Windsor Chair Making With James Mursell

This week I'm learning how to make a Windsor chair, along with a few friends, from the expert James Mursell. All hands to the pump with the double bend on the chair rail.

Initial sizing of the spindles was done with a Veritas cutter and an electric drill, after that the fitting and tapering was all done by hand with spoke shaves, an afternoons work.

Through all the activity the workshop dog relaxed, keeping one eye open for the tennis ball!

Bern Billsberry very kindly brought everyone one of his ingeniously simple pencil gauges made from a design patented back in the 1860's. The oval hole and matching stock are locked with a small turn of the head and the small scale of the gauge is just right for the scale of marking. The execution is perfect as usual. Catch up with his Instagram posts at 'bern carpenter'.

Here's Bern modest as ever, looking a lot better on his long road to recovery.

Tucked away in his tool box was his little boxwood gem. Again beautifully made to a tiny scale and fully functional.