Windsor thoughts and ?s

I think I posted this in the wrong section. I intended to post in Woodworking Skills. If anyone sees my wandering mind would you send it back home, I need it from time to time.

Mart

Wow. I guess my mention of not painting a Windsor must have been a faux pas. Not even one comment?

Mart

Mart, I think what we have here is a lack of windsor makers. If I were you I would call Mike Dunbar and present your question to him. I’m sure he will give you the best advise you will ever get. Good luck. Taking a class from Mike would be a real priviledge. Oh and say,”Hi” to Sarah for all of us.

-- Thos. Angle

Mart, I attended a class at the Windsor institute in 2000. It was a great experience. Before that, I read a lot, so I consider myself to know a bit about Windsors. Birch will not steam bend well, you can try it, but you will have mixed results. Woods that steam bend well are porous, like Oak and Ash (a very good choice.) The birch, however would be great for the legs and spindles. The reason most Windsors are painted is because you almost (not definitely) have to use different species for the varied parts of the chair. Dunbar uses White Pine for the seats, ash or oak for the bent parts and maple for the legs and spindles. Also, the grain of the wood has a tendency to look really busy with all of the things going on in a Windsor. It’s very difficult to pull off. Plus, it’s hard to carve out the seat in Birch, or maple, or oak. I did one chair seat in Poplar, and even that was no fun. I would stick with basswood or pine for the seat. By the way, it’s not offensive to paint a Windsor at all, you made it, you do what you feel is right. That’s the fun of making our own furniture, we can do whatever we please.

Take care and good luck,
Corey

-- Corey

Thanks guys for the information. I will email Mike with my questions. I am always hesitant to bother guys like him. I know he must be incredibly busy. With the high cost of lumber here I am always trying to figure out new ways to use what we have. We have cottonwood, birch and spruce and little else. We do have some willow but mostly it is pretty small. Thanks again .

Mart