I'm going a make a couple park benchs similar to this:

http://www.calredwood.org/homeown/bench/bench.htm

Are their any design guideline for making a seat comfortable? (ie
optimum seat and back contour/angle, etc)

I can't find much of anything on the web.

TIA

Try this website. http://www.woodbin.com/ref/furniture/chairs.htm

Roger

"Bud" wrote in message
...
I'm going a make a couple park benchs similar to this:

http://www.calredwood.org/homeown/bench/bench.htm

Are their any design guideline for making a seat comfortable? (ie
optimum seat and back contour/angle, etc)

I can't find much of anything on the web.

TIA

"Roger Woehl" wrote

Try this website. http://www.woodbin.com/ref/furniture/chairs.htm

"Bud" wrote in message
I'm going a make a couple park benchs similar to this:

Are their any design guideline for making a seat comfortable? (ie
optimum seat and back contour/angle, etc)

My advice is to buy some cheap wood and prototype, using the guidelines
Roger posted above.

A chair that is comfortable for one can be torture for an other ... and just
looking at a picture of what looks comfortable, won't guarantee "comfort".

A case in point - these chairs and bench don't "look" comfortable, but most
who have sat at them find them extremely so.

http://www.e-woodshop.net/Projects11.htm

For a blow by blow of the both the chairs and bench, follow the links.

Once again, when it comes to a woodworking design using parameters that must
fit the human body, prototype, prototype, prototype!

--
www.e-woodshop.net
Last update: 11/30/07
KarlC@ (the obvious)

Somehow I missed the original post. I've found that the only way a
chair or bench will be comfortable for very long is with a seat pad and
back pad. You can scuplt the seat and back all you want, and maybe make
it comfortable for one person. The next person probably won't like it.
So just make a decent looking chair, don't worry much about the seat and
back, and get pads. And be sure to make it wide, and strong, enough for
people with wide butts.



JOAT
Even Popeye didn't eat his spinach until he had to.

Swingman wrote:

.... snip
A case in point - these chairs and bench don't "look" comfortable, but
most who have sat at them find them extremely so.

http://www.e-woodshop.net/Projects11.htm

For a blow by blow of the both the chairs and bench, follow the links.

Once again, when it comes to a woodworking design using parameters that
must fit the human body, prototype, prototype, prototype!


Thanks for re-posting that link. The process you went through to refine
the jigs and process in order to do a "production run" on the chairs may be
quite useful to others in the future.

--
If you're going to be dumb, you better be tough

On Dec 1, 8:17 am, "Roger Woehl" wrote:
Try this website.http://www.woodbin.com/ref/furniture/chairs.htm

Roger

"Bud" wrote in message

...

I'm going a make a couple park benchs similar to this:

http://www.calredwood.org/homeown/bench/bench.htm

Are their any design guideline for making a seat comfortable? (ie
optimum seat and back contour/angle, etc)

I can't find much of anything on the web.

TIA

Excellent link, thanks. Tom

"Mark & Juanita" wrote

Thanks for re-posting that link. The process you went through to refine
the jigs and process in order to do a "production run" on the chairs may
be
quite useful to others in the future.

Thanks for the kind words ... not entirely altruistic, as it'll also allow
me to remember how/what I did it in the first place.

--
www.e-woodshop.net
Last update: 11/30/07
KarlC@ (the obvious)

Swingman wrote:


"Mark & Juanita" wrote

Thanks for re-posting that link. The process you went through to
refine
the jigs and process in order to do a "production run" on the chairs may
be
quite useful to others in the future.

Thanks for the kind words ... not entirely altruistic, as it'll also allow
me to remember how/what I did it in the first place.


So you suffer from CRS* too?

I know if I don't write it down, it didn't happen or it won't happen.

*CRS -- Can't remember stuff
--
If you're going to be dumb, you better be tough

On Sat, 01 Dec 2007 16:08:50 -0700, Mark & Juanita
wrote:

I know if I don't write it down, it didn't happen or it won't happen.

*CRS -- Can't remember stuff


I write setup instructions and tool details (bits, bases...) all over
my jigs with a Sharpie. If you can't beat it, work around it! G

On Dec 1, 8:35 am, Bud wrote:
I'm going a make a couple park benchs similar to this:

http://www.calredwood.org/homeown/bench/bench.htm

Are their any design guideline for making a seat comfortable? (ie
optimum seat and back contour/angle, etc)

I can't find much of anything on the web.

TIA

I agree with the advice to get some cheap wood and make a simple
prototype to mess around with. Many years ago I built a "garden
bench" of 100 year old reclaimed white oak. I spent many hours hand-
chopping mortice/tennon joints. It turned out beautiful and I was
gratified that SWMBO liked it so much she put it in the living room
instead of outdoors. It still sits there, but it mocks me every day
because it ain't comfortable worth a darn. The seat is nice enough,
but the back angle is just too straight. It's 5 degrees off vertical
as I recall, but just not right for the seat angle. It seems most
garden benches I've sat on share this design feature. Or maybe it's
me that's out of step.

DonkeyHody
"In theory, theory and practice are the same, but in practice they are
not."

This bench is quite comfortable...

http://www.woodsmith.com/plans/garden-bench/

I have built six of them, and nobody has ever
whined about the comfort level.



DonkeyHody wrote:

The seat is nice enough, but the back angle is just too straight.
It's 5 degrees off vertical as I recall, but just not right for the
seat angle.

It seems most garden benches I've sat on share this design feature.
Or maybe it's me that's out of step.

On Dec 1, 9:35 am, Bud wrote:
I'm going a make a couple park benchs similar to this:

http://www.calredwood.org/homeown/bench/bench.htm

Are their any design guideline for making a seat comfortable? (ie
optimum seat and back contour/angle, etc)

I can't find much of anything on the web.

TIA

There is a problem with the seat profile as the front edge of the
curve presses against the underside of your thighs. To be comfortable
the front portion of the seat needs to be flat under your thighs and
only curve up slightly at the back. Once the rear seat curve becomes
tangent to the (possibly tilted) seating plane, about 1/4 of the way
in from the back it should not curve back up but just continue
straight to the front seat edge. A completely flat seat is more
comfortable than the one illustrated.

Mon, Dec 3, 2007, 10:54am (EST-3)
(Bob*Kirkpatrick) doth claimeth:
snip A completely flat seat is more comfortable than the one
illustrated.

Not in my experience. Maybe if I had a flat butt.



JOAT
Even Popeye didn't eat his spinach until he had to.