Windsor Chair Making Classes

Brian Cunfer next to a chair making student. The student is working on a shaving horse.

Experience the personal satisfaction of building a chair with your own hands

I host classes in my private workshop for both individuals and small groups. During the course, I’ll guide you through each step of constructing your chair. Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced woodworker, you’ll grow your chair making skill in an immersive, encouraging environment.

Tuition starts at $1200 depending on which chair style you choose for your project. 

To book your workshop dates, please contact me via phone (717-587-5253​​) or contact form. Sourcing materials for your class can take several months of preparation, so I coordinate classes with this in mind.

Book Your Class

Course Schedule

In general, you can expect to build your Windsor chair within five days. For more sophisticated chairs like a comb back or a rocker, please plan for seven days of construction.

Expect to be in the workshop from 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM with a break for lunch. You can choose to craft your chair across five continuous days. Or instead, you can choose to visit my workshop over several weekends as your schedule allows.

 
Brian Cunfer teaching a Windsor chair making class. He is watching a student assemble chair legs.

What to Expect

During your chair making course, you will work through each step of building your own chair. You’ll learn traditional techniques, including how to:

  • Rive the green wood

  • Steam-bend the back of your chair

  • Select wood materials

  • Draft and carve the seat

  • Hand draw the spindles

  • Turn legs and stretchers

  • Assemble the chair with wedges

  • Maintain and care for traditional tools

 
Brian Cunfer works on a shaving horse. A young child is next to him also on a shaving horse imitating Brian's work.

Types of Chairs

When scheduling your class, we will discuss your goals and woodworking experience. While there are many types of Windsor furniture, below are some of the chairs students have made in the past. I also teach how to build stools and other types of American Windsor chairs. Please let me know what kind of chair design you would like to make when scheduling your class.

A green loop back Windsor chair against a white background

Loop Back Windsor Chair

For first-time chair makers, consider making a loop back chair—also known as a bow back. You will rive spindles from a white oak log, steam bend the oak loop, turn maple legs on a lathe, and hand scoop a pine seat. After completing all components, you will assemble your final chair.

A cherry wood continuous arm Windsor chair against a white background

Continuous Arm Windsor Chair

The continuous arm chair requires additional spindles and more turnings than the loop back chair. When making a continuous arm chair, you will need to also apply the processes used to make a loop back chair.

A black sack back Windsor chair against a white background

Sack Back Windsor Chair

For the intermediate chair maker, test your skills by making a sack back Windsor chair. I recommend you have the skills and techniques used in the previous two chairs. Additionally, in this class, you’ll learn to assemble two steam-bent parts--the arm rail and loop.

Required Tools

For your class, you will not need to purchase your own tools. I encourage you to test out the tools in my workshop so you can decide which ones will work best for you.

However, I request you bring closed-toed shoes, eye protection, and ear protection.

Accommodations

If you are visiting Lancaster County from out of town, I recommend booking a hotel. In the past, students have stayed at The Inn at Hershey Farm and Clarion Inn near Strasburg, PA. After workshop hours, feel free to explore the sights of Lancaster County.

There aren’t many restaurants around my workshop, so I encourage you to bring your own lunch. In general, I find most students don’t want to leave once they start working. They’re excited to jump back into working on their chair!

 
Brian Cunfer in his workshop assembling legs on a wooden bench. He has short gray hair and is wearing a blue shirt.

Kind Words From Students

“This was very challenging but Brian was right there helping, supporting, encouraging, and like magic, I had a chair by the end of the week!”

— Lillian Ganstoudes

“The class was amazing. It was quite a bit of work to finish the project in 5 days but very worth the time and effort.”

— Tyler Gaston

”Brian Cunfer is one of the best instructors I have ever had. He works very hard and is extremely well organized.”

— J.C. Barnes

Sign up for your chair building class!

Ready for the challenge and satisfaction of a Windsor chair making class? Then call me directly (717-587-5253) or reach out via my contact form.