Windsor Chair Kits @ Highland - Anyone Know Who Makes Them?

[Mike Henderson]

This kit gives you all the parts,hole location,angles,wood selection,you name it! All from the comfort of your shop.Its pretty cheap really,no plans to buy,no museum problems,(no you can't measure the furniture or take photos!). When I saw this post a light went off in my head,I'd buy a kit(they're all nice examples) and make six more! Duck Soup! Ed

If you decide to do this, let me give you a suggestion. One of the hardest things to do on a Windsor chair is to drill the holes in the seat for the spindles and legs in the right place and at the right angle. I've often thought that the way to fix that (compared to the traditional way of doing it) is to glue up some MDF until it's fairly thick, maybe 2", then clamp it to a seat that has the holes already drilled into it at the proper angles. The MDF will have to be a bit wider and longer than the seat. Using the proper sized drill bit, from the bottom of the seat, drill through the MDF. This will give you a jig to use for future seats of the same style Windsor chair. If the spindle holes in your seat don't go all the way through (they don't usually), just drill them through. You can plug them back to the proper depth afterwards if you don't want the holes in the bottom of your seat.

To get proper registration, find the center lines (length and width) of the seat before you drill the holes - and transfer these lines to the MDF. To use the jig, mark center lines on your seat blank and align the jig. Clamp and drill away.

You'l still have to drill the seat back loop and the legs and stretchers but you can probably figure those out. Follow one of the books on Windsor chairs for details.

AND, you have to bend the seat back, which takes special equipment. You could probably make a form and laminate bend those if you don't want to do the steam bending.

You'll also need a tapered reamer to taper the holes for the legs, and when you turn the legs, you'll need to put that same taper on the top of the legs.

Mike

[And let me add that even with a sample kit to go by, making a Windsor chair is not "Duck Soup". There's a lot to learn before you try to build one. Pick up one or more of the books that describe how to build one.

I'm actually not a fan of Windsor chairs. I don't care for the style. But I have a high appreciation of the skill of our ancestors in building them. Through trial and effort they discovered the best woods to use for each part and the proper angles for the legs and the back. For a chair without any padding, they are remarkably comfortable. Someone who goes through the learning to be able to build one, and then brings one to a successful completion, has accomplished quite a bit and deserves a certain amount of professional respect. Building one from a kit simply does not compare.]

[Mike Holbrook]

Great info Dave. I too was thinking about buying the kit as a model and test chair. I believe it is customary to actually size chairs to individuals which might make having a model helpful. In my experience different chairs position the legs differently, varying the ideal seat height. I was thinking individualize chairs would make great family gifts at Christmas.

[Tom Scott]

When you start from a kit, all you demonstrate is that you can glue things together and apply a finish. Assembling a Windsor chair kit is only a small step away from buying one at a furniture store.

Mike

I agree with this, but it still interests me. The making of a Windsor chair has been on my list for a while, but have not been able to manage the week + to travel and take the class. On top of that, there is a whole other set of tools I would need (including a lathe...and the mastering of the lathe). With a dining room suite getting closer on my list, this option suddenly looks more appealing. I know that I will make one from scratch some day, but my wife has already told me that she doesn't plan on letting her new table sit for years while I do it, and I hate the thought of $129 cheapo chairs. I even looked at buying some from the real windsor chair makers, but 10 chairs at $800 a pop adds up.

[Pam Niedermayer]

I agree with this, but it still interests me. The making of a Windsor chair has been on my list for a while, but have not been able to manage the week + to travel and take the class. On top of that, there is a whole other set of tools I would need (including a lathe...and the mastering of the lathe). With a dining room suite getting closer on my list, this option suddenly looks more appealing. I know that I will make one from scratch some day, but my wife has already told me that she doesn't plan on letting her new table sit for years while I do it, and I hate the thought of $129 cheapo chairs. I even looked at buying some from the real windsor chair makers, but 10 chairs at $800 a pop adds up.

Hmmm, I've got 6 or 8 cherry hand-made (not by me) ladder backs I wouldn't mind parting with for cheap (relative, of course).

Pam

[Tom Scott]

Well, Pam, that is tempting but as long as we've waited I think I would have a hard time not going with the continuous arm or sackback windsors that I've always envisioned.

[Pam Niedermayer]

Well, Pam, that is tempting but as long as we've waited I think I would have a hard time not going with the continuous arm or sackback windsors that I've always envisioned.

I was just saying that a lot of us don't much care for windsors as dining room chairs (I'll replace our ladderbacks with ladderbacks or a special fan back design I've been playing with).

Pam