Bern Chandley handcrafts Windsor chairs using both traditional and modern techniques, devoting himself to the task of creating pieces of heirloom quality.
Windsor chairs have incredibly strong joinery allowing them to endure generations of punishment. There are numerous original chairs up to nearly 300 years old extant. All windsor chairs have solid hand carved seats into which all parts are round tenoned. The leg tenons are tapered at 6 degrees matched by the mortices which are drilled through the seat then reamed at 6 degrees. When glued in place a wedge is driven into the top of the leg creating an immensely strong and durable joint.
Apart from the turnings, and the kiln or air dried seat, all components are worked green straight from the log and are hand shaped always following the grain of the timber allowing delicate looking spindles and crest rails which are flexible and retain the strength of the tree.
The structure of these chairs allows for an almost endless variety of designs. From decorative traditional to simplified modern and anything in between.
The chairs are finished in a combination milk paint, natural oils and wax.
His work also includes all manner of tables and cabinets with an emphasis on hand finished details thus ensuring unique characteristics to each and every piece of furniture.
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