The Windsor Chronicles Blog

Times are so tough; so I thought you could all use a quick pick-me-up. (I’m trying to be clever, so work with me.) I recently received this email from His Grace Ralph Quick, Duke of Windsor. In it, His Grace recounts some very upbeat events that have occurred recently in his life. They should give you a boost. Caron is Ralph’s wife and partner in their chairmaking business. Their dog’s name is Windsor.   

 “Greetings King Mike, 

“A few weeks ago Caron got a phone call from a lady.  The lady told her not to hang up because this was not a prank call. She said she needed 20 Windsor chairs for a movie that was being filmed in Kansas City, and she needed them fast. She said she was not worried about the price. She had checked out our web site and saw that our chairs were reasonably priced.  

“We did not have that many chairs in stock but we did tell her we could get them. We had just completed several chairs for a couple of customers. We told them about the phone call and asked if we could take their chairs to Kansas City as props for a movie.  They agreed to let us use their chairs, but only if we delivered them personally and watched over them to be sure they were not damaged.  

“Caron told the movie lady what our customers requested. The lady said she was happy to have us deliver them. She added that we would be reimbursed for the delivery and for our gas.  We would also be reimbursed for our room and meals at the Fairfield Marriott while the chairs were being used to film the movie. 

“The movie’s title is “We The People.” It will be finished in approx. 6 to 8 months. Then, it will be previewed at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington at their IMAX Theater. From there it will go to Williamsburg, and then to Mt. Vernon. After that, it will be shown at all the IMAX Theaters across the country. The movie people said that in about two years, it will be presented on HBO and the History Channel. After that, it will be shown in schools across the country as part of their of history classes.

 “When I saw our chairs in the monitor I realized just what Caron and I are contributing to history. It is really hard to explain. I have seen lots of our chairs together here in the shop, and at shows. However, they never hit me as it did when I saw them on the monitor. It was as if our chairs really were at Independence Hall in 1776 ready for the signing of the Declaration of Independence.  

“All the actors commented just how comfortable the chairs were. We even took several orders for them. The Director, Aimee Larrabee ordered a left handed Writing Arm because I could not sell her the one we had brought with us. Even though it was not used during the filming, she really liked the writing arm and wanted one for herself.  

“The sack back Caron made during her first class in 2003 was in the first scene. Once the shooting was done I had all the key people sign the bottom of it for her. She is really “jazzed” about it that. Her first chair was used in a movie and is autographed by all the actors.  

“As an aside, my first chair was signed by Roy Underhill a couple of years ago while at the Endview Plantation event in Virginia. That was when we got a photo of him along with Fred, Caron and me. I have no idea as to why I asked him to sign the bottom of my chair but if someone wants to buy it, it would cost a gazillion dollars. Ha! Ha!  

“Back to the movie. They said that the credits will read, “The Windsor Chair Shop of Clarksville, Missouri” since the  guy in Lancaster, PA. also uses the name “Windsor Chair Shop”. We have had a lot of people tell us that they had contacted him by mistake, and that he does not bother to tell them that he really is not the one they were looking for. We even met him at a show in Virginia last May, but he would not talk to, or even acknowledge us when we introduced ourselves. He just said, “Yea, I know who you are” and went on about his business. I know he and I were probably married in a past life, and I bet we didn’t like one another then either. Ha! Ha!   

“For some reason the director really took a liking to Caron. She was asked to do a walk on part in the movie. They wanted me to be in the part with her, but my beard caused trouble. It is not authentic. The director told the make up department to do what they had to in order the make my beard disappear. They pulled and twisted my beard so hard and tight that I could feel the hair on my toes being pulled upwards. However, you can’t tell I have a beard. So, in the movie Caron and I are the “Older Colonists” listed in the credits. Our scene occurs when the Town Crier is announcing the news about America breaking away from British rule. The younger colonists are happy and cheering. Being older and having always lived under British rule, Caron and I think independence is a bad idea. We disagree wonderfully, I might add. Ha! Ha!  

“We almost did not go to Kansas City for the movie as that is when all the flooding started here. Several friends of ours, who are also fellow artisans, persuaded us to go. They promised they would keep an eye on everything for us. Caron was quite upset when we returned. The town (Clarksville, MO) had experienced a lot of damage. It was, and still is quite a mess here. It will be some time before it recovers fully. However, everyone here is pulling together and we owe a lot to the people who watched our place while we were gone. 

“The other good news on our front is that of Early American Life magazine is preparing an article about the Connecticut Writing Arm for the October issue. They chose four chairmakers to interview. We were the top choice for the editor writing the article. Caron put together some pretty good text to help him out. So, we can’t wait to see that issue. 

“While in Virginia, EAL used our settee and our sack back for a shot. They took some pictures of a couple of the re-enactors sitting in them in a garden area. I forgot to ask what issue those will be in, but you can bet we’ll send you guys a copy when it comes out.  

“Well, I guess I better finish up here and get back outside to the carriage house. Caron is finishing a settee right now. She doesn’t like me doing any sawing or cutting while she is painting chairs. It doesn’t take her long to paint them, so I know she’ll have something for me to do when I get back out there. These past few days have been really nice and we are finally getting caught up on our schedule.  

“Tell everyone at The Institute we said hello and we that can’t wait to see them all again in April. 

“Take Care,Ralph, Caron & Windsor” 

Now, doesn’t that put a smile on your face? Can you imagine your business appearing in movie credits? Every time that movie is played it will be an advertisement for His Grace and Caron.   It couldn’t happen to better people.  

If you would like to receive periodic updates, tips, tool reviews, and new sources, that are outside the scope of this blog, join our mailing list by emailing me at mike@thewindsorinstitute.com Help us spread the word about this blog. Tell others.

The June 23 c-arm class is in session this week.  I have written before about making my favorite chair.  I recommend those posts to anyone who wants to know more about the C-arm, the most refined and complex of all  Windsor chairs.

The class is noticeablely different from other C-arms.  Out of 19 people in a class required for Knighthood, there were no knightings.  On the other hand, there were twelve in the raising.  The two numbers are related.  Raising twelve students to master chairmaker, means almost two thirds of the class was making their first advanced chair.  All these people are just beginning their chairmaking studies. They are new blood keeping the craft alive and vital.  I expect that over the next two years a lot of them will become knights.

Among this group are Mary and Charles Shevlin, husband and wife; and Phil and Phil Bensing, father and son. Young Phil will begin his senior year in high school this fall. Joe Paterson and Steve Denvir are here from Ontario, and Peter Young flew in from Australia. Peter has been writing about Windsors for an Australian woodworking magazine.  Joe, Steve, and Peter are in the vanguard of accomplishing The Institute’s stated purpose “For hand made Windsor chairs to take over the world.”

* * * *

Fred, Don, and I have already decided to forward a nomination from this class to the Board of Directors of the Chairmaker Hall of Fame.  I will the present Travis Butler’s innovation at the Board’s July meeting.  Travis is also scheduled to become a Knight of Windsor during the November 17 NYC bow back side chair class.  If the Board of Trustees approves his nomination for field trials, and then inducts him, Travis could become a Knight of Windsor and an Immortal the same year.  I think Travis will also be the youngest Immortal.

The Hall of Fame bylaws grant me the privilege of naming an innovation once it has resulted in membership.  I am kicking around two:  “Bultler’s Bridge” or “Bridge to Terabutlia.”  If you don’t get the second one, you don’t have any kids in middle school.

