Writing Arm Chair

[John Keeton]

I no longer teach nor do artistic turnings, and since 2020 I have been immersed in building Windsor chairs. A couple of them were posted here some time back, but for the most part, I post progress pics and finished work on my Facebook page.

Since there is a significant amount of turning in a Windsor chair I am posting this here, plus most of the creekers I know come from the turning forum. If the mods feel it should be moved then please do so.

In any event, this is kind of the "pinnacle" of Windsor chair building in my opinion. Poplar seat; hard maple turnings, paddle supports and paddle; oak crest, arm rail and spindles.

First of all this chair is a beast! It is large and heavy, but it is what I hoped it would be - an elegant reminder of an important time in the history of our nation.

I thought it would be a nice touch to include some accouterments for authenticity, so I obtained a brass inkwell and a candle holder. The lacquer was removed and they were aged to reflect usage.

The Windsor writing arm chair came into being around 1785. The color is a "mahogany", which was first used on Windsors around the same time - 1785.

I found a type font that replicates a quill pen and drafted a "letter" consistent with the what was going on in the US at that time.

This “letter” is perhaps one that may have been written by a state delegate in 1785, and I have used the identity of William Cumming, an attorney and delegate from Edenton, North Carolina, written to Richard Henry Lee, the President of the Confederation Congress during 1785. A new President was elected each year and served only as the presiding officer over meetings and had no other powers.

While the combat of the Revolutionary War ended in October 1781, officially the war "ended" with the Treaty of Paris signed on September 3, 1783, and ratified by the Confederation Congress on January 14, 1784. The Confederation Congress was the governing body of the United States from March 1, 1781, until March 3, 1789, during the Confederation period. Each state delegation had one vote.

Getting a quorum of the state delegates at any meeting was difficult as travel by horseback was the only transportation of the day. Traveling from most of the colony states would have taken days.

The war had been financially devastating for a new government, and of the 40 million dollars of debt, 8 million was owed to France and the Dutch, both allies during the war against Britain. The rest was raised domestically for the most part.

I hope you enjoy the pics and the history lesson!!

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Nicely done as always, John!

[John Kananis]

John, beyond impressive, far beyond. Thank you for sharing these images, they're inspiring.

Two questions if you don't mind. 1) is there any chance you have a couple shots of under the writing platform and seat, where the drawer is? 2) would you mind sharing a little more about how you finished them (meaning the product used)?

Thank you again.

[John Keeton]

Thanks, Ken! John, I appreciate the kind words. I’m not sure these pics will help with what you are wanting to see, but here they are. The drawer sides have a 1/8” groove and the runners that are screwed to the chair have a 1/8” slide that rides in the groove.

The chair has three coats of milk paint, rubbed out with a fine abrasive pad, followed by 3 coats of poly on the whole chair and an additional three coats on the seat and paddle, each of which were sanded between coats with 600 grit.

[Wally Wenzel]

Just one word John, WOW !!
Wally

[John Kananis]

John, thank you, exactly what I was curious of. Kudos again.

[Mel Fulks]

I’ve always liked those big Windsors , and any man lucky enough to have one would not trade it for a solid gold Barca Lounger.
They could be a big seller. Someone called them ‘modest but Kingly’.

[John Keeton]

Wally and Mel, thanks for taking the time to comment and for the kind words!

[Don Frank]

Wow John, that is truly impressive. The craftsmanship that was done early on is pretty impressive. Making a replica is quite an undertaking. Most turners get hooked and never go back to flat work but this project is a good mix of both. I hope your great grandchildren are enjoying it 50 yrs from now.

[John Keeton]

Thanks, Don! I am 75 and we already have 9 great grandchildren, so maybe they won’t have to wait 50 years!!😄

[Brian Brown]

John,

This is a exceptionally well done piece, and the history lesson makes it even better. The milk paint finish is very well done. Any guess as to the number of hours you have in this one?

[John Keeton]

Thanks, Brian!! This is my 24 Windsor build and I have learned from each one. But, this one challenging. Getting the under structure for the paddle was very tricky as both braces must be in line with the slight (less than 2 degrees) upward rise of the arm rail and at the same time both braces must be in the same plane so the paddle sits flat. To complicate the process, the tenons on all the turned supports and spindles under the paddle are tapered. One must work everything together to achieve the correct alignment. The short answer is that I didn’t keep track of time, but I would guess better than 130 hours, part of which started with splitting the oak pieces from a log.

[Robert Henrickson]

I've watched John build this, including a couple visits to his shop during the process. The completed chair is even more impressive and imposing when you stand next to it than in photos. It is a really remarkable build.

[Dave Carey]

Beautiful chair John. Windsor chairs started me in turning even though I've never built one! A friend who builds them (two of his were in the HBO film on John Adams) wanted to improve his turning skills and booked a weekend with Troy Beall in Annapolis, MD to do so. But my friend is what I would call frugal and got me to tag along to split the price. That was almost 25 years ago and after that weekend I was hooked. Still haven't made a chair but have had lots of fun making round things out of square things. Cheers, Dave

[John Keeton]

Thanks, Bob, for the eye witness comments!!

Dave, I appreciate your comments and I would encourage you to jump in and build a Windsor! The downside is that you will likely get hooked on them and end up with a whole different set of new tools. 😄