Video: Make a Chair from a Tree

With Jennie Alexander Note: This video is available to stream on any internet-connected device or can be downloaded. There is no DRM (digital rights management) used to protect the product. This video was produced by Jennie, Anatol Polillo and ALP Productions. To order a DVD of this video, click here. The video "Make a Chair from a Tree" is based on Jennie's book (of the same name) and the courses that she taught. Jennie taught post-and-rung chairmaking for 25 years at her shop in Baltimore and around the country. During that time she  refined and simplified the process, and those improvements are incorporated into this video. The construction of the chair incorporates wet and dry mortise and tenon joinery and interlocking joints that result in an elegant but simple chair that will last for years.  This two-hour video takes the viewer through the entire chairmaking process, beginning with a log, then riving and shaving the posts, rungs and slats. You will see all of the techniques and methods needed to create a chair, including steam bending, horizontal boring and seat weaving. The entire chair is built using only hand tools and traditional techniques. The video includes a pdf (delivered at checkout) that shows many of the jigs and part sizes discussed. This pdf was updated with Jennie's latest notes and details up until the time of her death in 2018. You can download that pdf here.