At the July meeting the Board of Trustees will be voting on another nomination that just wrapped up its field trials.  I will report favorably on an innovation suggested by Sir Ken Hall.  I don’t have a name yet.  I am interested in suggestions from you who have used his innovation while in trials.

Assuming affirmative votes for both Sir Ken and Travis, by the end of the year, the number of members of the Royal Orders also counted among the Immortals will increase from three to five. Currently, only the late Sir Richard Nichols, Sir Croxton Gordon and His Grace Gordon Keller, have been inducted into the Hall of Fame.

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During the week I read and approved the galleys for an article that will be published by Popular Woodworking in the October issue.  Last week we shot the photos for another article that will appear in the following issue.  If you like the articles I write, you should subscribe to that magazine. That’s the only place I publish anymore.

Having said that, I did contribute several paragraphs to an article being written by an editor at Early American Life magazine.  The piece is about writing arm Windsors.  It will appear in their October issue.  We will teach our writing arm class November 3.  The week we are teaching any particular style of chair I often write about the problems that chair entails.  It is a natural time, as the chair is on my mind.  I may include my contribution in that week’s posting.

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You may have seen newscasts about the flooding in Clarksville, MO. Many of you know that this quaint tourist town is home to H. G. Ralph Quick and his wife Caron.  They run a very successful Windsor chairmaking shop there.  People who have been in classes with Ralph and Caron have emailed to ask if I knew how they were doing.

I heard from Ralph this week.  He emailed me the news and some photos of Clarksville. The town is a mess, but so far Ralph and Caron have been spared. Several more days of rain are predicted starting this weekend, and they are nervous.

Caron did leave a brief message on our answering machine.  In the midst of all these troubles, she did have exciting news.  She and Ralph and their chairs are going to be in an IMAX movie.  We are waiting for more details, and I will report them here.

* * * *

After that news, you need a good laugh. To tickle your ribs, here’s another offering from our humor archive called “A Duck Walks into a Chair Shop…”

The Windsor Institute was wrestling with lots of problems caused by Shaker chairmakers making Windsors and selling them on the internet. (See last week’s post.)  All that took a back seat to the recent pigeon problem.  Swarms of pigeons invaded the campus.  They perched on the peak of every roof.  They landed on cars.  They took over the bending area.  Their droppings covered every surface.  Anyone leaving the buildings was instantly targeted by numerous birds swooping and pooping at once.

The staff was desperate. They tried all sorts of pest control experts and exterminators, but the birds were determined to stay. At last, a stranger showed up dressed in a costume made up of many different colored patches.  The stranger spoke first to Fred and Don and told them he could get rid of the pigeons.  The desperate Windsor chairmakers escorted the fellow to the office, where Mike was hiding under his desk.

“This guy says he can get rid of the pigeons,” said Don.  Mike crawled out and eyed the guy with suspicion.  Wearing that funny outfit, he didn’t look like he could be trusted.

“My name is Mr. Piper,” the stranger told Mike. He handed Mike his business card which read “P. Piper, Pest Control.”

 “I can get rid of your pigeon problem,” claimed Mr. Piper.  “To top it off, I’ll do it for free.”

Free?  That got Mike’s attention.  “There is just one catch,” Piper added.  “You must ask me no questions.  If you ask me a question it will cost you two grand.”

Fred, Don, and Mike huddled. “What the heck.  If it doesn’t work, it won’t cost us anything.  And if it does work, we’re golden.”  The three told Mr. Piper to do his best.

“Fine,” the man in the multicolored costume responded.  “But remember, any questions and you owe me $2K.”

The next day Mr. Piper showed up at The Institute.  He was carrying something under a cloth cover. He walked to the middle of the lawn and pulled off the cover.  Under it was a cage containing a blue pigeon.  He opened the cage door and off flew the blue pigeon.  Immediately, the huge flock of pigeons who had taken up residence at The Institute took to the air.  In a huge cloud, they flew off after the blue pigeon.  Meanwhile, like the pigeons Mr. Piper disappeared.

Several days later Piper showed up at The Institute. “I just dropped by to make sure you were satisfied with my work,” he told Mike.

“Yeah. Yeah.  We’re delighted,” Mike answered.  “Can you come up the office?”

Fred, Don, and Mike were again alone with the man in the many colored outfit.  “I have to ask you a question,” Mike said.

Piper held up his hand to stop Mike.  “Remember, no questions. If you do ask me one it will cost you two large.”  Mike reached into his pocket and took out his wallet.  He counted out 20 Ulysses S. Grants and gave them to Mr. Piper.

He asked, “You got a blue Shaker chairmaker?”

* * * *

If you would like to receive periodic updates, tips, tool reviews, and new sources, that are outside the scope of this blog, join our mailing list by emailing me at mike@thewindsorinstitute.com Help us spread the word about this blog. Tell others.

            Anyone who has taken sack back with us is aware of our imaginary rivalry with Shaker chairmakers. Those of you wishing to become Windsor chairmakers attend your school The Windsor Institute.  Those wishing to become Shaker chairmakers attend our rival school, Shakermaker U. We refer to them as the “vile and treacherous Shaker Chairmakers from Shakermaker  U.”  It is part of the fun we have while making chairs. 

            Then, I describe how the Royal Orders gets together regularly for evening celebrations. “Due to copious consumption of a certain amber colored beverage,” these celebrations usually turn a bit rowdy.  When that happens, the knights often think up pranks to play on Shaker chairmakers – pranks that usually cause problems for me. After all, Yankee magazine dubbed me “the Dean of Windsor Chairmakers.”  By that reasoning, Mother Ann Lee is the Dean of Shaker Chairmakers.  When the Royal Orders gets into one of their Animal House modes, she files her complaints with me. Her notes arrive by carrier pigeon, as the Shakers don’t have telephones.

            My story continues.  At a recent get together the Royal Orders got the hare brained idea of dressing up one of their members as a Shaker chairmaker and sneaking him into Shakermaker U. They sent him in with one of those little spy cameras and he managed to take pictures of the dining hall at Shakermaker U.

            I show the class the picture our Royal Orders member took of the dining hall.  Around the long tables, the Shakers have Windsor chairs, not those uncomfortable, back breaking things they make and sell. There is also a close up of one of their Windsors. (The picture is really from the dining room at Hancock  Shaker  Village in  Pittsfield, MA, but it makes the point.) Next, I explain how our Knight was more resourceful than I would have preferred. He managed to sneak into Mother Ann Lee’s office and take a picture of her personal chair. I hold up a picture of her sack back rocker in the collection of the Fruitland Museaum in Harvard, MA.

            In class I explain that the “Greatest public relations coup in the history of humanity was the Shakers convincing the rest of the world that they made good chairs.” I go on to say  that now, we have proof positive that the Shakers do not sit in the chairs they make.  They sell those chairs to the rest of the world and laugh all the way to the bank.

            Finally, at every graduation, dressed in the robes of a Doctor of Windsology, I deliver the Dean’s Speech.  In it, I charge the graduating chairmakers to “go out into the world and accomplish The Institute’s stated purpose – for hand made Windsors to take over the world, and to bring about the downfall of Shaker chairmakers every where.”

