Queen Anne Chair
I chose a Queen Anne Chair from the “Furniture Treasury, Vol. III” by Wallace Nutting. In his book, I could not find a history of the chair. In reviewing other sources, I think it is of Dutch design around 1720-40. A good reference may be in Wallace Nutting’s Volume I, picture 2115. It has a “Bell Pattern” seat and good underbracing. None of the components of this chair is rectilinear. All are shaped, and some shaped in all directions, therefore requiring many full-size templates. The compound angles are everywhere. I made it in Black Walnut and finished with linseed oil and shellac.
On this page you will find a series of videos that discuss the construction of the Queen Anne Chair.
parts and assembly
A Queen Anne Chair is under construction. I show it assembled (not glued) then begin taking it apart, while discussing technical details of each part.
lower side stretcher marking
This shows the marking out of a tenon joint on the back end of a Lower Stretcher in a Queen Anne Chair. This joint is a compound angle with a short 5/8-in. dia. tenon and is cut using hand tools.
lower side stretcher sawing
This shows the hand sawing of a compound angle tenon joint on the back end of a turned stretcher on a Queen Anne Chair.
Drilling Socket
This shows the hand drilling of a 5/8-in diameter socket on the cabriole leg of a Queen Anne Chair. I'm using a brace and bit for the drilling at a specific angle. I'm also using a spoon bit.
Pounding a Square Peg into a Round Hole
This shows how I make Tenon Pegs that show a "diamond-like" shape on the surface. It requires making part of the peg round and the top most part square. The square part of the ebony peg will deform the Walnut and leave a diamond shape on the surface.
Gluing the Back Assembly
This shows my gluing the Back Assembly for the Queen Anne Chair. I'm using hot hide glue and using ebony pegs on the tenons. These pegs have a square portion at the end that when pounded into the socket, the ebony crushes the walnut leaving a diamond shape on the surface.
Gluing the Front Legs and Rail
This shows the gluing of the Queen Anne Chair Front Legs and Front Rail. I'm using hot hide glue. The procedure requires special clamping cauls and works best when connected to the Side Stretchers and Back Assembly. The mortise & tenon joints are also connected with ebony tenon pegs.
Queen Anne Chair Upholstery
This shows my final method of upholstering the Queen Anne Side Chair. I tried multiple versions of layering upholstery material, and finalized on a 1-in. thick foam and added upholstery wadding on top. I had to change the webbing connection from fastening on the bottom face of the Frame, to the top face.