Felix's furniture

I didn’t know it at the time but Felix’s furniture started its journey in March 2024 when James, his uncle-to-be, helped me to plank up some chestnut and birch logs. 

These got stacked and were just waiting for an opportunity. 

That opportunity was born in June and what a wonderful thing it was to become a grandfather to Felix.

In his first winter, as well as marvelling at his joy of seeing the canopy of bare winter trees when I took him for  walks – he would laugh from the pram when we passed under a tree -  I coppiced a small area of Silverwood and one chestnut in particular was nice and straight and large enough to be put aside; waiting for an opportunity. 

The fallen poles overwintered on the wood floor. 

Winter turned to spring and then summer and then in autumn he made his first visit to the wood and helped with collecting chestnuts. 

When I say helped…

Despite his best efforts, we collected plenty and they ended up in stews, in pies and as sweet puree desserts. Felix was fascinated by toadstools

also leaf throwing and messing about in the wood store

I think it was about then that an idea for a Christmas present occurred to me. 

So first I set about making a small chair, loosely modelled on Van Gogh’s. I cut that nice long straight pole I’d felled last winter into shorter lengths

which I then split with a froe and mallet into quarters 

These were axed into rough cylinders and then using the shaving horse and a draw knife into smoother billets 

These went onto the pole lathe and turned into chair legs first with a gouge and then a straight chisel followed by a finish using a handful of wood turnings 

Its satisfying how smooth a finish it’s possible to get and a challenge to make the legs identical, by sight alone. Finally I added some decoration by using a skew chisel 

to fashion some grooves which were then highlighted by spinning the lathe as fast as possible with a wire held against the wood  

The friction generated heats the wire which carbonates the wood while dramatically creating smoke and an apparent risk of combustion – rather exciting and great exercise!

Having made all the legs and rungs of the chair

it all got assembled. Glue up is always a nervous moment; can I get all the joints to work in the right way before the glue sets, will the whole thing be too lop-sided to be functional. 

This chair worked out fine, not perfect and I can see where the flaws are, but it seemed to be OK 

I did a relief carving of a tree on the ground it was the first thing Felix and I had in common and some black birds because he knows they are crows and imitates their call. Sometimes! 

I then added a seat from Danish cord, a paper based material, to match the chairs in his kitchen at home 

I then returned to the planks James and I had fashioned. Now dry, I cut them to short lengths 

and using the table saw and a planer fashioned short boards 

 that I then edge-joined with glue and clamp.

The legs were made in the wood again using the pole lathe 

and then added to the table top using mortice and tenoned joints with a wedge to create a strong joint. 

So now Felix had a chair and table and so – why not! – I thought I’d also make a high chair for his doll. 

I finished his chair and the dolls high chair in wax and the table in Danish oil so it should be more resistant to spilled liquids and the rough and tumble of toddler life

Christmas day came and Felix’s presents were of course the biggest

My heart filled with joy as he, somewhat cautiously, peeled away the wrapping paper and before long was sitting on his chair and playing with his doll. 

On Boxing day Felix’s furniture was in place in his house and I could not be a happier grandad.

 From tree to Felix, with love, from me.