Maple and walnut chair with wine glass holder
The New River Chair (shown at left) began as a fun design competition between my friend Terry Clark, a local wood turner and myself. What started as a very crude camp chair has now developed(see Made in America for slide show) into an elegant but functional folding chair. The chair shown at left is made from maple with walnut accents. The higher back and vertical lines of the back slats make it more elegant than it's cedar outdoor cousin. It is available finished or unfinished. A standard cup-holder or a wine glass holder are also available. All New River Chairs are folding chairs so they can easily be stored away when you need the extra room. But really, who would want to put this beautiful chair in a closet?
The back was designed to have vertical stability while the seat is cantilevered from the back making it seem to almost float. While these design ideas are important, structure is also given its fair share of attention. The unique dowel design spreads the load over all of the slats so no single slat is supporting all of the weight. The dowel at the front edge of the seat and the one at the back edge of the seat keep the load evenly distributed making it quite strong. In addition, the back support is constructed so the chair gets stronger when someone sits down. The engineering is simple. As pressure is exerted DOWN in front, pressure is then exerted UP in back, keeping the chair locked in that position. In fact, it's been tested to 350 pounds without failing so...
Have a Seat, Enjoy the View!
Below is a slide show showing the design development of the chair beginning with the chair that started it all, an old "camp" chair. After seeing it and talking with my friend Terry Clark, I got very excited about the potential it had. I went through many subtle and not so subtle changes in the design of the chair. Anyone unlucky enough to stop by my shop in the past few months would have to sit in the chair and put up with my questions about whether or not it was comfortable. Was the seat height right for them? Did it "feel" right? What could I do to improve it? I even took it to the Leaf and String Festival earlier this year and asked people on the street to sit in the two chairs I had at that time to see which one was right for most people. Finally, it's to a point that I like and it seems to work well for most people. I have even had several people with back trouble tell me it is one of the most comfortable
chairs they have sat in. I wish I could say that I studied ergonomics extensively and designed the perfect chair for people with back trouble, but I'm afraid it was just a happy coincidence.
The back was designed to have vertical stability while the seat is cantilevered from the back making it seem to almost float. While these design ideas are important, structure is also given its fair share of attention. The unique dowel design spreads the load over all of the slats so no single slat is supporting all of the weight. The dowel at the front edge of the seat and the one at the back edge of the seat keep the load evenly distributed making it quite strong. In addition, the back support is constructed so the chair gets stronger when someone sits down. The engineering is simple. As pressure is exerted DOWN in front, pressure is then exerted UP in back, keeping the chair locked in that position. In fact, it's been tested to 350 pounds without failing so...
Have a Seat, Enjoy the View!
Below is a slide show showing the design development of the chair beginning with the chair that started it all, an old "camp" chair. After seeing it and talking with my friend Terry Clark, I got very excited about the potential it had. I went through many subtle and not so subtle changes in the design of the chair. Anyone unlucky enough to stop by my shop in the past few months would have to sit in the chair and put up with my questions about whether or not it was comfortable. Was the seat height right for them? Did it "feel" right? What could I do to improve it? I even took it to the Leaf and String Festival earlier this year and asked people on the street to sit in the two chairs I had at that time to see which one was right for most people. Finally, it's to a point that I like and it seems to work well for most people. I have even had several people with back trouble tell me it is one of the most comfortable
chairs they have sat in. I wish I could say that I studied ergonomics extensively and designed the perfect chair for people with back trouble, but I'm afraid it was just a happy coincidence.