            All along both you and I thought it was all a joke.  Well, thanks to Chuck Pezeshki, we can prove those Shakermakers are truly vile and treacherous.  We can prove that they are our sworn enemies and will stop at nothing to defeat Windsor chairmakers. In fact, as Chuck noted in his email, “Those devious chairmakers at Shakermaker U have established a beachhead.”

            He’s right. The invasion has begun. Their heel is on our shore.  Every Windsor chairmaker must step into the breech. Visit this web site:  http://www.stickley.com/OurProducts_Details.cfm?id=2388&Collection=Traditional&cat1=17&view=all
Need I say any more? To the barricades!

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            The July issue of “Country Living” magazine has a page on Windsors.    While the article includes a brief  history of Windsors, it is hardly in depth.   The purpose is to show readers what a Windsor is.     The most interesting thing on the page is the chairs shown at the bottom.   They are there so reader’s can compare prices of Windsors available today.   You can purchase a factory made Ethan Allen c-arm for $329.    Or, you can buy the budget Windsor at Target.   They sell a pair of bow back side chairs for $70.   I’m sure these are made in Asia like the chairs sold at J. C. Penny.    (See the September 12, 2007 post.)   Finally, you can buy a cast-aluminum contemporary Windsor from Oly Studio for $1,325.   From my point of view, a hand made Windsor for $700 is a pretty good bargain.

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      Many of you will remember my November 20, 2007 post about planemaker Leon Robbins.  Many of you emailed wishing you had bought a Leon plane while he was alive.  This will interest you.  Leon’s daughter contacted me recently.  She was cleaning out and came across a group of planes made by Leon. She had no way to sell them and asked me if I would help.  I told her I would be happy to display the tools here and anyone buying one could mail her a check.

      Last week, I received a box of 16 planes.  Fourteen were made by Leon.  The other two are antiques – a fillister and a large OG molding plane.  There are some molding planes made by Leon, but most are smooth planes or small scraper planes.

      Leon called his business Crown Plane and marked all his planes with a stamp of a crown and with his initials, LR.  I was interested to discover that he had an earlier stamp. It is a shield with a flying bird.  He then stamped LR in the shield.  I know it was done in two operations, because on one plane he stamped his initials upside down.      

     When I knew Leon, his work was very distinctive.  He used curly maple that he dyed a reddish brown.  These earlier planes are different, and he used a variety of other techniques. Some are banded with exotic woods.  Others are inlaid with ivory stars. My guess is that most of these planes are early work.     

     The planes are on display in The Institute’s kitchen.  His daughter put a price tag on each one. If you are in an upcoming class, or are in the area, drop by (during a class) and see the planes.  Remember, I am doing this as a favor and have my own business to run. So, I can’t get into emailing pictures, giving descriptions, shipping, etc. The planes will go to the walk in traffic. Once they are gone, I’m afraid Leon’s work will only pop up on Ebay.  You’ll find one when you find one and prices will be set by the high bidder.  

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            The 2009 schedule was included in my June 15 eNewsletter.  It will soon be on the web site.  If you want to see it sooner, drop me an email.  By the way, the members of the Royal Orders have already seen the new chair in 2009.  They always get first shot at a new class.  Royalty has privileges other than flogging peasants.

If you would like to receive periodic updates, tips, tool reviews, and new sources, that are outside the scope of this blog, join our mailing list by emailing me at mike@thewindsorinstitute.com Help us spread the word about this blog. Tell others.

This the fourth part of a very long explanation and description of steam bending.  I cannot run the whole part at once, and too much goes on around here to run it over consecutive weeks.  Therefore, I am posting it as I can.  If you are only starting to read my blog, you may want to search for Parts I, II, and III and start there.   Mike Dunbar. 

If the steam box did not have some relief, the test caps on either end would be blown off as  pressure developed in the tube.   We make a 1/2 inch relief hole in the bottom of each end of the tube.  The steam enters the tube in the middle and travels in both directions, escaping out the vent holes.  This ensures an even distribution in the box.   When our boxes are running at full steam, a plume of water vapor blows down from the ends of the tubes  to the ground.  We can look out the classroom window and tell how things are going in the bending area.  

Because heat rises, the parts do not sit on the bottom of the box.  There, they would also be bathed in cooler condensed water.  Instead, they  rest on a rack made of stainless steel bolts that pierce the tube.  Regular steel bolts would leave dark purple stains on the parts.   

As little as 15 minutes is all that is  required to plasticize  red oak chair parts.  This time can vary somewhat according to the circumstances.  The  wood we use is freshly cut before each class.  That means our  bendings  already  have 25% moisture content and that all we need to do is heat them.  If your wood has been stored for a while and allowed to air dry, it may be around 14%.  You should steam a bit longer, perhaps 20-25 minutes.     

Chairmakers who live in the Rocky Mountain states or at other high elevations,  have another problem.   Water boils at a lower temperature the  higher you are.  I ran into this problem in 1980 and 1981 when I taught  chairmaking classes at BYU in Provo, Utah.   We managed to bend successfully by steaming our parts even longer than usual.  We left them in the box 40- 45 minutes.  Because the wood was  noticeably cooler than at lower elevations, we worked even more quickly.   

Adding fabric softener to the water in the boiler has been suggested in some  woodworking magazines as a way to soften the wood’s fibers and make it bend more easily.  I have tried that trick and have not found that it makes any difference. 

Before removing a piece of wood from the steam box, be sure that  every thing else is prepared and ready.  You only have about 45 seconds to complete the bends before the wood becomes too cool, and you do not want to waste any of that time fumbling.  Always check the form to make sure it is securely clamped to the bench.  Be sure   that the bending strap is easily accessible.  Check that  you have the required number of wedges and pins,  as well as a hammer.  I always go through this mental checklist. For beginners, I recommend  refreshing the bending process in their minds  by first pantomiming it.   

Remove the wood from the box with a pair of tongs.  We use the ones sold in a super market for picking ears of corn out of boiling water.   Before you open the steam box remember what  you learned in  your high school physics class.  Released steam will rise.    To avoid a burn, always open the box  and approach it with the tongs from below.  

Remove the part from the box and moving quickly,  place it in the bending strap and secure it to the bending form.   While you want to move quickly when setting up the bend, remember that as you bend,  speed is your enemy.   You must give the wood time to compress.  If you move too quickly, you shift the outside edge of the bend from compression into tension.  While wood compresses very well, it has a very limited ability to stretch.  Tension will cause failures.  Avoid it by bending slowly and deliberately.  

“Do you wear gloves?” is a common question asked by students.  I advise against them.  As you gain experience bending you will discover that you can sometimes feel problems in time to correct them.   We will sometimes feel a piece beginning to weaken and turning the part around, bend  it successfully in the other direction.  Roll up too, can be felt by a pair of experienced hands.  You will never develop this “feel” for the wood if you wear gloves.   

While steamed wood is quite hot, you can juggle it back and forth while carrying it to the form,  and can switch hands while bending.  The wood needs to be this hot and if it is not, you will experience more failures. I always tell students, “If you’re not swearing,  it’s not hot enough.”  

You  cannot tell if the wood has been sufficiently heated when wearing gloves.   Furthermore,  bending requires  dexterity.  Gloves make your hands too clumsy.   While we have few bending failures at The Institute, they do occur.  Failures are a fact of life that a chairmaker has to accept, as bending wood  is an art, not a science.  Four types of failure can occur when bending. They are:  delamination, tension shear, compression failure, and roll up.  

