Baltimore woodworker John Alexander first recorded his method for making traditional greenwood chairs in his 1970s book Make a Chair from a Tree. Now available on video, Alexander recounts the entire process of constructing a post-and-rung chair, from felling a tree in the woods to sitting on the finished product. In this excerpt, Alexander discusses the history and construction of the chair, and demonstrates how to prepare the wet-dry joinery unique to this type of construction.

For more information about this video and more green-woodworking techniques, visit Alexander’s Web site www.greenwoodworking.com.