Robie Chair

Lynnette Lockwood                                                                  Frank Lloyd Wright Robbie Chair                                                                  

Tech Writing Assignment 2                                                      10-27-14

Frank Lloyd Wright was considered one of the most important architects of the 20^th century. He designed multiple complicated architectural wonders believing that living quarters and the contents within should flow with nature. He designed furniture too. One of his creations was the Robie Chair. It was stained or had a natural cherry structure with simple straight lines; the texture and the natural grains of the wood were enhanced, and were not ornate. Each chair was specially designed per customer and limited in production and generally the seat was upholstered in red The measurements of the chair in inches is 15 ¾’’seat depth, 18” seat width, 52” chair back height and 18” front leg height (Bueno, P, 2003).

The tools you need for this project are:

Pencil

Circular saw or table saw

Hammer

Measuring tape

Level

Sand paper (120 lbs grit)

Jig saw

Staple gun

Sewing shears

Wood glue

Square

Wood clamps

Wood chisel

Drill

Plane sander

1/8” drill bit

Hand saw

Safety glasses

The materials you need for this project are:

·         Stain with applicator (optional)

·         Eight 3/8 screws

Cherry wood

·         Seven 6’x 6’’  

 Plywood ¾’’

·         One piece 15 ¾’’x 18’’(chair seat)

Red upholstery fabric

·         One piece 32’’x ¾ yd. (chair seat cover). This is the measurement that the fabric will come on the bolt but will need to be cut later to size.  

Foam padding

·         One -15.75’’x 18’’(chair seat padding)

·         Two -12’’x ¼” dowels

·         Four -3/8’’x 1” screws (attach seat to frame)

·         One package of 3/8”staples or upholstery tacks

Prepare: (All from cherry wood)

Two – 52’’x 1.8’’(outside slats of back rest)

·         Nine - 46 ¾’’x 1.8’’(middle back slats)

·         One - 16.2’’ x 3 ¾’’(back top board)

·         Four - 15 ¾’’x 1.8”(seat frame)

·         Two – 15 ¾’’x 3 ¾’’(side seat trim)

·         One – 18’’x 3 ¾’’(front seat trim)

·         Two – 18’’x 1.8’’(front legs)

·         One - 16.2’’x 1.8’’(low rear back brace)

·         Two - 12.15’’x 1.8’’ (side leg braces)

                                         

1    Measure two cherry wood board’s 52’’x 1.8’’. Using your square mark it with a pencil. Use a circular or table saw and cut. This will be the two outside slats of the chair back. You will have 20” left of these boards unused. Save the end piece of these boards for other parts of the chair.

 

             52’’

                           1.8’’

2.      Measure nine cherry board’s 46 ¾ x 1.8’’. Use your square mark with a pencil. Use a circular saw and cut. If available, you will find it easier to use a table saw preset at 1.8”. Use sandpaper to sand edges until smooth. These will be the middle back slats.

    

                                                                                                                        46 ¾’’

                                                           

                                                                  1.8’’

3.      Using the 20’’cherry board, left from cutting the slats, measure and cut one, 16.2’’x 3 ¾ ’’. Use your square mark with a pencil. Use a circular or table saw and cut. Use sandpaper to sand edges until smooth. This will be the back rest top board.

              3 ¾ ’’

                          16.2’’         

4.      Using the 20” cherry board, left from cutting the slats, measure and cut four, 15 ¾’’x 3 ¾’’. Use your square mark with a pencil. Use a circular or table saw and cut. Use sandpaper to sand edges until smooth. These pieces are the seat trim.

 

   3 ¾’’             

                15 ¾ ’’

 

       

                    

5.       Using the 20” cherry wood board, left from cutting the slats, measure and cut two, 18’’ x 1.8’’. Use your square mark with a pencil. Use a circular or table saw and cut. Use sandpaper to sand edges until smooth. These pieces will be your two front legs.

 

                      18’’

 

                                   1.8’’

6.      Using the 20” cherry wood board, left from cutting the slats, measure and cut one, 16.2’’ x 1.8’’. Use your square mark with a pencil. Use a circular or table saw and cut. Use sandpaper to sand edges until smooth. This will be your rear back brace.

 

                             1.8’’

                                          16.2’’

7.      Using the 20” cherry wood board, left from cutting the slats, measure and cut two, 12.15’’x 1.8’’. Use your square mark with a pencil. Use a circular or table saw and cut. Use sandpaper to sand edges until smooth. This will be your two side leg braces.

