Thomas Jefferson Swivel Windsor Chair. I made this pretty faithfully to the one Jefferson designed and used to write the first draft of the Declaration of Independence. I used plans made by Craig Bentzley and Robert Whitley. It is all made using traditional tools and joinery. I split Red Oak and Maple logs to get several of the pieces and then using a drawknife and spokeshave to shape the back spindles and crest rail. The crest rail is steam bent and shaped to a very tight radius that mimics the seat diameter. The seat is carved out using an adze, inshave, travisher, and a spokeshave. The Chair is finished with a red milk paint under a black milk paint, followed by Linseed oil, and finally a top coat of wax.

Launch Gallery