Follansbee's Substack

Follansbee's Substack

Share this post

Follansbee's Substack
Follansbee's Substack
Putting Slats in my Jennie Alexander chair

Putting Slats in my Jennie Alexander chair

Peter Follansbee's avatar
Peter Follansbee
Mar 14, 2024
∙ Paid
32

Share this post

Follansbee's Substack
Follansbee's Substack
Putting Slats in my Jennie Alexander chair
7
Share
new chair, ash & hickory

There’s a 15-minute video at the bottom of this post, showing how I made and fit the slats in the ash & hickory Jennie Alexander-style chair I made the other day. JA’s slats are different from many others - for one thing, they get installed after the chair frame is assembled. Most ladderback-type chairs include the previously-bent slats as part of the rear assembly.

Another JA-specific feature is that each slat bends to a different curve. Alexander wanted each slat to provide dedicated support to the sitter’s back - so she concocted this method of “popping” the slats into the assembled frame. Maybe other chairmakers did it before her, but I can’t think of any examples. Most bend the slats ahead of time, often in a form like this:

these slats all come out with the same curvature

Keep reading with a 7-day free trial

Subscribe to Follansbee's Substack to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.

Already a paid subscriber? Sign in
© 2025 Peter Follansbee
Privacy ∙ Terms ∙ Collection notice
Start writingGet the app
Substack is the home for great culture

Share