Green & Green Blacker House armchair - part I

Hello fellow woodworkers.

I thought I'd share my experiences building what I believe is one of the most beautiful chairs ever built.  Here is a link to a photo of one of the originals:

http://www.gamblehouse.org/nnb/object/5192.html

I started this project as my last project as a student at North Bennet Street School in Boston MA.  I had finished much of the basic construction at the school.  The major tasks remaining upon graduation in June 2009 was the shaping of the crest rail, the arms, as well as the sundry decorative elements (such as ebony plugs, etc).  I was lucky to have fantastic instructors at the school.  I was also lucky to get some useful design guidance from a fantastic former instructor who had built a couple of these chairs herself.

Well, that was in June 2009.  Almost 2 years later I have started working on the chair again.  In the interim my wife and I bought a house in Ashland, Oregon.  The house search, working on the house and setting up shop swallowed up the rest of 2009 as well as most of 2010.  I am finally back in the shop!  The shop lacks storage and a workbench.  Those projects will come later.  I want to finish this chair!

Here is a photo of the chair at the school just before I left Boston.  The legs and rails are all glued up.  The various splats and crest rail are not glued up.  Not sure if this is the best procedure, but I wanted the chair to be assembled as much as possible as I knew it would be in storage for some time.

  Being away from a project for 2 years requires a certain mental context shift and adjustment (namely, what the hell do I do now?).   Well, just dive in and start making mistakes and hope these early mistakes are only minor!