Windsor History
"Windsor" style stools and benches actually date back to
ancient Egypt and the Roman empire. It appears that the original
English Windsors were first made in the late 17th or early 18th
century, and may have been brought first to America by an
Englishman destined to become lieutenant governor of Pennsylvania.

In the American colonies furniture and cabinet makers adapted the
English Windsor styles, making them lighter, more comfortable, and
less expensive. Because they were originally used primarily as garden
chairs, most American Windsors were painted green -- to help them
blend into their outdoor surroundings.

George Washington had several Windsor chairs at Mount Vernon.
Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin were also fond of
Windsors and owned several. In fact, Jefferson is believed to
have penned the Declaration of Independence while sitting
in a Windsor chair.

Windsor Chairmaking
First, I turn every leg, stretcher and arm post out of hard maple. Then
I hand-shape the seat from white pine and drill tapered holes to accept
the legs, which are glued and "wedged" into the seat.

Green pieces of red oak are split from a log for the spindles, arms and
bows. These split pieces are especially strong, while allowing the "give"
that makes Windsors comfortable, yet durable.

I perform each step exactly as colonial chairmakers
did, and I use the same tools:

These authentic tools from our colonial era are what
first interested me in making Windsor chairs -- considered
by many to be one of the most difficult pieces of furniture
to build with hand tools.

To this day, as I pull a drawknife over a spindle, or shape
a seat with a scorp, I think of the chairmaker who first held
that tool more than a century ago.