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As a woodworker and former editor of a woodworking magazine, I am amazed at how some woodworkers decline (or refuse) to share their sources for hardware or finishing supplies.
Even with the Internet, search engines and friendly online assistants, there are still some dark arts in our craft.
I refuse to have secrets. Secrets have almost snuffed our craft several times in the last few hundred years. So here is one of my favorite sources for hardware: McMaster-Carr. If you want something that is metal or plastic, McMaster-Carr probably carries it. The prices are solid. And their delivery speed is nothing less than spectacular. In fact, I wonder if they sometimes have trucks trolling my neighborhood that are filled with bolts, nuts, screws and washers.
Today I ordered a batch of hardware for more Roorkee chairs and thought I should share the McMaster-Carr links if you were thinking of making one of these campaign pieces. I am making my 23rd and 24th chairs this week….
Here’s my list of items to build the chairs.
1. You need eight buckles for the leather straps for one chair. You can get those from Tandy Leather or from BuckleGuy.com. I use the 3/4” brass center-bar buckles, item 1210. Nice stuff.
2. Attaching the leather arms to the frame. At the front of the chair, I use two 13mm ball studs with a 5/16″-18 male thread. They come zinc-plated, and I strip the zinc with citric acid. The McMaster-Carr item number is: 9512K18. At the back of the chair, I attach the arms two different ways: With brass slotted screws and finishing washers, or with two brass knurled flared-head thumbscrews, 1/4-20 Thread, 1/2″ Long. Item No.: 92421A537. The thumbscrews go into brass tapping inserts (sometimes called “threaded inserts”). I use two with 1/4-20 internal threads, 1/2″ length. Item No.: 90016A029.
3. To attach the back pieces to the frame, I use two silicone bronze round-head, square-neck bolts, 5/16″-18, 3″ long. Item No.: 94050A335. The bolts are secured with two brass nylon-insert hex locknuts, 5/16″-18 thread, 1/2″ width, 11/32″ height. Item No.: 92092A030. And four brass flat washers, 5/16″ screw size, 7/8″ OD, .05″-.08″ thick. Item No. 92916A191.
4. To attach the belting to the frame I use brass screws and finishing washers. These are for a No. 10 screw size, .59″ OD. Item No. 92921A011. If you don’t have brass slotted screws, McMaster-Carr can hook you up. Oval-head screw for wood, slotted, brass, No. 10, 1″ Long, packs of 50. Item No. 92408A247.
5. No. 9 x 1/2” copper rivets make all the leather-to-leather joints. Here’s the link to them at Tandy.
Oh, and if you need plans for a Roorkee, it’s in the October 2012 issue of Popular Woodworking Magazine, which you can buy at ShopWoodworking.
— Christopher Schwarz
Here are some supplies and tools we find essential in our everyday work around the shop. We may receive a commission from sales referred by our links; however, we have carefully selected these products for their usefulness and quality.
