What Makes A Windsor  Truly Handmade?

In an era when the term "handmade" is used indiscriminately, a potential client could drop in unannounced at Wallace's one man chairmaker shop and find him outside hand splitting (riving) logs into billets. Or he might be steam bending arms or combs on his shop made wooden bending forms. He might be using 18th Century hand tools like the gutter adze, scorp, or travisher, to hand sculpt a seat.

If you hear the hum of the lathe, he would be turning each and every leg, stretcher, medial, or arm stump. His hand carved knuckles and combs add a grace no manufactured chair can approach.

You might also find him seated at his shaving horse fashioning spindles with a draw knife and spokeshave. He could be hand cutting spindle wedges or pegs, or legging-up a single plank seat using tapered locking mortises.

In addition to his Windsor seating pieces, all other furniture such as tables, candle stands, and fire screens are also constructed using historically accurate techniques with equal meticulous attention to detail. Harvest and Tavern Table legs are hand turned on the lathe and then mortise and tenon joinery is used to attach them to three plank or single plank tabletops. All finishes are hand applied and rubbed.

Ball and Claw feet are hand carved taking hours and hours to attain the look of the original museum piece. The top of a tea table is hand carved to achieve the graceful curvilinear line no router can duplicate.

Watching him work it is easy to see why his pieces are heirlooms in the making and tomorrow's valued antiques.