Benchmade Windsor Chairs

Windsor Chairs from the Colonial era were, of course, all Benchmade (made by hand) by highly skilled craftsmen. This is exactly how we make our benchmade reproduction Windsor chairs and Colonial dining tables today. We start by heading north in Maine to seek out clear, Eastern White Pine for our sculpted seats. Then we acquire fresh cut Red Oak logs that are cut and graded by the international grading system to meet the high standard for veneer making. We select logs that are straight and free of knots to produce our crests, arms, bows, and spindles. The 10 to 14 foot logs are first riven into quarters by hand, using a sledge hammer and wedges. The quarters are then cut into lengths for the various parts and are further riven with a frow. These blanks then go into the shop and are formed into the individual parts by hand using a draw knife, spokeshave and hand plane. Parts are easily shaped because this is done while the oak is still wet. After the shaping process is complete, parts are steamed and bent on our custom-made forms and the bent pieces are placed in our drying room. When the parts are dry, we further trim and shape as required; wood blocks are glued to arms to form the hands and are carved and shaped to finish. It is during the drying time of these parts that the seat planks are cut. First, seat blanks are smoothed using a scrub plane. Some seats require tails for support of the high backs, so a mortise is cut in the back of the seat and tails are joined with tenon and glued in place.

The seat blank is then cut into either a shield or oval shape. We shape the seat on the bench using a draw knife, gutter adze, scorp, radius plane, spoke shave, and travisher. Leg holes are hand drilled with brace and spoon bits then reamed so the chair can be legged up. Holes are drilled the same way on the top side of the seat for spindles. Arms and bows are fitted and the chair is assembled and is now ready for finishing. We finish all of our chairs with milk paint just as the master American Windsor Chairmakers did.

We build our chairs one at a time. Each one has its own character, reflecting its maker as we have shaped each element by hand. We are not a production shop; rather, we strive to create each piece with the same construction methods and tools used by 18th century chairmakers. We follow in the footsteps of these craftsmen who left a legacy of beautiful forms which are distinctly American. In finishing each piece we utilize authentic colors, painting techniques and methods to produce the effects of aging. So effective is this, that you will find it hard to believe your chair was just made a couple of days ago. These time-honored methods will ensure that our products are passed on from generation to generation, backed by our satisfaction guarantee.

Windsor Chair Materials

The pine and red oak we use are grown in Maine. The wood is carefully selected for each part. Splitting the wood from a log (riving) ensures that it will have a continuous grain along the length of the piece. This lends itself to more elegant chairs, as each piece can be made lighter, while remaining strong and flexible. Inexpensive  machine-made Windsor chairs use sawn wood for the crests, spindles and arms because it is easier and requires less skill. Therefore, to maintain the strength needed, each piece must be heavier. Bows and crests for the backs of our chairs are rived for straightness of grain, delivering memory retention when steam bent. Spindles are also hand rived taking full advantage of the flexible properties in Oak. Legs and undercarriage are all maple. Seats are fashioned from clear, straight grain, Maine-grown Eastern White Pine. Using a soft wood like pine enhances the interlocking of the leg’s Morse taper joint through the seat.

Windsor Chair Joinery

All leg joints in our chairs rely solely on an interlocking joint called a Morse taper to make certain that the chair remains tight. The legs are joined through the seat in this self-locking system and wedged just as the master Windsor chairmakers did. With this tapered joint, every time the chair is sat upon, the leg is forced into the seat thereby tightening the joint. Each spindle and leg joint is further secured with a wedge. Most production or machine-made Windsor chair legs are made with a round tendon that fits into a round hole in the seat. Over time and constant use, seasonal shrinkage and expansion of these joints will weaken and fail. The undercarriage of our chairs is built under compression (that is, the legs are raked-front and back-and splayed-right and left-under the tension of the stretchers) to ensure structural integrity and further guarantee that the chair stays tightly together for generations to come.