What constitutes a good green wood chair?
In October 2009, I was asked to judge the chairs made by the students on the BBC 2 series, Mastercrafts. They asked me to detail the main factors that I would be using in the judging process, which I found a very useful exercise when teaching chairmaking on my courses. The most difficult part was to give a weighting to these criteria, as they are all important. Other people will have different factors and will certainly give them a different weighting but for what it is worth, here is my list:
Comfort: 25%
Back support: Is there any discomfort with shoulder blades?
Does it have a comfortable height, depth and lean?
Does it have a comfortable/well shaped seat?
Does anything stick into the sitter?
Strength and durability: 25%
Does it bounce when dropped?
Do the joints look & feel tight?
Do the joints creak or wobble when you lean back in it?
Do any components break or come loose under stress?
Does it feel as if it will last for years?
Appeal to the senses: 20%
Visual:
Subjective "good looks";
Can you see the wood’s character, grain, colour?
Sound/feel:
Does it have a vibrancy to it or is it stiff and dull?
Does it have a sticky finish?
Smell:
What finish has been used oil/wax/other?
Energy input: 10%
How much high energy machinery was used? e.g. chainsaws, power lathes, bandsaws, planer/thicknessers, sanders etc
Have the materials been transported far and by what means?
Has it been made with love, care, skill and enthusiasm?
Does it display a sympathy with the materials?
Physical suitability: 10%
Will it fit round a dining table/office desk etc?
Is it light enough to easily pick up?
Does it feel stable?
Does it wobble on the floor?
Quality of finish: 10%
Are there any splinters, tool marks, glue marks, pencil marks? - bad
Is there evidence of cleaving? - good (in small doses)
Is there a good attention to detail?
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