Here is a finished shot the latest Highchair to come out of my shop. I’m very pleased with the natural finish. The contrast between the maple legs and the walnut seat really pops.
These Little chairs give kids a few extra inches of height, bringing them up to a comfortable dining level at the “grown up table”. Best of all the hands of the chair are low enough to fit under most tables so you can really slide them in nice and close to their plates..
lots of big things happened around the house this summer that took up a lot of my time including a new roof and a new paint job. I couldn’t be happier with the results, but now it’s time to get back to it in the shop.
I just started on a continuous arm rocking chair for a big local craft festival that I’ll be doing in Worcester, MA called stART at the station on Dec 6th. Click HERE for more information. I’ll be the guy with a huge red beard shaving spindles on a shave horse. Come say hello.
I think I’m going to go with a natural finish Butternut seat on this one…stay tuned.
The weather has been nearly perfect around here lately. Maybe a touch on the hot side but trust me, after this last winter, I’m not complaining one bit. The chickens and the garden (veg and flowers) are loving it, so it’s all good.
Here is a shot of the Highchair I was working on in my last post…
Currently on the workbench I have a nearly completed Curved leg stool. These little guys are a lot of fun to build and are perfect for bars, counter height dining areas and guitar playing..
All thats left to do with this one is to trim the leg tenons and scrape the seat to a fine surface with a card scraper. This is probably my favorite part of the chair making process and I can’t wait to get going on it. After that It’s Milk paint time!
As soon as I take some glamor shots of this stool I’ll post a few pictures.
The veggie garden is coming to life and and keeping me busy. The ladies seem to be very happy and are keeping us supplied with about a half dozen beautiful eggs every day.
Here’s a little peek at whats going on in the shop right now. Yup, another highchair. This will be my first attempt at a painted chair with a natural finish walnut seat, and I’m very excited to see how it turns out.
This one should be ready for paint in a couple of days. I can’t wait to share the results.
Just a reminder….If you’re planning on building your own Windsor Chair and need materials, I’ve got you covered.
First, I’m happy to announce that the garden is finally starting to come together. Tomatoes, peppers, beans, kale and cucumbers are in the ground. About a week later than I would have liked, but winter didn’t want to let go this year. Now I just have to keep the chickens out of it ’till the plants get a little bigger. Easier said than done I’m afraid.
And in the shop….Here’s a look at the Hoop Back rocker I was working on a couple of weeks ago.
I’m very pleased with how this little rocker turned out. It really is very comfortable, maybe one day I’ll make one for myself.
And a finished shot…
More updates soon!
I finally finished up the latest Continuous Arm Highchair. Here you can see it just after the glue up process. Notice that the wedges are still visible at the ends of the spindles and arm posts. Soon they’ll be trimmed off and the surface of the arm will be given a final clean up using a spokeshave and a scraper. Then it’s on to painting. I’ll be sure to post some painting process pics in a few days.
Now It’s on to the next project. I’m making a Hoop back rocking chair for a client in Florida. These handsome little chairs are a lot of fun to build, not to mention very comfortable.
In other news….the ladies are really digging the warmer weather and longer days. Nothing like a nice long dust bath with the warm sun on your face (I’m told). And, egg production has been way up. That’s a win-win situation as far as I’m concerned…
Under all that snow is my garden….sigh. 
It’ll be a few weeks before I can start tilling, and a couple more after that before I can get some soil under my fingernails. Can’t wait to get some happy little seedlings in the ground. At the moment, most of my veggies are just beginning to show signs of life under the grow light…
Peas and Summer Squash always seem to pop up first. More to come from the garden as soon as the weather decides to cooperate.
In the shop I’m still working on the latest Highchair. It should be finished in a few days. Here’s what it looks like now..
Next I’ll be carving the seat and fitting the spindles. I’ll post some more process pictures in a few days.
Not a great deal of excitement to report on today. I’ve started on another highchair. This time for a client in Maryland. Here’s a shot of the legs and arm posts that I turned on the lathe yesterday. I’ll be posting process pictures of this chair as it takes shape.
And in other news, I will be selling top quality spindle blanks for those folks who do not have access to white oak. Details can be found in the link on my home page.
If you happen to be interested in building your own windsor chair, I highly recommend Peter Galberts new book “Chairmakers Notebook”. Not only is it packed full of valuable information, it’s also beautifully illustrated and a joy to read. Order here from the good folks over at Lost Art Press.
Here’s the latest chair to emerge from my shop. It’s a child’s highchair in the continuous arm style. Find it on Etsy by clicking here. 
Here’s a process picture. Making chair parts on a smaller scale than I’m use to was definitely a fun challenge. Check in from time to time. I’ll be posting on a wide variety of subjects in the next few weeks including shop stuff as well as gardening stuff. It’s time to get those seedlings started!
