Green Wood Chair

This is a humble chair most notable for having been made with techniques used in the 17^th century techniques to produce furniture that is still sound and usable today. All stock is split directly from fresh-cut logs and refined using simple hand tools. The key to the process is the way the wood shrinks while drying and locks the joints together. Half of each joint is used very green and wet while the other half is made bone dry in hot sand before fitting. After assembly the mortise shrinks while the tenon expands, producing a joint good for 400 years.

Current knowledge of these techniques is mostly due to the research of Peter Follansbee and John Alexander. The practical aspects are detailed in John’s book Make A Chair From A Tree.

Also of note is the choice of Tan Oak,  a little used Northern California species that works well in this application.

32″ High

Photos by Kevin Shea