The Dantesca Continues. 

This is a much delayed continuation of my post on constructing the dantesca chair.

We last left of the construction with the legs cut and the half laps joints in place.

The next step is centering a hole on the half lap joint and drilling through it. This will accept the bolt that holds the two pieces together., again the pieces will all be identical I prefer to use 1/4" or 5/16" bolts 1 1/2" long, with washers and lock nuts. Once I have the holes drilled I will go in and counter sink the holes so the top of the bolt is just below the surface. The nut side will most likely end up being proud but as it is the inside it is less of a concern.

At this point you need to go through the legs and decide which is front and back of each set. From here out it makes a difference. Once you have decided you should mark which piece goes where so as not to confuse the pieces. Here is where you will layout the mortice holes for the top and bottom stretchers.

The bottom holes will be located behind the decorative protrusions on the lower legs, about 8-10 inch of the ground and parallel to the bottom of the feet and centered in the leg.. The seat supports are between 16-18 inches off the ground and again parallel to the floor, again centered in the leg.. Each mortise will be 1" square, and 1" deep. There are a number of ways to cut the mortices, dedicated hollow chisel machine, drill and square, or pure hand cut. I prefer to drill and square. I chuck a 1" forstner bit into my drill press, set the depth stop and away we go. After drilling all of the legs I grab a one inch chisel and square up the holes. 

The stretchers and seat supports will be 1 1/2" square and between 18 and 20 inches long depending on how deep you like the seat. Keep in mind the material you plan for your seat and back and how much stretching you are likely to have.

For the stretchers I install a dado stack and raise my table say blade to 1/4". Setting a stop at just under 1" I take a couple of passes each side to make the tenon. Once all four tenons are cut test fit and trim accordingly.  

The use clamps to get a dry fit.

The legs should all sit flat on the ground and rotate freely on the bolts. Be careful on your clamping and make sure not to pull the chair out of square. if all legs are not flat on the ground you may need to make some adjustments to how far the legs open, it should be pretty self evident where the adjustments need to be. Once everything is square, flat and looks good, glue it up and let it dry.

EDIT: Going back and reviewing this post I have to correct myself. When you test fit and later glue the body of the chair together start at the bottom two clamps. Tighten then in and set the chair on it's feet. It should sit flat, if not your clamps are put on of center to the tennons and are pulling the chair out of square.

Loosen the clamps enough to let you push down on the high legs and then reclamp, if it raises again try shifing the clamps a little on one end of the clamp or the other. If you move it in and the chair is flat, your good, if it is even more out of square, shift the clamp the other way. Once you have the lower portion flap clamp the top being sure not to let the top pull the bottom out of square. 

Once everything is clamped make sure it still opens and closes easily. Let it dry. 

The arms. 

Next up is the arm construction. I have tried to keep mine fairly true to original lines but have adjusted the end result to my liking. I use a 4x6 for the arms. with a little care you can arrange them so that two nestle into each other with less waste. Once you have them laid out and you have marked the bottoms for the mortise holes that the top of the legs will go into, cut the mortises before you cut out the arms. Much easier while they are still a square block.

After the mortises are cut and fit the chair, cut the arms out. 

How you attach the arms is mostly a matter of personal preference. I have glued them in place, I have also used dowels to secure them to the legs. I have used a combination of the two. However you feel comfortable doing it, now is the time to glue them on and have something that resembles a chair.

There are a good number of in between steps in this process I have left out. Sanding, cleaning up glue. Rounding edges. Ultimately this is all the tedious minor stuff most people will get without me having to say it. Once your chair is assembled take the time now to check it over. No loose joints, rough patches, or dirt marks.

EDIT: Once you are happy with the final product it's time to finish it. Stain, oil, polyurethane, or wax, it's important to put some form of protection between your hard work and the elements. I prefer to use helmspare polyurethane for my chairs, it forms a pretty durable finish, soaks in and enhances the grain of the wood some, and is relatively easy to apply. Several thin coats are much easier to work with than a single heavy coat.

Then set it aside while you prepare the seat and back.