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Using Old Fashioned Homemade Milk Paint

By Woodworking
Old Fashioned Milk Paint

Painting the Windsor chair with milk paint

Paint has historically conjured some nasty feelings and sensations for me — that chemical smell oh-so liable to induce headaches, the almost plastic appearance of the finished product, the worry that washing brushes in the sink or out on the lawn is going to kill something, somewhere down the line… Well, it doesn’t have to be that way! Enter good old fashioned, homemade milk paint. Yes, paint… made with milk. It’s really that simple.

Milk is a brilliant natural alternative to synthetic binders, and has been used for thousands of years, and is perhaps a superior product to anything you would typically find in the store. I’ve learned that milk paint is a traditional finish for Windsor chairs, and you can actually buy it in powder form. I’ve made it myself in the past, but buying it is a convenient alternative to souring and stirring milk with your own pigment — see Old Fashioned Milk Paint.

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Windsor Chair Carving Complete!

By Hand Tools, Woodworking
Windsor Chair Hoop Back

Windsor chair… complete!

Many hours later, and my first chairmaking project is complete — check out these pictures of my hoop back Windsor chair. April and I have been visiting Greg in his timber frame shop here in Hendersonville, TN for several weeks now, making steady progress on our chairs under Greg’s expert guidance. It has been really, really fun, and it is thrilling to see the (almost) complete product. All that is left is painting the chair (with traditional milk paint, of course).

Check out these photos of the Windsor chair!

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Chairmaking Photos From Greg’s Shop

By Woodworking
Windsor Chairs

Two of Greg’s miniature Windsor chair samples

We’ve really been enjoying ourselves at Greg Pennington‘s shop and trying our hand at chairmaking. Greg’s been giving us a lot of great instruction and tips along the way. What a pleasurable workshop to create in! (See Greg’s timber frame shop interior here, if you missed it.)

Here are a few photos from the past couple of afternoons of our chairmaking adventures. My recent highlight: carving the seat blank with some new (to me) tools, including a scorp and some really well-made spokeshaves. That pine sure is like butter…

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