You've probably seen one in your grandmother's house, perhaps in your own home. Maybe it was produced in a factory or has the indications of being handmade. Either way, the Windsor chair is a familiar household form that has made its way into furniture ubiquity. For the month of January, the furniture students of North Bennet Street School halted all other projects to take on the Windsor chair and learn the techniques of "green" woodworking. The pieces for the legs and back of the chair begin as fresh split logs of oak and maple that are worked using tools unique to most woodworking including drawknives, spokeshaves, and shaving horses. Rather than typical mortise and tenon joints, green chairs utilize the movement of wood to create secure joints that tighten as the wood swells. While glue is used in these types of joints it is the mechanics of wood movement that make this a solid construction. Below are some photos of the process of making one of these chairs.
AuthorGirl living in Cambridge, MA and going to school in Boston at North Bennet Street School for furniture making. Archives
April 2014
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