Experiment or Perish

The chair on my bench.

When I started building chairs, I said to myself, “If I could just learn to make this one dang chair correctly, then I’d make that one dang chair over and over for the rest of my life.”

I tried to follow through with my promise. I made jigs that made my drilling infallible, and my bent components perfect. I dialed it in right good.

And I was immediately bored. I threw out the jigs and the patterns for that chair. In fact, I’ve never made that stupid chair again. (Note: That “stupid chair” is the most comfortable comb-back I’ve ever made. I still have the prototype and people ask me why I don’t offer this chair form for sale. I don’t have a good answer.)

Today on the way to the lumberyard, Megan had me trapped in the passenger’s seat of her Subaru wagon (my truck is in the shop).

“Let me finish your next chair,” she said.

Long un…