Replies

1. 
   jhausch | Oct 25, 2003 05:37pm | #1

   Cool! Congratulations and thanks for the course "review".   I would like to attend the beginner class next Summer - currently negotiating with DW.

   Do you think you'd try any of the other chair designs on your own?

   I understand how they form the curved part for the sack back, the carved seat, and the turned legs; but . . . How do you prepare all of the "spindles"?  Are they spoke shaved round from split stock, are they turned, or are those "pre-prepared"?

   How thick is the seat stock when you start?  Is it a coopered bottom to minimize carving, a single slab, or a glued-up slab?  If it is a Coopered or Glue-up, what is the approximate minimum and maximium width of the parts?

   Where did you stay during the class and what did it cost? (your lodging choice, not the course)

   If you had to pick a "best season" to go, what would you pick.  I am leaning towards Summer, but maybe another would be better. 

   That is my idea of a cool vacation, but I think the DW will be elsewhere whilst I am chair building.

   Steelkilt Lives!
1. 
   Jgriff | Oct 25, 2003 07:55pm | #2

   Hi Jim

   Wow!  You sound fired up!

   I'll try to answer all your questions to the extent I'm able.  Be forewarned, however, I'm nearly a newbie, well beyond the point where I know not to trust Sears if I'm after quality, but not even close to the point of accepting any commissioned job.  Built a few things, mostly for myself & my home, mostly involving cabinets and a few drawers.  But, I'm still on a wide learning curve.

   I would not even dream of attempting construction of another chair without first going through the lessons.  Otherwise, I'm sure, what I'd wind up with would simply be firewood.  Maybe someone who's been doing wood for a long time with a great many different experiences might be tempted to try it.  But, I think it's pretty complicated - it would be a great deal of trial and error, mostly error, before you got it right.  Never cared much for "How To" books, so I don't know if there are any decent ones on this topic.

   The spindles were carved from essentially rectangular stock rough cut from a recently felled tree.  Draw knife first to get the bulk done then a spokeshave to refine the carving.  That's true of the bow and arm as well, and the seat.  Both the bow and arm are steam bent by you during the class.

   The seat starts off around 2" thick.  The seating area is carved out, totally by you, starting with a gutter adz and then progressing through a couple of different specialty planes till, surprisingly, it's mostly smooth.  Light sanding or scraping is all that's left.  Surprised the he*# out of me that I was able to do that!  And no one lost any toes either!

   Once you sign up for a course and its time approaches, Mike sends you a packet of information about the school and the course, what tools you'll need to bring with you, where to stay (perhaps a dozen different places and price ranges - most places have seasonal prices), where to eat (again, another dozen or so), and what attractions are offered in the area.  Hampton is on the coast of New Hampshire, so the Atlantic is a big draw all by itself.  Lots of information from Mike.  There's even a Significant Other folder available at the school filled with information that DW would find beneficial.  Altogether, very professionally done.

   If you, or the DW, likes sunbathing and beach going, then you'll be at home.  Lots of lakes in NH as well.  Most of NH is a resort area during summer and winter.  During Fall you have the firing till all the leaves drop, and I suppose there's something to do in the Spring as well.

   I know from being directed there by my ever DW, that NH is home to one of the finest (her word) quilting shops in the country - up in Center Harbor at the top of Lake Winnepsaukie, so if that's her thing, as it is with mine, she'll be in heaven.  I'll have to admit, that place was pretty impressive.  And, fortunately, they have a number of rocking chairs out on the front porch for all the poor husbands to wait for the excursion to be finished.  Just bring something to read.  Boston is perhaps 90 minutes away and the area north of Boston, around Cape Ann is very Artsy.  Lots of talented crafts people and artists there.

   Best season is a matter of personal preference, I guess.  The introductory Sack Back chair class is probably given every month.  For the advanced classes, however, you're mostly limited to when they are scheduled.  I went in October, when it snowed out one day, but I was sweating doing some of the work wearing only a T shirt, so choose your time based on your own feelings. 

   Visit his site: http://www.thewindsorinstitute.com.  There's a wealth of information, including a catalog of items to order.  You can purchase all the parts pre-made if you wish and just assemble the chair, or you can purchase the raw wood and do your own.

   The turned parts are pre-done for the class because of time constraints (I was told they were hand turned by Mennonites in PA), but if you have a lathe and the knowledge and want to spend the time, I suppose there's no reason why you can't do your own.

   My class had one fellow from San Antonio, several from Michigan, Indiana, Nebraska, and Pennsylvania, and some from New England states.  A couple of father-son groups.  Mike offers help on crating the finished chair and shipping it to your home if you don't drive up there or can't fit it in your car.

