Longevity

This shows how I turn the legs, and hopefully the bark shows two things.  First, the pieces are split from the log.  If you've watched the slide show, you'll see more on that.  Second, you can infer that the pieces are green and wet.  I used to turn them right after splitting, but now I rough them out, turning them into 2-3 inch rounds.  Then I let them sit around for a few days, then I turn them; they tend to warp less this way. 

One of the things that make my Windsor chairs last so long without coming loose is the way I use wet-dry joinery.  As you can see, I turn the stretcher green and then I wrap the bulb   ( where the stretcher will later enter)  with tin foil.  This allows me to then super dry the tenons in my little roll around kiln.  Wood shrinks when it dries, and swells when it picks up moisture.  So by keeping the part where the tenon will go green, or at least a much higher moisture content than the tenon, the piece will shrink around the tenon, and the tenon will swell slightly, locking the two pieces together for years and years.  The main problem with a round tenon and a round drilled hole is that they both swell and shrink the same amount.  This is why factory chairs fall apart, all the wood is the same moisture content.  But by using wet-dry joinery, all the problems are avoided. 

 This shows how I dry the ends of the legs that go into the seats.   The roll-around cart is covered with blue board and there is a small heater in the cart.  This keeps the temperature around 110 degrees,   which translates to an EMC of 4%.  I only put the ends in thru the top, because remember that the rest of the legs have to stay wet.   Not only is the end tapered to match the tapered hole ( 6 degrees) and the split and wedged, but the end is also superdried to about 4% M.C..  By having the seat about 12% M.C., the seat then shrinks onto the super dried tenons, locking them together.  Add the fact that they are tapered and wedged, and throw in a little hide glue, and that leg will last forever.

Speaking of stuff lasting, here's a pic of a holdfast that I bought from Phil Koontz in Alaska.  These are true blacksmith made tools, and they will last longer than I will.  The point I'm making here is that, like my chairs, this is built to last.   I buy them once and that's it.  They don't break; they don't need to be replaced every three years.  My chairs are the same.  They are made from local woods that are completely sustainable, and they are built such that they will last generations.  So which has less environmental impact?  A chair built in China with woods from a rain forest that has to be shipped halfway around the world that has to be replaced every three years, or a chair like mine, that is built from sustainable woods, locally made, and bought once.  And which represents a better value?