                           12.15’’   

 

                                         1.8’’

8.      Measure a piece of plywood 15 ¾’’x 18’’. Using your square mark with a pencil. Use a circular or table saw to cut out the shape. Use sand paper to sand the edges until smooth. This will be your seat for the chair.

                

             

                  15 ¾’’

                                     18’’

9.      Measure a piece of foam 15 ¾ ’’x 18’’. Use your square mark with a pencil. Use sewing scissors to cut the shape.

                       15 ¾’’

                                           18’’

                                          

10.  Measure the red upholstery fabric 18”x 20”. You may need to adjust the size of the fabric depending upon the thickness of the foam you have selected for the seat. Use your square mark with a pencil. Use sewing scissors to cut out the shape.         

                      

                       18’’          

                                                      20’’                                 

11.  Place the foam on top of the piece of pre-cut plywood. Then place the piece of pre-cut fabric over the foam. Pull the fabric tightly and fold to the underside of the plywood until there are no wrinkles. Flip the seat over to the underside and using a staple gun or upholstery tacks to attach the fabric to the plywood board.

 

                

12.  Mark on the underside edge of the back rest top board with a pencil to coordinate where each dowel will go and where each slat will go. Drill a hole in the center of the 11 slats on each end using the 1/8” drill bit. Then drill 11 corresponding holes in the bottom of the rear back brace.

 

 3.  Measure 11 dowel pieces 1’’ long. Cut out with a circular or table saw. Use sandpaper to sand until edges are smooth.

14.  Place wood glue in the bottom of the drilled holes on the back top board. Hammer the dowel pieces into the holes that were drilled into the slats.

 

15.  Using the wood clamp; clamp the back rest board to the dowel to hold in place until dry. Repeat process until all slats are glued, doweled and dry. Wait at least 24 hours before removing the clamp. Repeat the process on the low rear back brace.

16.  Measure 18’’ from the bottom of the chair. Drill two holes into the plywood that line up with the two outside slats. Measure two dowel pieces 1’’ long. Cut out with a circular or table saw. Use sandpaper to sand until smooth.

 

                       18’’

17.  Drill two corresponding holes into the chair seat that line up with the two outside slats. Measure and cut two 1’’ dowels. Hammer the dowel pieces into the holes that were drilled into the chair seat.

 

18.   Put wood glue on the top of the dowel in the seat and put dowel into the holes on the slats.

19.  Using the wood clamp; clamp the chair to the slats to hold in place until dry. Wait at least 24 hours before removing the clamp. Repeat on the other side.

20.  Drill two holes in the middle of low rear back brace. Measure two dowel pieces 1’’ long. Cut out with a circular or table saw. Use sandpaper to sand until smooth.

21.  Drill a hole into the center of the side leg brace. Hammer the dowel piece into the holes that were drilled into the side leg brace.

 

22.   Put wood glue on the top of the dowel in the low rear back brace.

23.  Using the wood clamp; clamp them together to hold in place until dry. Wait at least 24 hours before removing the clamp. Repeat to other side.

24.  Drill two holes into the side rear back brace. Measure two dowel pieces 1’’ long. Cut out with a circular or table saw. Use sandpaper to sand until smooth.

25.   Drill two holes into the middle of the front leg of the chair. Hammer the dowel pieces into the holes that were drilled into the side leg brace.

 

26.   Put wood glue on the top of the dowel in the side rear brace and put dowel into the hole on the front leg.

27.  Using the wood clamp; clamp them together to hold in place until dry. Repeat process on the other side. Wait at least 24 hours before removing the clamp.

28.  Using the eight 3/8 screws drill the seat trim to the chair seat.

29.  Set the foam upholstery into the chair.

30.  Sit, Relax, Enjoy.

  

Frank Lloyd Wright was a pioneer in the architecture world. He did create beautiful homes such as falling water. These homes are perfect examples of art. The Robie chair is not a piece of art in my opinion. The Robie chair is just another chair although the high back rest is interesting.

The Campana Brothers designed chairs that are considered pieces of art because the chairs are unique, interesting to look at, and made out of recycled materials (Bueno, P, 2003).

If I was going to redesign the Robie chair I would just remove the slats and replace it with a simpler design. The slats make recreation of the chair tedious and provide an opportunity for several areas of separation of the wood. I would consider using modern technology in a factory to mass produce the chair on a much grand scale if the market was available. I would make these changes because it would take less time to make and be able to be delivered to each customer much faster.

Works Cited

Bueno, Patrisha. (2003). Just Chairs Over 600 Designs from Around the World. New York, NY: Author