Benner's Woodworking Windsor Chair Online User manual

Date: 1/4/2007
Windsor Chair Online
Assembly Instructions

Page 1
Philadelphia Arm Chair New England Comb Back Sackback d Arm Chair
Bow Back Side Chair Fan Back Side Chair
Other Chairs Offered

Page 2
Table of Contents
About Us 1
Table of Contents 2
Parts and Tools needed 3
Base Assembly 4&5
Wedging and S aping of Seat 6
Grinding and sanding t e seat 7
Leveling t e c air 8
Installing Spindles and Arm 9
Installing t e Back Bow 10
Wedging T e Arm and Bow 11&12
Installing a side c air bow 13
Installing a comb back 14

Page 3
•2 Foot Level
•
•Rubber mallet
•Metal Hammer
•Set of Drill Bits
•Set of Wood Chisels
•Good Quality Yellow Wood Glue
•Sander (Orbital)
•Sand Paper (40 grit Thru 180 grit)
• Dovetail or Coping Saw
Tools Needed

Page 4
Start by dry fitting the base stretcher system to-
gether. Insure that you have a narrow end and
also a wide end as shown in the photo.
If they are even turn one of the side stretchers
around.
Remember which way you took apart the last
stretchers. Glue the inside of the holes
(A broken pencil or small dowel dipped in wood
glue and spun in a circular motion inside the
stretcher hole will ensure enough glue)
Use a rubber mallet to drive the side stretchers
onto the center one.
Place the Stretcher system down on a flat bench.
Rock the system back and forth ensuring that
both side stretchers are touching the bench at
the same time.
Basing Up

Page 5
Building a simple jig out of scrap lumber can help
this process.(shown in picture below)
Time to glue the base together.
Be sure to have the base parts ready before you be-
gin. Glue the leg holes first, then glue the large
seat holes. (Bottom of seat facing up)
Now install the stretcher assembly into the leg
holes. Be sure the wider openings between the
two side stretchers are toward the front of the
chair.
The process of gluing the base together should
only take a couple of minutes
(remember the glue is drying)
Slide legs into already glued Seat.
(Only insert legs half way into seat hole. Leave
them loose in the holes to allow for stretcher in-
stallation.)
Next, prepare the seat for assembly.
The bottom of the seat needs to be sanded.( I prefer
hand planeing the bottom for authenticity).
The edges also need to be sanded. Hand sanding or
an orbital sander will work if you don t have a bag-
ging sander. (shown)
Basing up

Page 6
Use the rubber mallet to drive the legs onto the
stretcher assembly. (Do this to all four legs, flipping
the base as you drive the legs onto the stretchers).
With the hammer, drive the wedges into the pre
split legs. (Complete each leg before you glue the
next wedge). As your driving wedges, you want to
listen for the change of tone. Once the tone changes
stop. The wedge has gone as far as it will go.
Right the chair, and place onto the floor. Take the
7/8 Wide wedges that are supplied with your kit.
Dip them in glue one at a time.
Flip the chair upside down so the seat rests on a
couple of thick pieces if wood. This insures the legs
that are now sticking though the top of the seat do
not touch the bench. Using the hammer, drive the
legs into the seat until the shoulder of the leg bot-
toms out, or cannot be driven further. Do this firmly
but be careful not to drive the legs too deep. (this
could split the seat). Remember, the glue is dry-
ing—the entire base assembly should be completed
in 3 to 5 minutes.
Basing Up and Wedging the seat

Page 7
After the wedge is driven in as far as possible with
the hammer, use the side of a chisel to drive the
wedge down into the leg until it drives no farther and the
tone changes.
(When the wedge stops don t force it).
Cut off what's left of the leg and wedge as close to
the seat as possible.
Make sure the legs and stretchers have not shifted.
Let the base dry thoroughly. (If they have moved
use wood clamps to hold them until dry).
Finish sand by hand or with a orbital sander
Next, finish grind and sand the scalloped part of the
seat. Take your time, remembering the legs sticking
though the top are a much harder wood. Work
them down first.
Wedging, Grinding and Sanding the seat

Page 8
Keep the level on the chair front to back and
measure from the bench to the bottom of the level.
The front of the seat height should be 18” from the
floor after the legs are trimmed. The back of the
seat should be 17 1/2” from the floor, to allow the
chair to lay back.
Next, determine how much leg needs to be removed
from the front legs to get the front of the seat height to 18”. Use a pencil laying flat on a chunk of wood
of the proper thickness to mark the cut on the front
legs. For example, if the front of the seat was 18
3/4” leveled with the wedges under it and the pencil
lead is an 1/8” off of the block of wood, you would
need a block of wood 5/8” thick. Remember to take
a 1/2” more off of the back legs.
After the legs are marked you will need to cut them
off. A band saw works great for this but a hand saw
will work well too. Sand the bottoms level to the
line you marked.
Start by finding a level area on a bench or table saw
top. Using a two foot level is easiest. Level the seat
in one direction: across the seat. Use the small
wedges provided for the back spindles to level the
base.
Leveling The Chair

Page 9
Using one of the supplied dowels dip it in glue and
slide it though the arm and leave it to dry wile you
work on the rest of the arm.
Now that the arm is in position, peg it to keep it in
place. Use the 1/8 drill bit and drill thru the arm
and center spindle all the way though the back of
the arm. (pins can very in diameter, do a test hole on
scrap wood to determine the correct drill bit size.
Then, measure from the middle back of the seat to
the bottom of the arm in the very center of the arm.
Insure that it is 8 3/4” from the back flat part of the
seat to the bottom of the arm, as shown in this pic-
ture.
(The only exception to this is the Philadelphia Arm
as it lays the same height of the arm post.)
Finish sand and do any shaping and carving on the
arm before you begin. Next, dry fit all your spindles
and arm posts so you know where they go when you
are gluing up. Glue the arm post holes. Insert your
arm posts, and set them with your hammer. Then flip
the chair over and wedge them. Glue and insert all
the spindles. Slide the arm down over the spindles,
lining the spindles into the proper holes on the way
down. Before you slide the arm down on the arm
posts, glue the arm post holes and the short spindle
holes.
Installing an Arm on an Arm Chair

