Priscilla Chellis This is Me

 Web References

1. 1. House of Windsor

   pressherald.mainetoday.com/hom - [Cached]

   Published on: 10/8/2006   Last Visited: 11/24/2006

   BERWICK - Fred Chellis has his great-great-great-grandfather -- and his wife, Priscilla -- to thank for his career change from engineer to chair maker.
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   "And we used them when our kids were small," chimed in Priscilla Chellis. "They got beat up, but they held up and they lasted." Chellis has been into woodworking since he was a teenager, so his wife thought he might enjoy learning how his great-great-great-grandfather's chair was made. In January 2003, she signed them both up for classes at The Windsor Institute, a school in Hampton, N.H., that is dedicated to Windsor chair making.
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   The Windsor chair originated in England around 1690, Chellis said. The chairs imported to the colonies at that time -- to Philadelphia, especially -- were larger chairs made for their affluent owners to sit in and relax. Then, about the time of the American Revolution, there came the Sack Back chair. "They became popular because the chair makers were making them in large quantities, and they were relatively inexpensive so the average person could afford them," Chellis said. "Actually, George Washington bought 23 of them -- I don't know why not 24 -- but 23 of them for $1.65 a piece for Mount Vernon. They're on the back porch." That style chair was built as a garden chair and was typically painted green. Eventually, people began bringing them indoors and painting them red, "and the popularity just kind of took off at that point," Chellis said. "Almost every family around had Windsor chairs in their house, and Windsor chair makers were very abundant," he said. 'VERY WELL-TRAVELED CHAIRS'
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   There was only one Windsor chair maker in Portsmouth, N.H., Chellis said, and Mainers probably ordered their chairs from makers in Boston and the north shore of Massachusetts.
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   "I know whenever we're at a show, it's always 'Oh, my grandmother used to have one of those,'Ý" Priscilla Chellis said.
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   The turned pieces were made from sugar maple because it has a tight, smooth grain, said Chellis, who not only makes chairs now but also teaches classes at The Windsor Institute. Sugar maple is nice and rigid, which makes for strong chair legs. The seat was traditionally made of pine, poplar or basswood, depending on which species was abundant in the area where the chair maker lived. They are fairly soft woods, a characteristic that makes it easier to sculpt out the seats. The spindles and bent pieces were made from oak, ash or hickory because those woods bend well and remain flexible. "You can make the spindles quite thin, and they're flexible, but they're still very strong," Chellis said. He splits his spindles and bent pieces from a log. Splitting them that way follows the grain of the wood so there are no weak spots, he said. The pieces that are to be arched are placed in a steam box behind his house for about 20 minutes before being shaped around a form. ATTENTION TO DETAIL Making the turned pieces is the most skilled part of making a Windsor chair, Chellis said. Shaping the seat isn't hard, but "takes a good eye and a lot of practice." Spindles are made all in one piece with a draw knife and a spoke shave. A lousy-looking spindle can ruin the look of the entire chair. "Getting those so that you have a nice uniform shape to them is a challenge, and can affect the appearance of the chairs," Chellis said.
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   The Bourques purchased four matching Sack Backs from Chellis, as well as two matching combed Sack Backs that have an extra layer of spindles that act like a headrest.