OK, I'm at least man enough to admit the task of making/finishing 6
windors is out of my reach at the present time...
I'm looking to buy a nice set with some bang for the buck. I don't
need super premium historically and geographically correct types, or
walmart rubberwood junk either. Surfing yielded a plain jane oak set
of 4 for $175 and a nicer, more accurate set of 2 for $215. I'd go the
handmade route for maybe $150 each or so, but the ones I've seen are
like $400-500 each. Can anyone refer me to reputable sources, price
guidelines, advice, etc.
Thanks in advance!
Sam
Sam,
I think you'd have a great time assembling these kits.
http://www.tablelegs.com/windsor_chair.htm
My experience with these guys is they are great to work with and do
nice work. I think they could sand out their stuff a little better but
labor = cost = higher price.
$200 for a standard and $290 for a arm.
Try one, see how you do and then dive in. It's something I've
considered doing for a long time.
Thanks for the great feedback guys.
Hmmm... So I need a handmade one for ME to sit on during the
Thanksgiving meal and 5 factory jobbies for my family and guests <g>
In all reality, these are for the "formal" dining room we will use
rarely, so I can't justify $3k for handmade ones. Most importantly, I
need to sit in one before I buy anything.
I'm in Ohio, are there any good chair makers out in this neck of the
woods making some less expensive pieces?
I was orginally worried about posting this, as I expected dozens of
chair guys wanting me to buy there chairs...
Sam
[email protected] wrote:
>
> Thanks for the great feedback guys.
>
> Hmmm... So I need a handmade one for ME to sit on during the
> Thanksgiving meal and 5 factory jobbies for my family and guests <g>
Don't laugh. that's exactly what I did. I want them to eat..and get out
;^)
> In all reality, these are for the "formal" dining room we will use
> rarely, so I can't justify $3k for handmade ones. Most importantly, I
> need to sit in one before I buy anything.
that is most important.
>
> I'm in Ohio, are there any good chair makers out in this neck of the
> woods making some less expensive pieces?
google is your friend. "windsor chair"+ohio returned 1330 hits.
> I was orginally worried about posting this, as I expected dozens of
> chair guys wanting me to buy there chairs...
> Sam
Bigger risk is that you'd be told to sharpen an axe and go make them ;^)
--
Saville
Replicas of 15th-19th century nautical navigational instruments:
http://home.comcast.net/~saville/backstaffhome.html
Restoration of my 82 year old Herreshoff S-Boat sailboat:
http://home.comcast.net/~saville/SBOATrestore.htm
Steambending FAQ with photos:
http://home.comcast.net/~saville/Steambend.htm
On 26 Jan 2005 09:19:46 -0800, [email protected] wrote:
>OK, I'm at least man enough to admit the task of making/finishing 6
>windors is out of my reach at the present time...
Do a course - you can make a set in a week.
>I'm looking to buy a nice set with some bang for the buck.
If you just want to sit on them, get some factory stuff in one of the
pines, with a laminated birch hoop back. They're perfectly acceptable
as seating.
If you want more, first ask yourself what you really need. Hand turned
spindles, or an automatic copy lathe ? Worked green and shrunk to
fit, or glued ? Any metal fittings ?
> Can anyone refer me to reputable sources, price
>guidelines, advice, etc.
Bristol, UK - we were selling (AFAIR) at £125 / £175 for chairs and
carvers (with arms). These were ladderbacks in ash with elm bases.
[email protected] wrote:
> OK, I'm at least man enough to admit the task of making/finishing 6
> windors is out of my reach at the present time...
>
> I'm looking to buy a nice set with some bang for the buck. I don't
> need super premium historically and geographically correct types, or
> walmart rubberwood junk either. Surfing yielded a plain jane oak set
> of 4 for $175 and a nicer, more accurate set of 2 for $215. I'd go the
> handmade route for maybe $150 each or so, but the ones I've seen are
> like $400-500 each. Can anyone refer me to reputable sources, price
> guidelines, advice, etc.
>
> Thanks in advance!
> Sam
Hi Sam,
I have far too many projects to even consider adding the construction of
Windsor Chairs to the list. Yet I wanted several.
So I did a long and careful web search, and visited endless antique stores,
and I found out several things:
1) There are windsor chairs and there are Windsor Chairs.
- The $150-$200 versions are, I find, cheap knockoffs and, what's
more important, extremely uncomfortable (to me). They aren't
built to last like properly designed WC's. And they are
far far heavier.
- Real WC's have lots of splay in the legs, excess wood shaved
off the seat, wedged through tennons.
2) I could not find decent windsor chairs at antique stores or flea
markets.
- I could find cheap knockoffs
- I could find 200 year old chairs but I didn't want that - too expensive
and I want to sit in them without worry. And have others sit in them
without worry.
I found one WC in an antique store for $45.00 that was sort of
acceptable. Especially at the price. it was early in my search. Several
months of searching generated nothing. Now, I'm NOT a skilled, experienced
flea/antique store denizen, but I don't have the time to become one and
even the time I spent looking was too much.
So I broke down and ordered some chairs make by Warren Chair Works. They
are a pleasure to look at, built as WC's should be built, light, and very
very comfy to sit in.
And yes the "handmade route" means $350-$500 apiece. You can sometimes find
them cheaper if you order them from the Midwest, I found. But once I did
the research on WC's I knew that I MUST sit in the chair before I buy one.
Just my thoughts and experiences.
--
Saville
Replicas of 15th-19th century nautical navigational instruments:
http://home.comcast.net/~saville/backstaffhome.html
Restoration of my 82 year old Herreshoff S-Boat sailboat:
http://home.comcast.net/~saville/SBOATrestore.htm
Steambending FAQ with photos:
http://home.comcast.net/~saville/Steambend.htm