Delamination is by far the most common failure.  In this case, a layer of wood peels off the outside edge of the bending.   A  tension shear occurs when the wood fibers rupture, tearing like cloth across their width.  In a compression failure, the wood on the inside of the bend fails to compress evenly, and kinks up like ribbon candy.   Roll up occurs most commonly in pieces with a rectangular section, such as the sack back arm rail.  In this case, the part  does not remain in a plane as it is bent.  Instead, the rear edge rolls upward.   

A failure is not necessarily catastrophic and can frequently be fixed.  The difference between it  going into the scrap pile or into a chair is usually a matter of degree.  If it is not too large,  a delamination can be tacked back into place with glue.  It is best to wait a day or two for the wood to dry a bit. 

A small  tension shear can be consolidated with cyanoacrylate glue, which with a sufficient number of applications will actually fill the void.  We saturate small compression failures with cyanoacrylate and when it is dry,  smooth the crinkled, ribbon candy effect  with a plane or spoke shave.  We remove roll up by clamping the bending flat between two boards and setting it aside to dry.  

The first three failures can frequently be prevented by bending in a slow, steady motion.  As I said above, speed is the enemy.   Roll up results from one of two causes.  If the part’s edge against the bending block was not made at a right angle to the upper and lower surfaces, the part’s section  is a parallelogram rather than a rectangle. In this case, the rear edge will lift as the front edge is pulled tight.

If you would like to receive periodic updates, tips, tool reviews, and new sources, that are outside the scope of this blog, join our mailing list by emailing me at mike@thewindsorinstitute.com  Help us spread the word about this blog. Tell others.

I have been busy this week writing another article for Popular Woodworking. You’ll read it in the November issue. I have finished the project and emailed the text to the editor. That job combined with Memorial Day, has left me behind schedule this week. I have decided to take advantage of the little time left today to post a lot of small items I have been keeping on my desk.

Speaking of Popular Woodworking, are you aware of the conference they are hosting in Berea, KY this November? I feel real good about this one. Its title is Woodworking in America. Sounds like any other conference, right? See someone use a router. Learn 10 great table saw techniques. No. This conference is unique in that it focuses on hand tool use.

Needless to say, I am ecstatic. Like every other woodworker, I own and use machines. I have no problem with them. My beef is that machines have been the magazines’ sole focus since the beginning of the woodworking revival in the mid-1970s. The result is that hand tool skills have just about disappeared. Since 1980 when I became a woodworking writer and teacher I have lobbied the magazines to give hand tool skills the same space as machines. They chose to follow their reader questionnaires, which indicated readers wanted articles about machines. I tried to show the folly of this approach.

“Dear Reader what articles would you like us to publish?”

“I don’t know. Let me think. Gee, I have a router. How about a router article? Come to think of it, I have a table saw, too. Write a table saw article.”

“Would you like an article on how to use a hand plane?”

“No. I don’t have a plane.”

With this conference Pop Wood is breaking the mould. We should support them. If we don’t and we return to the old days of “Ultimate Router Table” articles, it will be our own fault.

By the way, I will be one of the speakers. I’m excited because I will get to rub elbows with a bunch of famous woodworkers. If you want to see a list of the celebrities I’ll be hanging with and getting my picture taken with, visit the conference web site www.woodworkinginamerica. Note to self: remember the autograph book.

* * * *

We heard some encouraging news from His Grace Ralph Quick who writes:

“We just returned from our show in Newport News, VA and we did really well there this year. A lot better than we expected, since we almost decided not to go due to high gas prices. We found out though, that gas was a lot cheaper in Williamsburg than here by almost 10 to 12 cents a gallon.

“We got a few orders from the show, and we got another three orders from it right after returning home. It is all we can do to stay ahead of ourselves right now. Busier than ever and it just keeps getting better. Tell every one we said hello and we can’t wait to see you all again.”

* * * *

Hi Grace also referred us to a question asked on snopes.com that will be of interest to chairmakers who use propane to fire their steam boxes. It appears meth labs are buying propane bottles from local dealers. They empty the bottles and use them to store anhydrous ammonia that they use in making a drug called “crank.” The anhydrous ammonia will deteriorate the bottle’s brass valve and lead to cracking. The telltale sign that the bottle was used for this purpose is a blue-green stain on the valve, coupled with the smell of ammonia.

The National Propane Gas Association warns this can “ultimately result in a violent unexpected explosion of the valve, causing personal injury or death.” The warning went on to explain that these “cylinders have been found in many states and refilling locations.” The advisory urges anyone finding such a bottle to not touch it, but to immediately contact the local fire department. Just think, Sir Joel thought that snakes were the most dangerous part of chairmaking.

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I received this note from Jeff Wynia in response to my monthly email newsletter. The May issue he refers to was titled “Where Windsors Went Wrong.”

“If you want to see crazy Windsor designs, go into a WoodCraft store. We have one in Atlanta and there’s a guy who teaches a c-arm class. The arm stumps have an incredible slope and flare to them. And the seat has a very deep saddle, but no pommel; it comes straight out. It’s fun to question to the clerk about the chair. Obviously I don’t reveal to him that I know how to really make a Windsor.

Jeff added this. “I love that last sack back I made. I donated it to my wife, Teri’s, breast cancer walk. We raffled it off to help raise over $2,400.00. The unfortunate thing about that is my mother-in-law won the raffle.”

I had the same experience. I once donated a rocking chair to my son’s grade school to be raffled. My mother-in-law also won. It looked like collusion, but she bought a ticket and it was the one drawn. The chair now sits in her living room.

* * * *

We had some Royals Orders activity during the last two classes. Both Lords Mike Borgeest and Mike Speck were earled during the rocking chair class. Lord Mike Borgeest returned two weeks later to the May 19 sack back class to do his teaching stint. This is the requirement for dukedom. The earl has to help teach a sack back class.

The guys in the May 19 sack back witnessed a duking, something that has only happened 18 times previously. This is the rarest of all ceremonies in the world of Windsor chairmaking. As the duking happened more than a week ago I am sure most of the students in that class have recovered. After the ceremony they complained of pains in the rib cage from uncontrolled laughter.

** * *

I need a little help from you the readers. I started this blog at the end of June last year. As chairmakers and woodworkers discovered it, readership grew steadily for the next six months. In January it peaked. Although it holds steady, I would like it to continue to grow. After all, this is the root and branch of Windsor chairmaking.

I’m asking that when you visit woodworking chat rooms, message boards, etc. you tell other woodworkers about the blog. Ask the editor of your woodworking club’s newsletter to post a notice. Ask the local woodworking store to do the same. In general, chat up the blog. I appreciate your help. Let’s keep Windsor chairmaking growing.

* * * *

I always like to leave them laughing. So…..

A Japanese carpenter finally realized his lifelong dream. He relocated to America. He took Shaker chair classes, and opened a Shaker chair shop in Williamsburg.

A half year later, he had lots of inventory, but not a single buyer. Even a fire sale didn’t help the bottom line.

By chance, the carpenter befriended a very busy and successful Windsor chairmaker who needed an apprentice to help him manage his heavy work load.

Unwilling to close his Shaker chair shop, and help make Windsors the Japanese guy blurted out the cold hard fact:

“Nobody here has the Yen for Shaker chairs.”

