Section One – Types of Chair.

Wooden chairs fall into two basic types, slab and stick or post and rail.

Slab and stick chairs originate from a solid lump of wood forming the seat with stick legs set in to it making a stool or bench seat. A back  was added later. 

Post and rail chairs consist of vertical posts connected by horizontal rails with the seating woven onto the frame.

These basic structures have been refined and developed into the chairs we have today.

Section Two – Post And Rail.

The chairs I make are of post and rail construction. I like this type of construction as all the parts can be split from small easily managed logs with simple hand tools.

The finished chairs are light, strong, flexible and comfortable.

Chairs are one of the most used and abused pieces of furniture. They have to be light enough to be easily moved about the house for their many uses. Strong enough to stand the rigours of every day use. Flexible so as to be able to absorb the shocks and strains of sitting and leaning. This flexibility also contributes to the comfort of the chairs.

Section Three – Split Wood.

Trees bend and sway in the wind and are usually up rooted in storms very seldom breaking at the trunk. It is the wood fibers running up the trunk and out the branches that give the tree its strength and flexibility.

These same qualities are retained when the wood is split following these fibers. Milling logs cuts in straight lines cutting through some of the fibers reducing its strength.

Splitting the wood is what allows me to make the parts for my chairs thin and light yet remaining strong and flexible. All the curved parts of my chairs are steam bent to keep the fibers running their full length.

Section Four – Wood Shrinkage.

The other natural process utilised in my chairs is the shrinkage of wood as it seasons.

The rungs which connect the legs are made first and allowed to dry and shrink. They are then fitted onto the partly dry legs which continue to shrink tightening on the rungs.

This process is so effective there is no need for glue (which was unavailable when this type of construction was developing).