A Frankenchair #10: Glue-up and Fastening the Shell

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This is part 10 in a 10 part series: A Frankenchair

  1. An Inspired Moment?
...
  1. Stretcher Shaping
  2. Glue-up and Fastening the Shell

Glue-up was simple enough - a couple strap clamps and one bar clamp over cork pads to pull the joints tight for the back stretcher. 



Before final fitting, I rough-sanded the entire bottom of the chair shell, and used a rotary tool to remove the remaining white junk down in the cracks.


My wife liked the visual texture of the sanded fiberglass, so I might just finish it with a clear sealer rather than paint.



I installed a pair of stainless threaded inserts on the risers of the front stretcher.  They're pretty lightweight (for M4 screws), but they don't need to provide any strength, they just keep the shell in position.





With the shell held in position by the two front "shoulder washers", I marked locations on the outside of the shell where it rested on the back stretcher.  From there, I could inset slightly the position for two more screw holes.   After removing the shell, I drilled the holes from the outside of the shell.


With the shell back in position, I could drill back through the two holes into the stretcher.


The screw and the stretcher are tilted at different angles, so I offset the stretcher holes to one side to avoid blowing out the bottom of the stretcher when drilling.

With the screw holes enlarged, I installed the threaded inserts.


I added a countersink on the seating side.



Fully assembled and ready for finish.


The future owner taking a test sit.  I got the seal of approval.


Smart looking fasteners!

Great build and with the final perspective in the bottom photo, I see it is much wider than I had thought!
i agree with your wife on the finish ross. i think it has a unique look. id clear coat it.

working with my hands is a joy,it gives me a sense of fulfillment,somthing so many seek and so few find.-SAM MALOOF.