* * * *

If you would like to receive periodic updates, tips, tool reviews, and new sources, that are outside the scope of this blog, join our mailing list by emailing me at mike@thewindsorinstitute.com

Part II

This posting is the second half of a topic I began last week. If you did not read that first posting, you may want to scroll down and start there. M.D.

In the last posting I explained why Windsor chairs were revolutionary when they were first introduced. This week, I will explain why they remain revolutionary for today’s woodworkers.

The Windsor revolution is not over just because Windsor chairs have been around on this continent for 250 years. The revolution goes on because making a Windsor chair takes much of the knowledge woodworkers have learned from television, magazines, books, and shop class and stands it on its head.

Most furniture can be successfully reproduced from a drawing. A draftsman can put down on paper all the information you need to make a bed, a table, a cabinet. Windsors are different. Being made by hand, each Windsor has slight variations. This means we rely on what we call “chairmaker measurements.” These are measurements that may have to be varied slightly, as the chair’s strength and appearance takes precedence over a mere measurement.

Many of the measurements we use come not from a drawing, but from the chair itself. In this way, Windsor chairmaking is similar to boat building and cooperage. Windsor chairmaking is quite different from cabinetmaking and furniture making. In fact it is revolutionarily different.

Our reliance on chairmaker measurements that we take from the chair means our work requires judgment. In fact, Windsor chairmaking is a process of continuous decision making. As I tell sack back classes the first day, “The answer to most of the questions you will ask is ‘It depends.’” The chair is a balance between strength, comfort, and its appearance. You need to find and achieve that balance, and doing it usually depends on weighing all factors.

Most people know that the human brain is divided into two hemispheres. The left side controls the right side of the body, and the right side of the brain controls the left of the body. The left side of the brain is also the half that is logical, rational, sequential, etc. The right part of the brain is the half responsible for expression, intuition and judgment.

Most of woodworking is left brained. To illustrate this, I tell sack back classes to imagine Norm showing his viewers how to make a table. First he cuts four legs. He sets up and repeats the operation until done. Then, he cuts four pieces of apron. He sets up and repeats the operation until done. Next, he cuts the mortises. He sets up the mortise machine and repeats the operation eight times until done. Finally, he cuts the tenons. He sets up the table saw and repeats the operation eight times until done.

Norm’s method is rational and sequential. It involves the left brain. Windsor chairmaking relies on judgment. It uses the right brain. Over my 28 years of teaching, I have watched student after student infected with the Windsor bug; the love of these chairs and the desire to make more of them. My theory is that having lived all our lives in a left brained world, we find it exhilarating to use our right brain. We want to do it over and over. We want to be more than a cog in a machine. We enjoy being creative.

Right brained woodworking is not the end of the revolutionary nature of Windsor chairs. The woodworking techniques we Windsor chairmakers use challenge what everyone else knows about woodworking. For example, a Windsor under carriage is put together with what we call a “wet fit.” I tell sack back students that when they do this their palms will sweat. They will hyperventilate. They will experience angina. Every other woodworking project is dry assembled and tested before it is glued up. However, our rule is “drill a hole, swab it with glue, assemble, and test.” If the joint passes the test, the assembly is set aside while we drill the next hole.

Assembling a Windsor undercarriage moves in one direction – forward. We never backup unless we have made a mistake. Because we are testing, we find mistakes right away. However, all our preliminary work makes that pretty rare.

Perhaps the most revolutionary concept a 21st century woodworker has to wrestle with when contemplating a Windsor chair is the relationship of the chair to its finish. For most woodworkers, finish is an after thought. When the project is completed and standing on the work bench the woodworker poses to himself the question, “Lacquer, or oil?” Notice the assumption is a clear finish. What woodworker would cover the “natural beauty of the wood?”

Windsors look the way they look because they were going to be painted. The color green preceded the form. Windsors were intended to be painted green and used in the garden or on the porch. There are two revolutionary ideas here. First, that a piece of furniture would be painted. For most woodworkers that is sacrilege. Second, that the finish came first. Coming before the form, the opaque finish determined what the piece would look like.

Knowing that the piece of furniture you are making will be painted channels you in a direction that is alien to 21st century woodworkers. This is how I illustrate this point. I tell students that as an exercise I am going to give you an assignment. You are to design and execute a piece of furniture. It can be anything you want. You have total freedom – except for one thing. When you are done you will paint the piece green.

Look what I have done to you. The obligatory finish has channeled your decision making. Figure – the beautiful patterns in wood that we all love — is out the window. Since the wood will be covered, you will not rely on figure. It would be a waste of expensive wood. Furthermore, the figure that makes some wood nice to look at also makes it difficult to work. It is not reasonable to use a hard-to-work, figured wood and then paint it.

Instead, Windsor chairmakers were steered by the opaque finish to design with the element of line. Few woodworkers today understand the use of line. I am using the word in a very different way than the person who exclaims, “I just love the clean lines of Shaker.” Here, line is technique for designing. Unlike the texture of figured wood that is static, line is dynamic. It moves your eye from one place to another. However, this movement is not random or chaotic. The line you create pulls the eye along a predetermined, organized path.

This means that when one designs with line, one creates a composition. A Windsor chair is a composition in line. The design intends that you see the silhouette, and creating a silhouette requires an opaque finish. Emphasizing the wood in a Windsor displays a woeful misunderstanding of Windsor design. In doing so, a chairmaker sacrifices the higher, more challenging, and more sophisticated expression of the line and silhouette. I see guys who call themselves Windsor chairmakers doing it all the time.

In conclusion, Windsor chairs were a revolutionary form when they were first introduced in England about 300 years ago. They remain a revolutionary form for today’s woodworker because understanding them requires learning a whole new way of thinking and of working. However, that new way is very rewarding.

If you would like to receive periodic updates, tips, tool reviews, and new sources, that are outside the scope of this blog, join our mailing list by emailing me at mike@thewindsorinstitute.com

Next Monday I start teaching another sack back class. Once the students have settled in, get a cup of coffee, and are seated on their stools, I will begin with a 20 minute introduction to Windsor chairs as a revolutionary piece of furniture. If you have taken sack back, this posting will be very familiar. However, even if you have heard it before, it doesn’t hurt us to pause once in a while and consider again the basics of our craft.

To better understand why Windsors were so revolutionary, let’s first talk about the other way of making chairs. It is certainly the older way. The first recorded use of this method is the ancient Greek Klysmos chair, a form that was developed by the 5th century B.C. Women depicted on Grecian urns and Attic vases are often shown sitting in this type of chair. The method of construction used to make a Klysmos had probably been around a long time before ancient Greece. For us, the important point is that while Windsor construction has been around for centuries, the other has been used for millennia.

In the other, older method of chair construction the rear legs are also part of the back, as the rear legs continue up to create the stiles. Thus, the chair’s back and undercarriage are a single unit. Ladder backs and all the formal style chairs — Chippendale, Queen Anne, etc. — used this method. So did those awful Shaker chairs made by those vile and treacherous Shaker chairmakers from Shakermaker U.

The chair back is framed by those two stiles. They create two strong vertical lines, around which the chair has to be designed. There are no alternatives. Make a chair this way and you have to deal with those stiles.

The stiles have to be held together by a horizontal element that keeps them from separating. In a cabinetmaker chair, a shaped crest rail is secured to the stiles with mortise and tenon joints. On a ladder back type chair the top slat is generally pinned to prevent the stiles from separating.

