Chairmaker Jim Steele, works with the grain
Jim Steele makes just twelve Windsor chairs each year. This traditional design features woods chosen for their different qualities – ash, elm and hard-to-source yew. Filmed in great detail over a week, the craftsman builds a bespoke seat that looks simple – but isn’t. Jim must work with the qualities of the material, cajoling it into a steam-bent three-dimensional shape that supports the sitter in places they’d forgotten they had. There are but two screws in the finished chair.
Duration:
This clip is from
Featured in...
Clips from the programme—Handmade
No music, no voiceover β€” just sit back and enjoy
More clips from Wood
-
Why is the design of a Windsor chair such a challenge?
Duration: 02:00
-
What’s the secret to steam-bending wood?
Duration: 03:00
More clips from Handmade
-
Why is the design of a Windsor chair such a challenge?—Wood
Duration: 02:00
-
What’s the secret to steam-bending wood?—Wood
Duration: 03:00
-
The world seen through glass, brightly—Glass
Duration: 03:22