This miniature chair
may be
used for many applications, including beach scenes, garden
scenes, porch scenes, picnics scenes and many others. It was a
very popular style chair from the 1900s through the 1950s.
If you need another scale -- JustMe and I will make a PDF
file
for you.
Instruction, Dimension & Parts
Guide
The Instruction, dimension & parts guides are an essential part of
this tutorial - make sure you've downloaded and print out your
choice of scale guide before you begin! Click your choice
of scale: 1/12th Scale -- 1/6th Scale -- 1/4th Scale.
This tutorial is for the 1/12th Scale Porch Chair - The other
Scale PDF files include instructions, dimensions & part guides
as well.
Tools Needed
Ruler or slide caliper
X-Acto Knife
1/12" & 1/48" diameter drill bit
220 to 1500 grit sand paper.
Thin Cloth, Vinyl, or Leather
Strip Cutter
Miter box and razor saw
Glue
Moto tool or Pen Vice/Drill Scissors
Wax
Bamboo Skewers
Stain or Paint of your choice
Varnish
Small Touchup Paint Brush
Wood Needed
The measurements
in this guide are to the nearest 96th of an inch. Many of you
dont have access to a thickness sander, so below is a
substitution chart for commercially available thicknesses of
wood.
5/96 thick wood can have 1/16
thick wood substituted which is 1/96 thicker.
7/96 thick wood can have 1/12 thick wood substituted which
is 1/96 thicker.
For the chair support structure, you'll need 7/96" wood or 1/12"
wood sanded to remove 1/96" of the thickness.
For the two arm rests, you'll need 5/96" wood or 1/16" wood
sanded to remove 1/96" of the thickness.
The dowels are 1/12" and 1/48" in diameter - These will have to
be made by you, using the methods described later.
Step by Step
Instructions
Use the
PDF printout as a template for the
parts of the chair, it will be your guide to cutting out all the pieces needed
to construct the chair. You will have to make
the dowels for this chair as I don't think you'll be able
to find them commercially.
Begin by using your strip cutter to cut a 1/6" wide
strips from a 3" x 1/16" x 24" bass wood strip - the resulting
strip should then be sanded to the 7/96" thickness - NOTE!
you're only removing 1/96", so be careful. Two sheets
of standard 20lb bond paper is equivalent to about 1/96".
It's not much but it does make a difference when making
miniatures.
If you don't have a thickness sander, it would be better to wait
until you have cut each piece to length before sanding.
This strip will make all the miniature porch
chair's support structure pieces.
Cut out each picture of the parts from the template pictures
printed out from the PDF
file -- use your X-Acto knife or scissors - cut carefully as
these are the guides to the length and the placement of the
holes for the miniature chair. Now glue each cut-out to the
strip with a water soluble glue stick. Use this pasted on
template to cut each piece to size and then bevel the edges and drill the holes needed.
NOTE! Careful placement and cutting is needed to insure
the correct positioning for the holes.
When drilling the holes you need to drill so that neither side of the
drilled hole is frayed. To do this,
drill on a metal surface and when you meet with resistance, flip
the piece over and drill from the other side. This will give you sharp edges
which will eliminate the need to use any filler. Once you
have finished drilling the holes,
remove the paper template, sand, stain, finish and allow to dry -- NOTE!
I print out a second copy of the Parts template to place my
finished pieces on.
Important Note: The easiest way to cut the semicircular
notches in the chair legs is to place the pieces edge to edge
making sure the top and bottom edge lines up exactly, clamp in
place and drill.
I use my gluing jig to align and hold the pieces in place.
Drill down until you feel resistance from the gluing jig flip
the pieces over and drill from the other side. Sharp edges on
these semicircle are very important as they will hold the dowel
in place to support the back of the chair.
The dowels will be the hardest item to get for this chair
I use bamboo skewers I get at the grocery store and then I
split the skewers till I have a piece just larger than needed to
make the dowel. I then run this piece through a
drawplate until I achieve the
exact diameter I want. I have tried other methods but the results are
best with a drawplate. If you dont have a drawplate, you can
make one using the method described in the
Jigs to Fit Your Mini Needs
section, but better yet, buy one
already made.
After the dowels are made -- cut each rung about 1/8" longer
than needed, sand, stain and set
aside for later.
Depending on how you want to put this
chair together, determines whether or not you'll need the extra
1/12" and 1/48" dowel.
Original plans call for bolts to put this chair together - you
can get mini bolts, washers, and nuts from web sites like Reactive Metals or
Galtran, or you can
use the 1/48" dowel to make faux bolts that work as well.
If you want to use bolts, washers, and nuts to assemble the
chair - brass or black anodized ones are best.
To use the 1/48" dowel for the bolts you'll need to cut 18
pieces about 3/8" long, which will give you plenty of extra
length for the faux bolt
head and nuts your going
to make from the extra 1/12" dowel. To make the
bolt heads and nuts for the 1/48" dowels, just cut slices off
the end of the dowel, then drill a 1/48" hole through the middle
of each piece. You will need 36 of these slices for
all the bolt heads and nuts. Use your eye to determine
thickness of each slice -- but remember you can always sand to
size and shape later.
head and nuts your going
to make from the extra 1/12" dowel. To make the
bolt heads and nuts for the 1/48" dowels, just cut slices off
the end of the dowel, then drill a 1/48" hole through the middle
of each piece. You will need 36 of these slices for
all the bolt heads and nuts. Use your eye to determine
thickness of each slice -- but remember you can always sand to
size and shape later.