Dining Chair Features
The chairs that makeup our Lancaster Chair Collection are constructed with the highest attention to detail, resulting in maximum strength, durability, beauty and comfort. The features of our dining chairs include…
Solid Hardwood Construction
Each dining chair is made from select hardwoods such as oak, cherry, or maple. The wood is carefully inspected throughout the construction process for strength, precision, and uniformity in grain. There is a zero tolerance for imperfections, resulting in a perfectly handcrafted chair.
Steam Bending
Bent chair parts are used extensively in the building of our chairs. The wood is steamed for flexibility and then shaped and clamped in forms until it is set. Steam-bent parts provide beauty and comfort in your dining chair.
Pressback Detail
The traditional pressback designs that are featured on a variety of our dining chairs are produced in a special embossing process. The wood is placed in a heated die press with over 100 tons of pressure. This leaves a permanently "engraved" pattern in the chair back.
Leg Turning Detail
Turned spindles give character to the Windsor chair with simple tenon joinery.
Mortise and Tenon Joinery
One important feature of our chairs is the use of the mortise and tenon joint that creates a stable, tight-fitting chair. Simple and strong, the mortise and tenon joint has been used for millennia by woodworkers around the world to join two pieces of wood, most often at an angle close to 90. Although there are variations on the theme, the basic idea is that the end of one piece of wood is inserted into a hole cut in the other piece of wood. The end of the first piece of wood is called the tenon, and it is usually narrowed with respect to the rest of the piece. The hole in the second piece of wood is called the mortise. Our chair legs receive a single screw to add even more stability to the chair.
Corner Block
Frame chair legs are anchored with corner blocks under the seat to provide a solid structure for the whole chair.
Molded Seats
All dining chair wooden seats are cut and molded to a contour for maximum comfort.
Finish
An otherwise perfect chair can be ruined by a poor finish job. Our dining chairs are hand-finished with a two part catalyzed stain to protect the chair and enhance its beauty. The chairs are carefully inspected for uniformity in color and clarity in application.
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Lancaster Chair Collection
Within the furniture building community, chairs are a specialty item that only a few woodworkers master. The Amish woodshop that makes our Lancaster Chair Collection has been crafting chairs since 1974 and gained a reputation in the Lancaster County area as a premiere chair builder. The chairs, benches, bar stools and rockers in this collection exude excellent quality and timeless designs.
Their chairs are made from traditional American hardwoods such as solid oak, cherry or maple. They use mortise and tenon and steam-bent construction for beauty, strength and durability. The chairs have molded seats and tilted backs for maximum comfort.
Normally no assembly is required, except some minor assembly on desk chairs and some bar stools.
The furniture from our Lancaster Chair Collection provides an enduring value for generations to come. We've sold more chairs from the Lancaster Chair Collection than all other chair collections combined!
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Seating Planner
Trying to figure out how big of a table you need? Use our conveinent Seating Planner to help you!
We recommend that you plan on about 24" per chair. This varies, of course, with personal preference and chair width.
Generally oval, round, or clipped corner tables allow slightly more seating room per person than rectangular tables. Arm chairs generally take up a little more space than side chairs.
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Solid Hardwood
At a time when mass production and the use of synthetics and veneers has become the standard, we offer you solid wood furniture, inside and out. Our craftsmen pay personal attention to detail, quality, and craftsmanship instead of volume. And because each piece is handcrafted, you can be assured that the furniture you purchase is made of the highest quality wood.
Our handcrafted solid hardwood furniture is generally available in oak or cherry wood. Some pieces are also available in quartersawn oak, hard maple, brown maple, walnut, hickory or birch. Please see the Quick Spec information above to find out what wood is available with this piece. The picture here shows the differences between the hardwoods that we offer.
