Using traditional tools and techniques is wonderful, but what’s important to me is how properly using these manual methods can drastically improve the durability, flexibility, comfort and life of a chair.
– George Sawyer
“Using traditional tools and techniques is wonderful, but what’s important to me is how properly using these manual methods can drastically improve the durability, flexibility, comfort and life of a chair.”
– George Sawyer
Our Process
Our passion and dedication to elements of traditional chairmaking aren’t about nostalgia, they’re about how using traditional tools and techniques produce heirloom-quality pieces in a way that is sustainable, durable, and comfortable for our customers.
Our process is based on the foundations of green woodworking – using wood that has not been kiln dried – and paying careful attention to the moisture content of the wood, the distinct characteristics of different wood species, and following the grain of the wood.
Spindles:
Our spindles are riven from the log (split along the grain not cut across grain) meaning that they maintain their full strength and flexibility. This process has been replaced in most large scale manufacturing and the resulting product is more prone to breaking with time and use.
Seat:
Our chairs have a deep, hand carved seat to be wonderfully comfortable for hours of sitting and many years of use and the seat is tilted front to back to encourage a more relaxed seating position.
Woods:
We select specific woods for the different chair components based on their unique characteristics. Ash or oak will be used in the backbow for their flexibility in steam bending, while hard maple or cherry is used to hold sharp details in leg turnings.
Carving:
We use hand carved details to create interest for both hands and eyes. Careful attention is paid to the places on a seat where hands will wander, providing an enjoyable and tactile experience.
Joinery:
Paying careful attention to the moisture content of the various chair parts helps to create the strongest possible joinery. The conical wedged mortise and tenon is an ancient joinery technique – arguably the simplest and strongest method for constructing seating.
Have questions about how we create our handmade Windsor chairs?