Chair Wars

This chair and I do not get along. I want it to be a chair. It wants to be a pile of sticks. I have a customer who also wants it to be a chair. The problem is the seat, obviously.

Its an English Windsor chair with an elm seat and yew turnings. The yew, as is typical, is brittle and bug eaten. So when my client, who is of Yeti genes, sits in this chair likes its an Eames easy chair, it protests by snapping its spindles.

The disfigured seat contorts the spindles, so they are not easily repaired. This time I let the spindles be where they wanted to be and drilled new holes for the pair on the right side. It seems much sturdier and happier. Take that Yeti!

Turning Ten

I was recently asked to make ten balusters to match the white one seen at right in the photo. Given that I rarely say no to work, particularly in this economic climate, I agreed. Some shops possess a duplicating lathe, where you first make a template of the turning that you want, then run a guide pin along the template, while a cutting bit cuts out the shape on the blank. Easy. You can crank out identical turnings all day long.

To me that's too much like factory work and void of the skill required to to produce multiple similar turnings. Notice that I didn't say identical. They are not, nor do they need to be. Take a look at any antique Windsor chair. As you view the overall chair you see four legs all the same. A closer inspection will reveal variations in the legs. Sometimes subtle, other times significant. Yet, it doesn't distract from the overall composition.

Anyway, turning is a lot of fun, so why let a machine do it. And for you smart alec's that noticed the center turning is a little fat, you're right. So did I fix it or leave it? What would you do?

Too Many Clamps?

Cliche you think. If you have done any woodworking or even know a woodworker you have no doubt heard the line "you can never have too many clamps." There is a good reason for this. The photo above shows two 8-foot long glue-ups for turning blanks. Thirty-two clamps in use. If I didn't have the clamps I would have to glue over two days, losing valuable time. Since I make a living at this, that's an important consideration. So, stock up!

Pencil Carving Virtuoso

A friend sent me a series of photos of the work of an accomplished carver working in a rather unconventional medium. I don't know to whom I should give credit, but if this is your work and you happen to be reading this blog (unlikely ), let me know and I'll be sure to give you the credit you deserve. I'll also thank you for putting a smile on my face today. See the remainder of the photos here.

N.B. Well I've been informed these sculptures are the work of Dalton Ghetti of Connecticut. Thanks Mike.

Constructing a Tray Table Part 1

Shown above is a Regency style tray table that I recently made for a client. He provided the tray and I designed and built the table. I have done quite a number of these over the years. It seems to be a very popular way to display and use a decorated tray.

The antique trays that I see are typically mid- to late nineteenth century, made of papier mache, and wonderfully decorated with paint, gold leaf and mother of pearl. In the twentieth century they began to make the trays of metal. These decorated metal items are known as toleware.



The tables are most often black, but sometimes red, picked out with gold. The legs are lathe-turned and have a nice little turn-out at the bottom, reminiscent of a french foot found on many Hepplewhite case pieces.

I start by making a template of the tray by tracing the actual tray. Then using a flat washer of the right size, I run the washer around the tray with a pencil in the hole giving me a 1/4" offset from the tray perimeter. This results in a slightly larger frame than the tray, which protects the fragile edges.




I stack laminate two rectangles of 3/4" poplar and when the glue drys lay on the template. Cut the outer shape using a band saw or jig saw and clean up to the line with spokeshave, rasps and sandpaper.



I figure out the required width of the frame, based on the width of the flat perimeter of the tray, and scribe that dimension on the frame.



All that's left is to cut the inside shape; this must be done with the jig saw. This can be left unfinished, right from the saw. In Part 2 I'll discuss making the legs.

Be on the Lookout

This advertisement appeared in the Barnstable (Cape Cod, Mass.) Patriot on December 19, 1929. Apparently I am not the only one who values their Windsor chairs.

Saws Happen

I don't collect saws. Really. I readily admit the dozens of saws that you see in the pictures are mine, but I swear I did not collect them. They just happened. You could say that I have "accumulated" them over the past thirty years. They conglomerate like dust bunnies; everywhere you look in my shop you find saws. They hang on the walls and from the rafters, they stand up in corners, and they lie on the floor in the attic.

There are panel saws, back saws, dovetail saws, gents saws, tenon saws, carcase saws, stair saws, ripsaws, crosscut saws, miter box saws, bow saws, turning saws, fret saws, and coping saws. Oh my!

The reason I have so many is that I just can't pass up a bargain. Hand saws are truly ubiquitous. Before the advent of power saws every tradesman owned at least two and every home probably had one. Fast forward to today and you find them showing up at nearly every yards sale, auction, and second hand store.


As unlikely as it may seem, I usually don't buy, but I always look. And when I find an old saw that has been well cared for and has a shapely, carved apple-wood handle and a long line of straight and well-formed teeth, a brass medallion and a strong etching on the blade of a proud manufacturer, with a price of 3 or 4 dollars, then I do buy.

Being a user and lover of old tools, I simply cannot pass up these bargains. While I may never use all of my adopted saws (I do have my favorites), at least they will be at home in a working shop and among friends.