helps and I also just bend the piece around and down without clamping or pegging, I hold it in place for maybe a minute and then release it and clamp and peg it in place, This really does seem to make a difference.

And here is a book I picked up for a dear friend at a used book store in Rockland, Maine that smelled like heaven.