In this earlier method of chair construction, there is a void, a space between the stiles. This void is filled with some element that conforms to the sitter’s back. Cabinetmakers generally used a vertical splat, which is curved to the shape of the human spine. In a ladder back, the space between the stiles is filled with concave slats.

In this first method of chair construction the seat is an open, four-sided frame. Like the back, this void, too has to be filled with something comfortable. Cabinetmaker chairs are usually upholstered. An upholstered seat is essentially a cushion that conforms to the shape of the sitter’s backside. A ladder back chair seat is usually woven from a material called rush. Traditional rush was the long leaf of the cattail, a water plant that grows abundantly in marshes. The leaves are twisted into a rope and woven to create a concave seat. Hickory splint was used for chair seating, as was cane. The Shakers used woven cloth tape.

This older method of chair construction has a major problem. The four-sided seat frame is joined to the legs, and each of these joints is a weak spot. If the legs separate, the chair will break at one of those places. Rotational forces created by a shifting, squirming human being will tear at those joints, eventually wearing them out.

Over the centuries, cabinetmakers and chairmakers using this method of chair construction have usually added a stretcher system to their chairs to protect these weak points. These stretcher systems — H, box, or other — all served the same critical purpose. They hold the legs together and keep them from separating. If they do separate the chair will break at one of those four weak points, as surely as the sun rises in the morning.

This first method of construction also suffers from other constraints that limit comfort. First, the seat has to be parallel to the floor. Second, the amount of cant to the back is limited by the grain in the leg/stile. The more the back cants, the more the stile is cut across the grain and the weaker the chair. So, this type of chair holds the sitter’s thighs parallel to the floor with his back bolt upright. While your mother would be proud of your posture, you are not comfortable.

Shaker chairmakers tried to find a way around the problem of an upright back by canting the entire leg/stile. While this solution created some recline to the back, it moved the pivot point (the ends of the rear legs on which the chair tips) under the sitter’s center of gravity. You don’t have to be a Windsor chairmaker to know how dumb that is.

Now that you understand the first method, let’s contrast it with Windsor construction. The Windsor chair’s solid wooden seat is the truly revolutionary development. There are so many diverse styles of Windsor chairs, that what we call Windsor is really a method of construction developed around a solid wooden seat.

The identity of the guy who came up with this idea is lost to History. We only know he was working in England sometime around the turn of the 17th to the 18th century — about 1700. We can be pretty sure he was a trained chairmaker.

The solid wooden seat was revolutionary because it divided a chair into two separate systems: the under carriage and the back. The solid seat not only served to support the sitter, it provided a strong, reliable anchor for the two systems. Unlike the other method of construction, neither of these systems is weak, and they do not require protection.

Dividing the chair into two systems made possible a host of new possibilities in design. First, chairmakers were no longer forced to design around those two strong vertical lines created by leg/stiles. They were free to design chairs in ways that had not been heretofore possible. They could use bent bows, or crests perched on top of long spindles. Of course, stiles remained an option for a Windsor chairmaker. They occur in fan back arm and side chairs, and all the 19th century Sheraton period Windsors.

The solid seat also created a revolution in chair construction and joinery. In the older method the chair is weak where the legs are connected to a seat frame. Windsors are strongest at this point. Hardwood legs are secured with locking tapers into a softwood seat nearly 2 inches thick. (Everyone who has seen me lift a 300 pound bench top by pulling up on a chair leg pushed into a tapered hole, knows how strong this joint is.)

The older method of construction relied on rigid parts to resist the sitter’s weight and the stresses created by the sitter’s movement. Those stresses eventually tear apart the joints. A Windsor chair back is flexible. It is a web of flexible parts woven into a unit. My analogy is a suspension bridge. A suspension bridge too, is strong because it is a tough web of flexible parts.

A suspension bridge has to be anchored on the ends with concrete piers. So does a Windsor chair back. The back is anchored to the solid wooden seat by the stumps and short spindles.

New joints were developed to take advantage of the solid wooden seat. The faceted drive-fit tenon on the ends of the flexible long spindles is perhaps the most permanent joint in woodworking. The locking taper mentioned above locks the legs into the seat, creating a powerful, reliable joint.

While the locking taper is not permanent, it is renewable. This concept of joint as that retightens itself was and remains, revolutionary in woodworking. The same applies to joints in compression; parts that push others apart, rather than holding them together. They are a Windsor chairmaking technique and have no counterpart in furniture construction.

Windsor construction made possible a revolution in chair comfort. Because the leg/seat joints are so strong, the seat does not have to be parallel to the floor. It can be canted so it is higher in the front than in the back. This is a much more comfortable placement.

Because the back does not depend on stiles cut out of wood, there is no concern for creating weakness by cutting across grain. This means that Windsor chair backs can be canted more to allow the sitter to recline in a more comfortable position. The stumps and the drive fit tenons are so strong, a Windsor chair back is more than capable of supporting the weight of a reclining torso.

Besides serving as an anchor, the solid wood seat is thick enough to be deeply saddled. Its carved concave upper surface is body conforming, also adding to the sitter’s comfort.

All these improvements in chairmaking, made possible by the solid wooden seat, created the revolution in seating that we call Windsor chairs.

If you would like to receive periodic updates, tips, tool reviews, and new sources, that are outside the scope of this blog, join our mailing list by emailing me at mike@thewindsorinstitute.com

This week Fred, Don, and I are teaching the rocking chair class. While showing the class the complexities of legging up a rocker, I reminded them of a common question we get from sack back students when we take the class on a tour of the showroom. “So, this class is just a sack back with rockers on it?”

When it comes to causing us to giggle, that question is right up there with “So, what’s so hard about a c-arm?” Once you have done either chair, you know the answers and the questions will make you guffaw as well. Everything about a c-arm is hard, and this class is far more than just a sack back with rockers.

Making a good rocking chair is an unforgiving process. Most Windsors allow you a certain amount of latitude. The rocker does not. The legs have to describe a PERFECT trapezoid. If not, the chair walks across the room. There is little forgiveness in the depth when reaming. The rockers are in close proximity to the stretcher and any difference in depth shows up readily.

Because the rockers create such pronounced horizontals, they have to line up on the vanishing point. Otherwise, they scream. The message they scream is “The guy who made me didn’t know what he was doing.”

The chair has to be balanced. That is why it has a crest. The extra height balances the design. The horizontal rockers add more surface area to the under carriage and make the chair look bottom heavy. The rockers’ size and length has to be balanced by the extra height created by the crest.

The crest also balances the actual chair. The added weight, close to three feet above the seat, perches the chair in an inviting position. It places the weight of the sitter’s shoulders in a place that gives the chair a smooth rock.

Long ago, we worked all out these balance problems in our rocker. To demonstrate this, I begin the class by holding the fronts of the rockers on the bench top with my thumbs. I then release the chair so it begins to rock. It is so well balanced and aligned it remains in motion for 55 seconds without any lateral movement.

The five center spindles pass through the bow to support the crest. This means they are not wedged. They rely on a tight fit of the spindle through a 3/8 inch hole. Multiply that tight fit five times and you have a place where angels fear to tread. It takes a lot of driving with the hammer to get the bow down into place. If you have any of the spindles too tight, the bow can hang up, or the spindle may break. As many times as I have done this, my heart is always in my throat. Tomorrow, as I gulp my heart back into my chest, I will think again of all the people who said, “So, it’s just a sack back with rockers?”

