Construction
Question
What is the difference between a factory-made and bench-made chair?
Answer
A factory chair is made from kiln-dried
lumber from the mill. The seat has a shallow saddle and the spindles
and legs have been turned from lumber that often has areas where the
grain runs across the piece, making weak spots. The strength of the
legs and stretchers rely on glue to hold them together. As the humidity
levels change in your home, the wood swells and shrinks, causing the
glue joints to fail.
The parts for a bench-made Windsor are split or “rived” from freshly cut logs, ensuring the grain runs along the full length of the piece. Special drying processes are used, so that only the tenon is dried. A dry tenon is inserted into a wet mortise. As the mortise dries, it shrinks around the tenon, making an incredibly strong, permanent joint. The hand-carved seat is deeply saddled to provide comfort that can’t be found in a factory chair. Curved parts and the spindles are made of red oak or ash. These woods are used because their properties allow them to be easily steam-bent and because of their flexibility, giving the back of the chair a little “give”. Maple is used for the legs and stretchers for its strength, and pine is used for the seat because it is easily carved.
These, and other methods of construction not used in a factory ensure the bench-made Windsor will be lighter, stronger, more comfortable and more aesthetically pleasing. All this takes more time and effort, but the results are worth it!!