Oak wood is a naturally light wood with a prominent grain, which makes groves in the wood that you can feel when you slide your finger across them. This grain is evident even with dark stains and usually appears darker than the rest of the wood. Knots may occasionally appear in the wood, which add to its character. Oak has a strong heavy hook and the look isn't deceiving. When finished natural it will have a pale blonde reddish cast, which overtime will oxidize to a golden honey color. A great choice for staining. Quarter Sawn Oak stains very well. Beautiful irregular markings or flakes are a result of logs cut in a special way. Quarter Sawn Oak is known for its amazing strength and firm texture. Quarter Sawn Oak is a top choice for many of our customers!
Cherry wood has less grain and is quite smooth. A favorite for good reasons! Cherry has many interesting characteristics. Aging to a rich reddish brown color over time and often peppered with exotic black specs and swirling grain. It has a natural light gold/red tone but can be stained to create many appearances. Cherry has very small knots that are dark in appearance and sometimes create a dip in the wood. Cherry naturally darkens with age and sometimes features contrasts in color. This is part of the charm of cherry, and should be expected. We recommend a light to medium stain on cherry wood.
Hard Maple is naturally a light wood with very little grain that is quite smooth. Maple mellows to beautiful golden tone overtime. Occasionally flecked with naturally occurring black mineral deposits. Maple is an excellent choice for strong durable furniture. Maple can also be stained to create many appearances. Dark stains may stain unevenly. Brown Maple comes from the same logs as regular maple but is the darker heartwood. Can be a smart choice for darker staining or painting. It can stain unevenly.
Walnut is a dark wood with a medium amount of grain that makes slight groves in the wood. Even with different stains, the appearance of walnut does not change much. Knots may occasionally appear in the wood. Walnut will bring extra elegance to any room. If your tastes run more toward the formal, then the rich dark browns of walnut may be the way to go.
Hickory is a very hard and durable wood by mixing the color tones the finished product is a characteristic piece of natural art. The appearance of natural hickory does vary from a very light appearance to a medium light appearance. Birch grain sometimes has a curl which creates an iridescent effect. Light to medium blond sapwood usually but not always contrasts against darker toned heartwood. Curl can also cause uneven staining. Will age to a golden color.
The beauty and durability provided by solid hardwood is undeniable. It provides several unique benefits:
- Enduring value from one generation to another.
- Natural warmth that synthetics cannot give.
- Expression of each individual tree by its own unique color and grain.
Solid hardwood furniture can also be repaired if damaged because there is no veneer or artificial surface that can be scraped or rubbed through.
Hardwoods are a natural fiber. Therefore, even furniture that has a good protective finish may swell or shrink slightly from one season to another. With proper care, your solid wood furniture will bring you satisfaction for years to come.
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Queen Anne Furniture
The Queen Anne style of furniture, named after Queen Anne of England who reigned from 1702-1714, has set the standard for period formal furniture since the early 1700's. Known for its gentle, fluid lines, Queen Anne furniture's best known characteristic is the cabriole leg terminating in a pad or drake foot. Other Queen Anne furniture features are the fiddle-back chair backs, bat wing shaped drawer pulls, and ample proportions. Elegant and stylish, Queen Anne furniture creates a sense of occasion in any room and is a perfect style to show off the skilled craftsmanship of Amish woodworkers.
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Amish Furniture - American Made
We proudly sell Amish furniture that is handcrafted in the USA.
It is so important these days to buy American! This is becoming harder and harder to do it because over half of the furniture in today’s marketplace is imported! All of our furniture is handcrafted in the USA by skilled craftsmen using Old World techniques passed on for generations. As a result, we are creating local family-friendly jobs for talented craftsmen, which in turn benefit the community. By carefully sourcing our raw materials, we avoid deforestation and uncontrolled pollution that is often allowed with overseas production.
There is something unique about American made furniture, particularly furniture that is handcrafted by the Amish. Our woodworkers make fine furniture using small tools powered by generators and hands as they have for decades, according to time-honored traditions.
When you purchase our fine furniture, you're buying an heirloom product that will last for generations. Additionally, you're supporting a cottage industry that is truly American - an investment you can take pride in.
Our customers take great pride in buying these American Made Heirlooms, knowing that their furniture was made as a labor of love, not in some factory assembly line overseas. And we take pride in selling each handsomely crafted piece.
