A good saw is a must when you are starting in the forest. The first steps of our chair making.
An axe with two good edges can speed up the work for you.
Finding the right tree to start with for the legs and other components takes an experienced eye.
Using a froe to split the billets for the legs is a must to truly follow the grain.
After the billets are split we hand draw shave them before putting them on a lathe.
After the tree is felled we chop the tree into shorter lengths to handle it easier. The 16+" diameter green log sections are still very heavy to move.
After the green wood pieces have been assembled we let them dry a bit before they receive coats of paint. We put them into a large warm fireplace to dry.
The fireplace and the smoke room puts a coating of smoke smells directly into the wood so the raw wood smells correct under the paints.
Most people do not realize the amount of work that goes into getting the right materials for a museum grade chair. We are fortunate to own our own forests to obtain materials.
(A non-brace back side chair) The chairs then receive many layers of milk paint to get us the right history
(Sackback w/ carved knuckles) These layers are often smoked, in the old smoke room above the fireplace, between paintings.
The work is very physical but we are usually in a setting that is inspiring. The sound of the axe the smell of forest in an early morning mist. Often with a few deer watching from the side and the birds singing all around. No power tools here.
(A non-brace back side chair) As the paint layers build up the colors are starting to be effected by the lower layers.
(A non brace backside chair) After a while the upper layers start to flake off and reveal the earlier colors as in this photo. This is one of our goals.
Chairs painted and ready to ship to our clients. These chairs have single plank seats, hand-scorped to shape, with hand wedged joints to keep everything locked together. There are 32 wedges in this sack back chair alone.