Process:

The Thos. Moser Continuous Arm Chair

The first recognizable design made by Tom Moser was our Thos. Moser Continuous Arm Chair.  Its form and design ingenuity put the company on the map while also defining an aesthetic that has become synonymous with the Moser name. Today, this iconic chair is made nearly the same as it was in the late 1970s. It’s a design that distills generations of innovation and woodworking expertise.

Board Selection

A stack of Allegheny cherry, organized according to its thickness and length, has been pulled for the project and awaits inspection. Every inch of the board is examined, searching for any sign of natural imperfections—a hairline crack, an excess of sapwood, or knots. Board selection is paramount to the chair’s structural integrity. While the form of the chair remains the same, the craftsperson’s board selection determines the chair’s unique characteristics. Once the board has been selected, it is cut into three pieces, and several passes are made over the joiner to create a perpendicular edge and a flat face. From there, the boards are placed in the order the craftsperson likes best, matching grain patterns to create a seat that appears as though it was carved from a single monolithic block of wood. Once happy with the board placement, a triangle is drawn denoting their order, and the glue-up of an 18 by 24-inch panel seat panel begins. Once the glue has cured, the craftsperson removes it from the panel press, scrapes off any excess glue, and sets the panel aside before it moves onto the CNC machine.

Shaping the Seat

Once the seat panel has been glued and cured, its rough shape is cut using our cutting-edge 5-axis computer numerical control machine (CNC) technology, where tradition is amplified by modern innovation. By employing the CNC machine, we have enhanced our craft by allowing for exact precision, increased quality, and expanded our design capabilities. With the seat panel placed best face up on the jig, the craftsperson programs a series of orchestrated movements into the machine for this specific task. As the whir of the CNC gracefully moves across the panel, the ergonomic contours of the seat and holes for the legs and spindles take shape.

“Technology makes our lives a little easier so that we can concentrate on the fit and the finish. But, sourcing the material, matching the wood grain, and the craft of building the piece — no machine can do those things.”

-Aaron Moser

Time-Honored Techniques

We begin with board selection to breathe life into the chair’s most iconic aspect, the continuous arm. The 16 flitch-cut slices of the wood that make up the arm begin as a solid twelve-quarter board. Cut along the length of the board, flitch cut is a process that creates smooth cuts and virtually no wasted material. Additionally, the flitch-cut wood allows the board’s full strength to be preserved when the pieces are glued, stacked, and shaped, making it the most demanding manipulation of any board in the shop.

Each slice is pulled through a glue wheel by hand, coating both sides and then stacked in the exact order that it was cut, creating a piece of wood that is 10x stronger and more mailable than the initial board. Once all 16 slices of the board have been glued and stacked, the now laminated wood is twisted, bent, and clamped into place within the jig. The jig of the continuous arm was designed by Tom Moser. Its initial form was shaped by copper piping and a wooden form. In the late 1970s, Tom worked with a local car mechanic to design a modernized jig that uses hydraulic pressure to hold the form into place. 

“The continuous arm and the construction of the chair cannot be done by machine; that requires the eye, the hand, and the rasp.”

– Andy Moser

Next, the cylindrical shape of the arm is achieved with several passes on the router, rounding off the squared edges of the arm. It is then secured in a vice, and the meticulous act of sculpting and shaping the arm begins. Working clockwise around the arm, every pass of rasp is followed by a run of the hand checking for thickness and shape. This tandem motion continues until the shape of the continuous arm, oval at the top, round in the middle, and U-shaped where it meets the arms, is achieved. Finally, the rough and sculpted form moves on to a balloon sander to refine the curves and transitions of the arm, rendering the beginning layers of veneer indistinguishable.  

After the two-hour process of creating the arm is complete, we mark the arm, denoting spindle placement, and blind-drill the spindle holes through the arm. Precision and perfection are critical during this process. If the hole is drilled at an angle a degree or two off, it renders the entire arm unusable.

To begin building the chair, the craftsperson attaches the arm to the seat, measuring the exact distance from the crest to the seat and the arm to the seat. To secure each spindle to the seat and the crest, the craftsperson drives wedged tenons into the mortise of the spindle on the bottom of the seat and the crest into the arm of the chair. This process is repeated with the legs, and then each wedged tenon is cut, and the arm receives a final rasping and hand sanding to create a seamlessly smooth arm. 

Sculpting the seat is the culmination of great patience and skill. Using a hand grinder, the once proud tenons securing the legs to the seat are rendered flush with the seat and the slow and intentional sweeping strokes create the gentle rise of the saddle and rounded edges of the seat. The sculpted contours are smoothed by hand, giving the seat a tactile softness that highlights its timeless beauty. 

Finishing

Finishing is the culminating phase. It is where the essence of every decision comes to life. The wood’s hidden nuances– like curling grain, shimmering flecks, and grain depth of character– emerge with oil. Beyond its aesthetic allure, the oil permeates the surface, providing protection and ensuring the wood’s resilience for generations.  

To oil the piece, we begin with the seat and any end grain sections. The end grain absorbs the oil most and needs to be wiped off immediately to reduce the likeliness of drips or unwanted blotchiness. Once those sections are complete, we move from the bottom of the chair, working our way to the top. After each section is oiled, it is wiped down by hand to remove any excess oil or drips that may have formed and set aside to dry overnight. The following day, we prepared the chair for its final finish by going over the entire piece by hand with 320-grit sandpaper.  With a steady hand and fluid motion, the Zen-like process of applying the finish begins. As we apply the finish, we move in the direction of the grain until every inch of the furniture has been protected. After it dries, the piece will receive one last sanding to create the final polished look.  

The Mark of the Maker

Every element of our furniture is imbued with humanity, from the hand-fit joinery to the sublime smoothness achieved by sanding a piece by hand or the flawless finish. As the craftsperson signs their finished piece, they do so with reverence for the wood and the honor of carrying on the furniture-making tradition. Their connection to the piece is forever apparent, as is the indelible ink used to sign their name on every piece they build.  

Crafting wooden furniture by hand encompasses numerous steps, from lumber selection to final delivery. Our skilled craftspeople dedicate years of experience to every phase, from design and material selection to assembly and finishing, with precision and expertise, creating a personalized approach that results in modern-day heirlooms built just for you.  When working with wood, time is care. Furniture making is a slow and methodical process, but ultimately, it’s the process that counts.

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