* * * *

We teach our students who go pro how to obtain free media. Everyone who tries these techniques gets at least a base hit. Some guys manage more than one base, and some even hit a home run. Sir Dan Santos just wracked up a grand slam.

Sir Dan and his work were featured in the magazine “Cape Cod and Islands Home.” The magazine is high end, glossy, and regional. That last word is important. I always tell guys going pro that all you need only one thing to sell Windsor chairs — people with money. What do you think the average income is for people who live on Cape Cod, Nantucket, and Martha’s Vineyard? The area is dripping with history and over flows with affluent people who love traditional furniture. None of us could find a more perfect market.

The article itself was very nice. It starts out with a full page, full color portrait of Sir Dan. It then runs on for another seven pages. Each page has at least one more color photo — Sir Dan, Sir Dan at work, or Sir Dan’s work. The text is a glowing description of Sir Dan, his shop, and his career.

* * * *

Here’s an idea we received from Sir Joel Jackson. If you check the March 27 post you will better understand how this idea fits into the discussion.

“Mike - I met my brother in Houston this weekend. He lives in Milwaukee and is a partner in a media consulting firm. One of their niches is helping companies to a) go green, and b) promote it.

“He, his partner, and I were discussing my chair business and they suggested that I plant a tree for each set of chairs that I make, and POST SUCH in my booth. Of course, I live in the Hill Country of Texas, on 15 acres, so planting a tree isn’t very difficult for me. But, I am sure that there are organizations in every major population area that will take donations for the same purpose. Maybe this could be another addition to your Going Green suggestions.”

I like Sir Joel’s idea. A Windsor chairmaker can then point out that the chairs a client is buying will probably be around longer than the tree that is planted in their honor. Most trees only live a couple of hundred years. Lots of antique, hand made Windsors are pushing 250 years and are still going strong.

Sir Joel also discovered that chairmaking has its dangers. He added this word of warning for anyone thinking of taking up the craft. “Well, as if two rattlesnakes in my backyard, around my shop were not enough, I now have a coral snake IN my shop. I went out this morning to turn everything on in the shop and was greeted by a coral snake on the sidewalk in front of my shop door.

“I headed to the shed to get a hoe to relieve him of his head. When I returned, he had crawled around my propane bottles and was under my steamer. I rooted around and finally caught a glimpse of him. Then, he headed up under the siding and into my shop. Can’t find him any where.

Fortunately coral snakes do not strike, they must chew on you to inject their venom. But, they are the most venomous snake in North America. Oh boy, more fun. Once again, please advise those Sack Backers that this is a dangerous activity.”

* * * *

Here’s a short chairmaker joke to carry you through the weekend. It’s a continuation of a running joke, so if you don’t get it, look up the previous jokes in the archive.

A set of jumper cables walks into a Windsor chair shop. The jumper cables say to the Windsor chairmaker, “Got any Shaker chairs?”

The chairmaker looks up with violence in his eyes. He is certain the duck or the string has returned. If so, blood will be shed.

Instead, he sees the pair of jumper cables. So, he says in warning, “You’d better not start anything.”

* * * *

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People who have never studied Windsor chairmaking at The Institute wonder what it is like here. I have tried to answer those questions in previous postings, and they can be found in the archives. However, I also receive lots of questions about The Institute’s location. Today, I am going to answer those.

Where is Hampton?

Don’t be embarrassed. The place is pretty small. Its year-round population is only about 15,000. Although the town was founded in 1638, nothing of historical significance has ever happened here.
(OK. It is the Windsor chairmaking capitol of the world.)

On a map New Hampshire looks like a tall right triangle. The angle formed by the triangle’s base and hypotenuse (eastern corner) pokes out between Maine and Massachusetts and touches the Atlantic Ocean. That corner creates roughly 18 miles of coastline. Hampton is a seaside community smack in the middle of that short stretch of coast. In fact, as I write this I am four miles from the ocean and 60 feet above sea level.

How do I get there?

While Hampton is quite small, the old New England punch line “You can’t get there from here” does not apply. Getting here is quite easy.

The major north/south highway, U.S. Route 95 and the major east/west highway NH Route 101 intersect in Hampton (about ¼ mile from where I am sitting.) Route 95 is the same highway that runs from the bottom tip of Florida to the top of Maine. If you are driving, it is the logical road to take. From the west, the New York Throughway and Massachusetts Turnpike will take you to Route 95.

If you choose to fly here, Logan Airport in Boston and Manchester Boston Regional Airport (a horrible name for a really nice facility) are both about 45 miles away. Logan is right off Route 95, and MBRA abuts Route 101 in Manchester. Thus, getting to Hampton from either airport is a straight shot. When I have a choice, I always fly into Manchester. It is a smaller city and is easier to get in and out of.

Is there anything for my family to do while I am there?

Hampton is best known for its long stretch of sandy beach known as Hampton Beach. The beach is so pleasant it has been a vacation destination since the mid 1800s. Families return year after year and generation after generation to vacation at the beach. To accommodate those familes, every sort of hotel, motel, cottage, food stand, store, amusement, etc. is on the beach. The place has an active night life with fireworks every Wednesday and concerts at the bandstand every eveningt.

The town of Hampton also has everything necessary to support and provide for the summer influx of tourists. The town’s major industry is hospitality. So, along with the beach, the town has lots of motels and restaurants. Of course, seafood is available everywhere. It is always fresh, as Hampton and neighboring towns have working harbors and active fishing fleets. Every restaurant serves lobster and they all brag they have the best chowder. Seafood is such a large part of the culture the Chamber of Commerce stages a Seafood Festival every September on the beach. The festival draws enormous crowds.

Is there anything else in the area?

The beach is not the only reason Hampton is a vacation destination. The town is centrally located and many New England sites and attractions are within an easy day trip. Boston and all it has to offer, is 45 miles south directly down Route 95. Historic Portsmouth, one of the most beautiful cities in the country is 10 miles north up 95. Exeter, the Revolutionary capitol of New Hampshire is an adjacent town. In both places you can walk streets that haven’t changed in 200 years.

Maine is 14 miles up Route 95. The first town you reach is Kittery, a well known outlet mall Mecca. Freeport, the home of L.L. Bean and lots of other stores, is 90 minutes north. Along the way, you pass through a string of historic coastal towns with great views of the ocean.

NH Route 16 begins at Route 95 in Portsmouth. The highway takes you to the New Hampshire lakes region. Lakes Winnipesaukee and Ossipee are perhaps the best known of the numerous lakes in this vacation area. Beyond the lakes are the White Mountains and Mount Washington Valley. This area is stunningly beautiful. It is perhaps the best fall foliage area in New England. It is a popular ski area in the winter. However, there are all sorts of attractions for summer visitors – hiking, kayaking, a restored railway, outlet malls, etc.

Like so many other woodworkers, my wife loves fabric arts. Is there anything for her?

Someday a PhD candidate will write doctoral thesis examining why it is that woodworkers marry women who practice fabric arts. This pairing is a phenomenon. It is quite common during our classes for a group of wives who have just met, to pile into a car and hit all the quilting, knitting, and spinning shops. Susanna’s mother, sister, sister-in-law, and cousin are all quilters, so we know all the places.