Our furniture and other products are handcrafted in a clean, safe, environmentally compliant work environment. Experience the difference of furniture made in the USA!
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Amish Furniture Craftsmanship
Amish Furniture - an American Tradition
Amish furniture is well-known for its high quality, traditional designs and master craftsmanship. The chairs we offer to you represent these ideals.
The Amish make furniture using handheld tools run by generators, usually working out of small woodshops beside their rural homes. They are a unique cultural group that avoids computers, cell phones, cars and electricity - even in this high tech age. Amish furniture is painstakingly made by hand, one piece at a time. Each chair is individually crafted and inspected.
While many American furniture makers lose way to foreign imports, the Amish are thriving in the furniture business in places like Lancaster County, Pennsylvania; Holmes County, Ohio; and Shipshewana, Indiana. They’ve earned a well-deserved reputation for quality and value, practicing their craft in many places where American furniture has been made for generations and helping to support those local economies.
While the Amish in general have earned this reputation for high quality, quality can still vary from one Amish furniture maker to another. We've combed the back roads and countryside, carefully selecting woodworkers whose commitment to quality furniture matches our customers' expectations.
The Amish believe that work is sacred. They do not cut corners or take shortcuts, believing that their work is a gift from God and a reflection of their faith.
In general, the Amish are an inward focused people that reflect many generations of isolation from the rest of the world. For that reason, they tend to focus on building furniture rather than selling it. With any high quality product, this is where the focus should be!
Amish furniture is generally made in oak, cherry or maple. Popular styles include Shaker, Colonial, French Country, Queen Anne, Mission and Windsor. The Amish specialize in dining room tables, hutches, chairs, bedroom furniture, and chairs.
We trust that you will enjoy owning your Amish handcrafted chair as much as the Amish enjoy making it and we enjoy bringing it to you. Heirloom quality furniture is a treasure that you can pass along to the next generation.
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Amish Furniture - Built to Last
Our Pledge - Handcrafted Amish Furniture Built to Last
The quality of our handcrafted Amish furniture is second to none. It is handcrafted in small Amish woodshops throughout Pennsylvania and Ohio. The Amish believe that work is a gift from God. They exemplify this in their highest commitment to quality in materials and workmanship. They do not cut corners!
Our solid hardwood Amish furniture comes with a manufacturer's one year warranty. If any defect in the manufacturing of the product becomes apparent in the first year after its delivery, we will repair or replace the piece at no cost to you. This warranty does not cover damage to the furniture because of misuse. Of the thousands of customers we have served, we've only had a handful that needed a warranty service!
With proper care, your Amish furniture will last a lifetime - far beyond the warranty that we offer. In the rare occasion that a defect occurs, it is usually discovered well within the first year. At JMX, we pride ourselves in both the quality of our furniture and the care we give to our valued customers.
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Amish Furniture Delivered with Care
Our Amish furniture is handcrafted and stained after your order is placed. Normally this takes about 8-16 weeks to complete but the timeframe varies as the items are crafted by hand. We try our very best to get your furniture to you as soon as possible but handcrafted furniture does take time to build. Dining Room Chairs are handcrafted within 4-8 weeks.
Shipping can take anywhere from 1-2 weeks following that. Our Amish furniture is shipped with carefully selected companies that we have worked with over the years. These companies score high on their customer service and their care of the fine furniture they handle. They either blanket-wrap the furniture or shrink wrap and box it. In either case, the furniture is fully protected and insured.
Most of our American made furniture is shipped by PackShip USA, a small company that specializes in shipping Amish furniture. Other shippers include small, independent companies that we've grown to know and trust to handle our furniture over the years.
Please read the shipping information on our Terms & Conditions page for details on the delivery of our solid wood furniture. Our standard delivery is “curbside", meaning the driver isn't responsible to take the furniture into your home. Generally there is only one driver, and he will require your help unloading your heirloom furniture.
Our Amish handcrafted solid wood furniture will be well worth the wait! Please call for additional questions.
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