   Hope this helps.  I'd definitely recommend it as a vacation - I always get tired of sightseeing and the endless driving around to get from one tourist spot to another.  Or, visiting relatives, usually hers.  I know, I know, be nice.  But this is a great alternative to that drudgery.

   John

2. 
   watkinsjd | Oct 25, 2003 08:16pm | #3

   Griff,

   Glad to hear you enjoyed the class so much.  I have been thinking of doing the same thing.

   If you had it to do over again what preparations would you make for the class?  What tools would you learn to use beforehand, etc?

   Thanks, John

1. 
   Jgriff | Oct 25, 2003 09:51pm | #4

   Spoonbits, spoonbits, spoonbits!

   Get your own set before class along with a very good quality brace.  Drill a few thousand holes in a 1" dowel.  Keep them centered. Make a cross to mark a spot and make the center of that cross in the middle of the hole you drill.  Spoon bits have a tendency to wander.

   Other than that, get used to tapering spindles.  For example, start at 7/8" thickness and keeep it constant for 7" or 9" then taper down to 5/8" and keep that constant for 7" and then taper down to 3/8" and keep that constant.....  Use a draw knife first to rough things out and then a spokeshave to smooth and fine tune the wood.

   Try tapering over 9" from 1" down to 3/8" - a nice easy taper. Not jerky or uneven.

   Having been through the course (not that doing so makes me an expert; especially since I'm not an expert), I'm still going to begin making chairs by doing these very things on wood that I'll just throw away or burn when everything is used up.  Then when I feel comfortable with the process, I'll do it for real on a part I hope becomes destined to be a part of a chair. Surprisingly, hollowing out the seat wasn't that big of a deal.  Tapering and drilling holes were the real challenges.

   Good luck.

   John

1. 
   TomS | Oct 26, 2003 03:16am | #5

   I have always wanted to take his course, even when he was teaching from his Strawberry Banke location.  I used his book as a guide in helping me make my Windsors, sackbacks, continuous arm and fan backs.  Some day I tell myself I'll go to the institute...sort of like a woodworker's trip to Mecca.  At least once in a lifetime.....

   TomS

1. 
   Jgriff | Oct 26, 2003 08:27am | #7

   According to Mike, the chair he began making has evolved over the years in ways he believes makes it a better chair.  The chair in his book is not the chair I built last week due to those changes.  So, taking the course will be a new experience, even if you have mastered some of the skills.  Give it a try.

   John

3. 
   NCguy | Oct 26, 2003 03:56am | #6

   I completed the same course back in March. Had a great time but saw very little of New Hampshire. Class ran pretty much from dawn to dusk at that time of year.  Just recently completed my third chair. My class chair is also unfinished and serves as my master pattern piece.

   .

   It took me several months after the class to get my shop reconfigured for chairmaking. By the time I got around to starting the second chair I had forgotten a lot of the finer points. I would advise anyone to build the second chair as soon after class as possible. Contrary to Mike’s advice not to buy his  out of print book, Make a Windsor Chair with Michael Dunbar, I found it very helpful in getting back on track. I would also recommend Drew Langsner’s book The Chairmaker’s Workshop.   

    

   I have found the small forkstaff plane, from Crown Plane, is great for working those spindles down to final size. Also a 1/8” to ½”  tapered reamer, by General Tool and available at Home Depot, works well for tapering the holes in the arm rail so that they better match the taper of the spindles. I also cheat by boring my holes to about half depth and one size smaller than the spoon bit with brad bits and a cordless drill. I finish drilling to final depth with the spoon bit. For Mike it’s all about maximum efficiency with the least amount of effort to speed production. For me, novice that I am,  it’s more about getting the darn hole in the right place the first time and reducing the amount of wood going into the fire.        

    

   Windsors Forever

   L Smith

1. 
   Jgriff | Oct 26, 2003 08:45am | #8

   I went in October and worked nearly from dawn to dusk so I didn't get to see much of NH either this trip.  But, then again, I didn't go for the scenery.  What I saw in the classes was more than enough to be rewarding.

   I'll take a look at his books to see if they offer any insight to the process.  As I said in an earlier post, however, the chairs are different from those in the book.  For example, we didn't taper the hole in the arm rest - we tapered the ends of the bow to fit the holes.  By that time in the course my skill on the drawknife and spokeshave had improved enough that the taper was made successfully.

   I agree that building your second chair is probably best done as soon as you can after the school, but like you I need time to reconfigure my shop a bit as well as order some more hand tools which might take 3-4 weeks to have delivered.  Hopefully, his comprehensive notes on the process will be a big help and he's always there for phone advice.

   Glad to hear you liked the course.  Gonna take another?

   John