Customer Reviews

Make a Windsor Chair (A Fine Woodworking Book)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I not only have this book, I have made a chair in Mike's workshop in New Hampshire. Mike has been instrumental both through his writings and teachings in the recent revival of interest in the making of Windsor chairs by hand much as they were made hundreds of years ago. His book is my definitive resource for questions about Windsor chair construction when I am working in my shop. In this day and age where most of our furniture is mass produced by machines using wood composites and other man made materials it is refreshing to see how fine furniture was once (and in certain places still is) crafted directly from the forest with nothing but hand tools and the skilled hands of the chairwright

Excellent book dealing ONLY with the construction of the Windor chair. Dunbar takes the reader through the selection and riving of wood, adzing of the seat and turning of the chair legs, through to the finished construction of the chair. Dunbar also explains the construction of a steaming setup and jigs for the bending of wood(s). Dunbar runs a school on the making of Windors and this would be the textbook students use to learn Dunbar's methods. A "can't miss, no regrets" purchase.

Mike Dunbar has probably had more to do with the revival of hand made Windsor chairs using traditional tools and techniques than any other person in the U.S. and his book remains the best single guide to making such a chair. I purchased a copy eleven and a half years ago when I took my first class with Mike and when his book was still in print. I have never regretted the fifteen or twenty dollars it cost. Nonetheless it needs to be thoroughly revised and updated. Even Mike admits there are some serious errors in the book, and some of the techniques he and his students have developed since the book was first published will yield a better chair with considerably less effort. My advice would be to spend the six or seven hundred dollars to take one of his classes plus the cost of meals and a motel room for five days, take copious class notes, and then buy the book as a good reference work for subsequent chairs.

I have attended Michael Dunbar's Windsor Institute and purchased this book after I went to the Institute. I wanted it because I felt that it would be a great reference book and after reading it I am very glad that I have it. A word to the wise, this book dates back to the mid 1980's and the way chairs are made at the Institute have changed in many cases for the better but for the most part you could build a Sack Back or C Arm Windsor chair using this book.

Having taken Mikes' Chair making class in NH - I know this info is good.
Great Book.

This is one of the two best "how to books" I've ever read. Mr. Dunbar, with all of his experience, was somehow able to put himself in the place of a beginner and transmit his knowledge in a clear, precise, readable manner.I have made about 20 of these beautiful chairs and I always thank my master, Mr. Dunbar, when I complete one.

Make a Windsor Chair (A Fine Woodworking Book) For amateur or advanced woodworkers this is THE book to have if you are aiming for a great Windsor chair. Michael Dunbar is widely, and justifiably, known as America's most well known Windsor chair craftsman. He has taken the best of his personal furniture making classes and boiled it all down into an easily followed, well illustrated guidebook. If this is your first or even tenth Windsor chair project you will find this book invaluable.

Book OK but is very outdated. Amazon lists the published date as 1992 but it was actually published in 1984. The seller John Felder gave outstanding service and I would not hesitate to buy from him again.

The quality of the book was as advertised (an ever decreasing occurrence in today's economy)
It arrived in a timely fashion
I had offered a similar price for another copy and was refused outright
I would use this supplier again if the need arises

The book has inspired me to make a windsor chair and hopefully it will turn out as good as the manual in the book. I am a woodturner and find this form of spindle turning very interesting.