How to Split a Chair's Spindle Blanks
Spindle chairs are wooden chairs on which the back is held together with long, rounded wooden spindles; these spindles are also used as rungs to hold the chair in position. Each spindle must be formed from a spindle blank, and spindle blanks are formed from green wood. While splitting the blanks by hand might be time-consuming, it also ensures a strong grain all the way down the length of the spindle.
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Instructions
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Saw a green log until it is flat on both ends and cut to the desired length you want your spindle to be. To do this, lay the log on its side on a flat work surface and mark out the length you want the spindle to be. Mark the extremes of the spindle, making sure to leave space for the saw blade. Saw off each end of the log so that the ends are flat.
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Stand the log up on a work surface that will accept a heavy impact. A larger diameter log will work, as will a chipping block. Put on a pair of safety glasses. Split the log with an ax. Aim the head of the ax at the center of the log and bring it down with enough force to split the log.
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Choose a piece that was split and split it again. Continue splitting the log until the piece is roughly the size of the wooden chair spindle you need. These smaller, split pieces are called "blanks." You can create a number of blanks by splitting the large log into a number of longer, thinner splits that can then be shaped with carving knives and sandpaper into finished spindles for a wooden chair.
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Tips & Warnings
Rather than an ax you can use wedges and hammers to split your log. Tap the wedge into the log and then bring the hammer down hard on the wedge. The wedge acts like an ax head, splitting the log apart. Wedges can be more accurate and less damaging to the log overall during the split.
