Chairmaking & Design [Paperback]

Jeff Miller (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 1997

Award-winning designer and builder Jeff Miller shows how key design elements apply to all chairs. He provides a number of useful jig designs to simplify construction. The book includes plans for seven chair projects: dowel, right-angle, child's ladderback, slat-back, neo-classical, cafe style and captain's chairs. 136 photos. 85 drawings.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"There's nothing better on the market."  —Fine Woodworking

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

About the Author

Jeff Miller is a furniture designer, a craftsman, and the founder of Furnituremaking Workshops. His furniture appears in the decorative and industrial arts collection of the Chicago Historical Society. He lives in Chicago.

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Taunton Press; First edition (September 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1561581585
• ISBN-13: 978-1561581580
• Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 7.8 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 0.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,387,299 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The essential guide to chairmaking., December 4, 1999

By 

Thomas M. Hill (Salem, Oregon) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Chairmaking & Design (Paperback)

Right from the opening sentence you will know that you have purchased a well written book by a very experienced chairmaker. Jeff Miller's book is not just filled with terrific plans, instead an emphasis is placed on design. Design decisions, pitfalls, and compromises are all covered in detail. Great for the intermediate or advanced woodworker.

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Pretty much all you could ask, November 12, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Chairmaking & Design (Paperback)

This is really an excellent book for a woodworker seeking guidance with the particular challenges of chairbuilding.

Most chapters cover some particular chair of the author's creation. Don't worry about whether Miller's designs will appeal or not. Plans are included, but copying them really isn't the point. They're presented here as case studies in conceptualization and construction, with lessons that are widely applicable. For example, how to accurately lay out and cut angled tenons, how to obtain a flat surface on an otherwise curved leg, how to fashion a slip seat, etc. And throughout, Miller details a bunch of clever jigs and methods of work.

A caution: familiarity with the ABCs of furnituremaking and access to some modicum of shop stuff is assumed here. This isn't a beginning woodworking text, which only makes sense, given the subject.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars First rate, December 15, 1999

By 

Steve Kratochwill (Evanston IL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Chairmaking & Design (Paperback)

I have attended several of Jeff's woodworking classes. He is not only a first rate woodworker, he is a first rate instructor. Even if you don't feel ready to try chair making, this book is worth having for the techniques you can learn.