Janaury 2012 Chair

This is another light framed side chair that has a nice curved ladder-back

December 2011 Chair

I have been working on a lighter side chair that is quicker to make and so can be sold for a more realistic price.
This one is a curved spindle back. With a nice diamond weaved rush seat.

The New Ladderback

Everyone seems to prefer the look of the Ladderback chairs, so I have tried to find a way of keeping the traditional look but improve the comfort. My remit has always been to try and achieve a chair that is comfortable enough to sit on all evening, there is nothing worse than getting cramps at a dinner party!! I want my guests to feel reluctant to leave the table once the meal has finished, so that all continue to chat and play silly games.
So with this chair I have made the seat deeper and inverted the bottom slat and not bent the second one so there is much more lumber support. So far the response has been really positive and I now have orders for another two, so all very positive.

I have also improved the seat material, I now use real Rush, which is not only beautiful to look at with it's great mottled colours that changes with age but also smells wonderful too!!

Wood cutting delays

I discovered lots of problems getting up to the wood back in early February, as the track had been badly rutted by 4x4's and tractors, so, as I had none of these, I have had to wait until the track was dry enough. Today was the day!!
So finally I have some freshly cut Ash in order to make a start on some new chairs.
So watch this space.....

I'm Back Yippee

Well at last I am back on the shave horse saddle!!
I have been too busy at work to give any time to chair making, but now have a month of quiet trade, so can devote some time to making a few chairs.
I have been asked to make a rocking chair so will tackle that soon.
I am going up to the wood to get down some Ash on Saturday so hopefully will have a good store of straight wood soon.

Woodwose

What a great event!
For first off it was a great success, lots of people all keen and interested in green projects and products.
I demonstrated making some chair seat rails and rungs and was fascinated by the interest in the processes especially by the children, it was great to see all these kids all face painted up as cats/tigers/lions etc etc sitting there absorbed by what I was making. I particularly remember one blond blue eyed young man(6), straight out of "Oliver" casting academy saying "what are you doing Mister?" Classic, how I tried to keep a straight face.. (failed).
Anyway I met lots of great people one was my neighbours Andy Coates who was demonstrating bowl turning. he is an old hand at these events and was a great source of practical info. he is based in Beccles and his website is well worth a look at www.cobwebcrafts.co.uk.

Another New Chair

So at last I have finally got back to making chairs again after months of being too busy elswhere.
This chair continues the theme of trying to find something more comfortable on the back, while still looking good. My mission is to make a chair that one can sit at table all night without pain!!
It is still drying, so cannot give a thorough test yet, but hopefully at the weekend. I will let you know.

Too Hot!!

Sorry but although I have some rungs ready dried to make a chair, it has been way too hot to do a build. Plus I have been very busy elsewhere!
So more to view when things get cooler.

New slatback chair design

This is a new and unique design. I am trying to make something with good looks and comfort, I am very pleased with how it has worked out

Madhatters Chair

Named after a recent trip to see the latest Alice in wonderland film.
I have made some improvements to the design of the childs highchair, it is now higher and more stable due to the generous splay of the legs, I plan to make a tray that can be easily attached to the arms.

Childrens High Chair

Suggested by my wife as something that might prove popular, this is the first design of a child's high chair, it is still work in progress as some of the proportions need improving upon, but we like the blue stain and the green washing line seat, we chose this as we wanted something washable...
The twists in the back legs came partly from steam bending but also from the natural twist in the wood.

New chair design

This chair was developed to offer more lower back support, it also looks good too (we think) the seat pattern has changed too, it is one used mainly for Rush seats, but I cannot harvest anymore Rushes until the summer, so I have made do with "Paper Rush" which looks and feels very similar to the real thing.

Chair repairs

I have just completed a repair job on some chairs for a friend, they had all suffered from glue fatigue, the backs were all loose and falling apart and one had been attacked by their Dog, so needed major surgery (chair not dog!) I replaced the Struts with Ash and then stained them to try and match.

Deer Protection

Coppice bowls need protecting, Deer are very fond of the new shoots that start to grow in the spring, it can take three times longer for the coppice to re-grow if these bowls are not protected. I like to make a stick ring from all the top branches and twigs, by the time they break down and rot they will have given the new shoots a long enough protection for them to survive the deer (hopefully!) Normally this "top" would be just burnt, so I believe that it makes a much better and more environmentally sound use.
Incidentally we also decided to leave one tree on each bowl, this will allow a light window for the new Ash saplings when it is cut down in few years time.

Coppice Ash

I have been cutting some of the Ash Coppice that I use for my chairs. It's best cut in winter then stacked ready for use throughout the coming year. they will stay "green" for at least 12 months. The ends will dry in time but these can be cut off before cleaving.


Coppice Ash does not grow as straight as single standing trees, so unfortunately there is not as much that can be used for chair making. I have just cut down six trees from three Ash coppice bowls and made two stacks of wood the first is the one that will be used to make chairs and the second is going to be used for firewood. As you can see only about a third is suitable for chair making.

The Coppice bowls can be very ancient, some locally have been dated to medieval times, they used to be cut regularly prior to the beginning of the 20th century not just for chair making but also Charcoal and firewood, they need to be cut regularly as if the trees get too big the bowl can be damaged and rot, the coppice bowls pictured have been left too long hence the damage and rots, now that they have been harvested it will give them a new lease of life and the new growth will ensure longevity.

Kitchen Spatulas

I have also been making some very useful spatulas, I am the cook of the house so when I put my mind to making a spatula I wanted to create something that would be very practical to use and these are what I came up with, they are made from Blackthorn so good looking too!

Shave Horse Work

 
This ancient machine allows you to grip and work with both hands free to shape and smooth your work

Here is a short video to demonstrate how it works.

Pole Lathe work 2nd stage

This video demonstrates the finer work that gives you a smooth finished piece

Pole Lathe "roughing out" 1st stage

I have taken some basic video of the Pole Lathe in action in order to give you an idea of how it works.
This video demonstrates the first stage of lathe work called roughing out, it allows you to remove large quantities of wood in order to get the rough shape required before moving on to more finer work

Lathe tools

I use specially designed chisels for the pole lathe, they have shorter handles than power lathe tools, this is because power lathes work at higher speeds and so require more control, whereas pole lathe speeds are controlled by your own muscle power and so are much safer and quieter to use.