Keepsake Quilters is one of the best known quilt shops in the country. It is in Meredith, NH a quaint town on Lake Winnipesaukee. So, going there pays double dividends. Wives get to visit the shop and see a beautiful region of the state.

My wife’s hobby is the second most common interest for a woodworker’s spouse. Is there any antiquing?

This is New England. People have been making things and leaving them around for 400 years. Hampton and surrounding towns have some nice antiquing, and there are famous antiquing areas all over the state. However, the biggest bang for the buck is Route 4 in Northwood. This road is known as “Antique Alley.” It is not possible in one day to stop at all the antique shops on Antique Alley. I still comb those shops and I’ve pulled some great stuff out of there.

Northwood is just a short hop west on Route 101. Antique Alley is the town’s Main Street, and Guinness lists it as the longest Main Street in the world. (By the way, are you getting the picture that 95 and 101 connect Hampton to the entire world?)

The biggest antique event of the year occurs during our August 4 sack back class. It is called Antiques Week in NH. The highlight of the week is the NHADA show in Manchester starting August 7. This is an important show attended by all the big name dealers. You will see stuff that should be in museums. During that week a host of specialty shows, auctions, flea markets, etc. also take place around the NHADA show.

OK. My wife will be happy. But what if I bring the kids?

If your kids get tired of the beach, there are seashore related attractions and activities all over the NH seacoast (which is only 18 mile long.) Hampton has whale watching, charter fishing, and sight seeing tours. There are also plenty of things to do off the beach. Here is just one example. Water Country in Portsmouth is one of the largest water parks in New England. (Ten minutes up Route 95.)

How do I find all these places?

We have already done that for you. We maintain a list of things to do in the area arranged by category. The list includes addresses and phone numbers. I keep the list on my computer. If you drop me an email at mike@thewindsorinstitute.com I will send it to you.

If you are getting any resistance to taking a Windsor chairmaking class this summer, show the list to the family. They’ll be much more willing to accommodate your dream if they know you won’t be the only one having fun.

If you would like to receive periodic updates, tips, tool reviews, and new sources, that are outside the scope of this blog, join our mailing list by emailing me at mike@thewindsorinstitute.com

We are teaching the April 21 sack back class this week. I also had to wrap up an article I owed Popular Woodworking. So, I don’t have time to sit down and write an essay on one of the many topics I have planned. I apologize. However, to make up for it with you, I am going to provide you with some chairmaker humor.

Those of you who used to receive the paper version of The Windsor Chronicles remember our humor column, “A Duck Walks into a Chair Shop….” If you want to know why it was called that, you can find the original joke in the archive.

By the way, the Windsor rocking chair class begins May 5. I have space for one more. This will be your last chance to make this chair until 2009.

* * * *

A piece of string walks into a Windsor chair shop and asks the chairmaker, “Got any Shaker chairs?”

The Windsor chairmaker looks up with rage on his face, assuming that lousy duck is back again. Rather than a duck, he sees it is a piece of string and so, keeps his temper under control. “No,” the Windsor chairmaker replied politely. “This is Windsor chair shop. We do not make Shaker chairs.” The piece of string leaves.

The next day the piece of string shows up again at the Windsor chair shop and asks the chairmaker “Got any Shaker chairs?”

This time the Windsor chairmaker is annoyed as he envisions the scenario with the duck playing itself out again. “I told you yesterday, this is a Windsor chair shop. We do not make Shaker chairs.” The piece of string left.

The next day the piece of string walks into the Windsor chair shop and asks the Windsor chairmaker, “Got any Shaker chairs?”

That’s it. The Windsor chairmaker flies into an uncontrollable rage. He stomps the string. He takes it and twists it. He throws it across the shop, causing it to unravel.

The very damaged string leaves, with very hurt feelings. As it walks away from the Windsor chair shop it is in tears. A Boy Scout sees the string and asks why it is crying. The string explains that he has been hurt and is unraveling.

The Boy Scout says that he always does a good deed daily and always follows his motto Be Prepared. So, he is prepared to do a good deed for the string. Unable to wind the string back the way he was originally, the Boy Scout ties him into a beautiful knot.

The only thing the Boy Scout cannot do is fix the string’s end, which has completely unraveled so it is frayed. The Boy Scout leaves the string with the frayed end, explaining to the string that is only a little bit.

Feeling very good about his new appearance the string returns to the Windsor chair shop the next day. He walks in the front door and asks the Windsor chairmaker, “Got any Shaker chairs?”

The chairmaker looks up from the chair he is legging up in a rage. However, standing before him is the string in its new appearance, a beautiful knot with a little bit of a frayed end.

The Windsor chairmaker knows he is not talking to the duck, but he is still suspicious. He examines the visitor and then says, “Hey. Aren’t you that piece of string that was in here yesterday?”

The string replied, “No. I’m a frayed knot.”

* * * *

A Windsor chairmaker is visiting New Hampshire and decides he will take care of the opportunity to visit the Mecca of the Windsor chairmaking world, The Windsor Institute.
When he arrives he finds one of the instructors sitting in a chair reading the newspaper.

Meanwhile, a rare white boxer is assembling a Windsor. The visiting chairmaker watches the white boxer work for a while. He finishes legging up the chair and starts on the back.

The visiting chairmaker is amazed. Finally, he easy to The Institute instructor, “That must be the smartest dog in the world.”

“I don’t think he’s so smart,” replies the instructor. “I still have to ream the leg holes for him.”

* * * *

A Windsor chairmaker and a Shaker chairmaker from New Hampshire take the train into Boston to meet with an interior decorator to discuss the possibility of a very large commission for the decorator’s client. The decorator (who obviously has no taste and knows nothing about chairs) grants the commission to the Shaker chairmaker. The two return home on the same train. The Windsor chairmaker is returning home broke, while the Shaker chairmaker has in his pocket a very large deposit on his new commission.

The Shaker chairmaker is feeling real good and even a bit cocky. He sits across from the Windsor chairmaker and starts chatting. After trying unsuccessfully to start conversations concerning the Red Sox, politics, and Sam Adams beer, the Shaker chairmaker says, “I’d like to propose a little game to pass the time. I’ll ask you a question, and if you can’t answer it you give me a dollar. Then you ask me a question, and if I can’t answer it I’ll give you a dollar. OK?”

The Windsor chairmaker thought for a moment, then said, “Sir, you’re obviously a man of considerable education and skill. Why you probably went to Shakermaker U. at the Harvard Shaker Community. “That’s right,” agreed the Shaker chairmaker. I am a Harvard man.

“Me,” pleaded the Windsor chairmaker, I’m only a simple graduate of The Windsor Institute. I have the chairmaker gene, which means I can’t even do math. You are obviously so much smarter that to make it fair, I think you should pay me a hundred dollars for each question you can’t answer.”

The Shaker chairmaker felt very cocky and very superior to this poor Windsor chairmaker. He smiled condescendingly as he answered. “OK. One hundred dollars it is. You go first.”

“What has three arms, one wing, and flies?” asked the Windsor chairmaker.

The Shaker chairmaker thought hard for a couple of minutes. “I give up. Here’s your hundred dollars.” He reached into his pocket and peeled a C note off the wad he had received as a deposit.

The Windsor chairmaker quickly made the bill disappear.

“Well,” said the Shaker chairmaker, “What is it?”

“Danged if I know,” said the Windsor chairmaker chairmaker. “Here’s your dollar.”