David's Rocking Chairs

A round-top eighteenth-century armchair framed with a bent, U-shaped arm rail to which is anchored a low-arched bow enclosing the long rear spindles. This chair is the prime example of the Windsor style in America, introduced around 1760. Many of these chairs exist today because of the unique construction methods.

Handcrafting a Windsor chair in the traditional method is a labor intensive task. The delicacy of handcrafted Windsor chairs is possible only because the grain runs continuously through the parts A continuous straight grain can most reliably be achieved by carefully splitting the wood from a green log. Traditional Windsor chairmakers use oak or ash for the bent pieces such as the bow-back, and arm rail because of its ease in bending. The spindles are shaped with a drawknife and spokeshave to the size desired. The spindles of most handmade Windsor chairs vary slightly in size and shape because they are shaped using hand tools. When a spindle is shaped by hand, it is important that the wood from which it is shaped was riven. Riven wood gives the straightness of grain that ensures strength.

To produce legs and stretchers, straight grained blocks of wood are turned on the lathe to the desired shape. Traditional Windsor chairs often use maple or birch wood for these because of its strength. Traditionally, SackbackWindsor chairs have elaborate baluster turnings. The seat of the Windsor is made from a slab of wood 2" thick, which is shaped into an oval in the case of sack-backs. For ease of hollowing and comfort, the seats are generally made of a softer wood such as poplar or pine. Chairmakers typically use a variety of hand tools to refine the shape of the seat

Once the seat is shaped and smoothed, tapered holes are drilled for the legs. The legs are placed in these holes and aligned. Then the stretchers are cut to length and placed between the legs. The legs, which extend through the seat, are glued and wedged for maximum strength. The armposts are aligned and similarly set into tapered holes drilled into the seat. The armpost holes extend through the seat, and are glued & wedged from beneath. Aligning the armrail, bow and spindles requires careful calculations and is done by eye. The spindles extend up through the bow through carefully drilled holes and are also glued & wedged.

Once assembled, the spindle and leg ends are trimmed with a chisel. The rough areas are smoothed with hand planes, scrapers and /or sandpaper. Many chairs are finished with milk paint, which is a nontoxic paint that offers similar colors, and a low luster finish representative of old Windsor chairs. With use and age, it forms a nice patina.

I hope this information helps you evaluate the construction, and appreciate the craftsmanship involved.