Build a Bent Willow Chair

The proportion

Musgrove Willows sizes a bent willow chair from one number: the length of the front legs, L ¹.

• Rear legs and the two horizontal back-rest supports: 2L.
• Everything else (rungs, braces, seat rails, crosspieces): 1.5L, halfway between.

Materials

• Frame: willow poles about 1-1/2 to 2 in. thick, as straight as you can find.
• Arches and infill: long, fresh willow rods, 1/2 to 1 in. at the butt and 6 to 10 ft long. Cut more than you think you need.
• Fasteners: galvanized framing nails, 2-1/2 to 4 in., for the frame; finishing nails, 1 in. and 1-5/8 in., for arms, seat, and back ¹.
• Tools: bow saw, pruning shears, hammer, cordless drill with bits for pre-drilling, rasp, tape ¹.

Use the frame poles fresh or partly dry, but the bending rods fresh: willow loses its flexibility as it dries ². Basketry willow is cut dormant, November to March ³; for furniture rods, any season works if you use them quickly.

The build

Musgrove’s order ¹:

1. Side frames: for each side, nail a front leg and a rear leg to two 1.5L rails, one low and one at seat height. Lay both sides on the ground and build them as mirror images.
2. Front and rear beams: stand the sides up and join them with 1.5L crosspieces front and back.
3. Headrest: a 2L back-rest support across the top of the rear legs, with the second one lower down.
4. Stretcher and side braces: a stretcher low between the sides and a diagonal brace in each side frame. Nailed joints act like hinges; triangles stop the frame from racking.
5. Seat beams: rails to carry the seat, sloped down toward the back. Popular Woodworking’s child’s chair tilts the seat frame 5 to 10 degrees ².
6. Armrests: bent rods from the front leg up and back to the rear leg, several side by side.
7. Headrest hoops: bent rods arching over the back.
8. Infill: seat and back sticks, spaced evenly, about 3/4 in. apart in the Popular Woodworking chair ².

Keeping it right

• Pre-drill every nail near an end. Willow splits less than most woods, but the end of a pole splits easily.
• Check for twist before adding braces: set the chair on a flat floor and see that all four legs touch. Fix it now; it’s set once the braces go on.
• Pre-bend the butt of every arch rod so the curve is even (see Bent Wood and Nails).
• Trim the legs last, with the chair on a flat surface, to level it and set the seat slope.
• Sit on it often while building, and adjust the seat slope and back before the infill hides everything.

Finish and care

Musgrove finishes with 1 part turpentine to 2 parts linseed oil, brushed on and renewed every year ¹. Store the chair under cover in winter. As the willow dries over the first months, tighten any nails that loosen, and expect a little shrinkage in the seat infill.

Try it

Build the miniature size first (10-in. front legs, 20-in. rear, 15-in. members) as a plant stand or a child’s chair. It uses the same steps, takes an afternoon, and shows you how willow behaves before you cut stock for a full-size chair.

What to take from this

A bent willow chair is sized from the front-leg length L: rear legs and back supports 2L, everything else 1.5L. Build the side frames as mirror images, join them, add the back supports, then stretcher and diagonal braces to stop racking, seat rails sloped back 5-10 degrees, bent arms, hoops, and infill about 3/4 in. apart. Use galvanized nails and pre-drill. Finish with 1 part turpentine to 2 parts linseed oil each year.