Page 10
Starting with the outside spindles first, install the
bow. The outside spindles will be the first to start
into their holes and then the second ones in. On the
third spindles in, start sliding the bottom of the bow
into the arm rail hole. (Do this one side at a time.
This sometime can be a quite difficult step—every
steamed and bent piece of wood is different. It
could be bit of a strain to squeeze the bow into the
holes on the arm rail)
Now, prepare the bow for installation. Sand the
bow by hand to remove the burs that have accrued
during the drilling process.
Glue the holes in the bow.
Use the 1/2” wedges for the arm post and the 3/8”
for the spindles. Dip them in glue and drive them
into the split you have made on the post and spin-
dles. ( Insure that when you Split the arm post from
the top and the bottom that you are perpendicular to
the grain of the wood in the seat and the arm. If you
drive the wedge with the grain there is a fear of
splitting.)
Next, wedge the arm posts and shorter spindles.
Take a sharp chisel and hammer place the chisel
blade on the end of the arm post perpendicular to
the grain of the wood on the arm. Use the hammer
to drive the chisel into the post and split the top of
each post. Split both post and what ever short spin-
dles you have.
Installing an Arm Bow on an Arm Chair

Page 11
Cut off the top of the spindles about 3/8” to 1/2”
above the bow.
Dip one of the 1/8” dowels into wood glue and in-
sert it into the holes just drilled, one at a time.
Drill though the arm rail and through the end of the
bow with a 1/8 drill bit. Do this on both sides of
the chair.
Once the bow is on you need to make sure it is at
the proper height. It should be 22 1/2” off of the
back, flat part of the seat. Do this by knocking the
bow down with the rubber hammer. Also measure
along the second spindle in on each side to check
that they are equal. Adjust if necessary.
Installing, Pegging, and Wedging the Bow

Page 12
Dip the end of the 3/8” wedge into some glue and
drive the wedge into the splits just created until the
wedges are seated in the bow. Allow adequate dry
time.
Using a chisel that is wider than the spindles, split
the spindles perpendicularly to the grain of the
wood in the bow.
Installing, Pegging, and Wedging the Bow
At this point, the chair should be complete and ready for the finishing
touches. Trim off all of the pegs, wedged spindles, and arm posts. Sand all
the tops of the spindles and anything else that needs sanding, either by hand,
or with an orbital sander.
Always remember: sanding is much easier to do before the assembly process
has started.

Page 13
Installing a Side Chair Bow
Sand the bow inside and out: this is much easier
done before beginning assembly. Insert all of the
spindles into the bow before the bow is put on the
chair. Glue both the bow and the spindle holes on
seat. Slide the bow into the outer holes of the chair
seat. (As shown in the picture)
Gently slide the spindles down to the top of the holes
in the seat, so the spindles are just above the holes in
the seat. Using a glue brush, glue the spindles just
above the bow. Then, drive them down into the seat
with a hammer until they bottom out in the seat.
Next, measure from the back flat area of the seat to
the highest center point of the bow, 22 1/2”. Cut the
spindles off approximately 3/8 above the top of the
bow. Split the spindles with a chisel perpendicularly
to the wood grain of the bow. Now dip the 3/8”
wedges in glue, one at a time, and drive them into
the spindles. Let the spindles dry while completing
Flip the chair upside down, and use a chisel to split
the end of the bow underneath the seat. Make sure
that to split the bow perpendicularly to the grain of
the wood in the seat. Drive the 3/4” glued wedge
into the end of the bow and use the side of a chisel to
drive the wedge down until it is seated into the seat.
Use a saw and cut what is left over flush to the bot-
tom of the seat. Sand. Flip the chair back onto its
legs and cut the spindles flush to the top of the bow.
Finish Sand.

Page 14
Installing a Comb Back
The comb is cut out, carved, and drilled before it is
packaged. Sand the inside, backside, and top of the
comb rounding the top cut edge. Sand thoroughly.
Glue and install the side post first, then flip the chair
over and wedge the side post perpendicular to the
wood grain in the seat. Right the chair and glue the
spindles into the seat. (On a comb back arm chair
this has already been done).
Flip the comb upside down and glue the holes. Slide
the comb onto either one of the end spindles or side
posts. Feed one spindle at a time until you have all
of them in their proper hole. Use the rubber hammer
to seat the fan down onto the spindles.
Measure from the seat to
the bottom of the comb
18 1/2”. Drill with 3/16”
bit though the comb and
center spindle, all the way
though. Glue and insert a
dowel. Repeat this on the
outside post or spindles.
After they dry, trim and
finish sand.
The height from the seat
to the bottom of the
comb.
New England: 24 1/2”
Philadelphia: 28 3/8”

About Windsor Chair Online
Windsor Chair Online was started in Ohio in 2006 by Master Craftsman,
Chris Benner. Chris began his career by training with one of the foremost
cabinet and furniture makers in the country. He has specialized in building
fine antique reproduction furniture since 1991.
Chris recognized a need in the market for high quality Windsor chair kits that
were designed specifically for recreational or professional woodworkers.
We invite you to join the woodworkers of the past, and explore the remark-
able world of Windsor chair building.
Our instruction manual can always be improved. Your questions and com-
ments are always welcome please email any comments to
[email protected]