There is no substitute for a handmade chair.
     No two pieces of wood are exactly alike, but that is exactly how they are treated by the automated production process in a factory.  Such a process overlooks crucial details that can make a difference of decades in the life of a chair.  Only an individual chairmaker, working by hand or with simple power tools, can custom-fit each tenon into each mortise, and produce a durable, useful piece that will withstand the demands of its owner.
     The typical factory-made chair is sanded to death, snuffing out the very tactile characteristics that make wood such a pleasure to use and to own.  The individual craftsman pays attention to each facet of the scorped-out seat plank, the curvature of the arm bow, and the "slouch" angle of the backrest, assuring a custom fit for the chair's owner.
 
 

A "stick" Windsor chair, inspired by chairs built in rural peasant communities of England, Wales, and Scandinavia.  The seat plank is American elm, the legs and spindles are honeylocust, the arm bow is sycamore, and the comb is willow oak.

A white oak ladderback chair with a seat woven from cotton Shaker tape

     The care I take in building a chair starts at the very first step: for my materials, I go to the source.  I split posts, rungs, legs, and spindles from a green log, and shave them to the proper dimensions with a drawknife and spokeshave.  Splitting out the parts, rather than sawing them, assures maximum strength because the grain fibers follow the entire length of each part.
     I steam-bend rear posts for ladderback chairs, and hand-carve seats for Windsor chairs.
     Before assembly, I kiln-dry rungs, legs, and spindles; this way, when their bone-dry tenons are inserted into not-quite-so-dry mortises, they reacquire moisture over time and swell inside the mortises, strengthening the joints.
     I don't sand off the tracks of my sharp tools, and the result is a finished chair that is a pleasure to look at and feel.
 

Click here for a photographic record of a ladderback chair under construction, from the log to the finished piece.
 

Typically, the customer who buys a handcrafted chair has previously bought a factory-made chair and been disappointed with the chair's appearance and/or durability.  My chairs are not inexpensive, but they are a sound investment that will provide you and your loved ones many years of enjoyment.
 

Variations on chair designs:
 

Post-and-rung stool: white oak with Shaker tape seat

Windsor stool: mixed-wood seat plank with red oak legs

 

Low-back Windsor chair: red oak legs and arm bow, ash spindles, tinted sycamore seat plank

A set of rustic Windsor stools: cherry seat planks with honeylocust legs and stretchers

  A "youth chair," designed by Drew Langsner of Country Workshops and built by me