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The chair is made with carefully cut joinery. The two side
frames, are joined in the lower part of the chair with mortises
cut directly through the bottom rails. These joints show
exposed end-grain and yew wedges, a feature which compliments
other pieces of woodwork in this range of furniture designed
and made by Peter Leonard Bailey.
In the chair-back, steam-bent rails link the side frames and provide
a comfortable support for the one to be seated. The simplicity in the
structure of this chair
extends also to the minor decorative features the maker allows. Plain stopped
chamfers provide a rhythm of shapes in the chair-back and the structure generally.
The chamfers, together with the smooth finish of all the components, enhance
the tactile nature of this woodwork.
The seat of the chair is made to conform to a gentle curve
by joining several pieces of oak glued edge to edge. The
seat is solid and comfortable. The seat is fastened to the
framework of the chair with polished brass expansion plates.
The expansion plates are mounted in concealed pockets cut
into the inside of the top rails of the framework.
A feature of this chair is the carved splat in the chair-back.
This chair is carved with the symbolic Yorkshire Rose, as
part of a set.
The surface coating on this chair is obtained
with tung oil, to provide a natural low sheen. No stain
has been employed, and the
honey blonde colouring of the oak is very beautiful. Quarter-sawn
oak has a very characteristic grain pattern. Timbers which are
sawn in this manner, are cut so that the sides of the sawn boards
fall closely parallel to the radial medullary rays in the log.
In consequence, the medullary ray outcrops on the surface of
the board. In oak this shows as the 'silver grain' or 'figuring'
characteristic
of quarter-sawn oak. Apart from its enhanced figuring, wood sawn
in this manner is particularly stable. It tends to remain free
from warping or 'cupping'.
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