Covington Woodworks
Ben Covington started Covington Woodworks in order to fulfill his love of wood working, and provide him with quality family
time. Ben converted an old barn into his wood shop where he handcraft's each chair paying attention to every detail.
These chairs are made to last. Ben does not compromise on the materials (i.e., Western Red Cedar is the preferred wood for
its attractive appearance and resistance to weather. Stainless steel hardware is bright, easily maintained, and
corrosion resistance. Only the best lumber from renewable resources is used.).
Renewable Resources
Ben pays close attention when it comes to renewable resources. The key word here is renewable. Resources like silver, gold, coal, oil
are not renewable. When you use up a non-renewable resource, it's gone forever. Timber, which is a common term for trees, is renewable.
In other words, if you cut one tree down, you can plant one in its place. The Forestry Service calls this rotation and commonly has a
35 year rotation. The timber will be selectively harvested up to 35 years of age, then cut and replanted.
Some timber is a renewable resource, like plantation forests, which are planted and then cut down to make paper. It is sometimes called a
sustainable resource, so long as we keep planting and growing trees at the same rate as we cut them down.
Rainforest timber, like teak and mahogany, is NOT a renewable resource. Some rainforest trees have taken
hundreds of years to grow. They are irreplaceable. That is why teak and mahogany will not be used at Covington Woodworks.
History of the Adirondack Chair
The documented beginnings of the Adirondack chair began with the
Westport chair in the year 1903. A man by the name of Thomas Lee, while
on vacation at his summer cottage in Westport, N.Y., East of the
Adirondack Mountains on the shores of Lake Champlain, designed the
comfortable lounging chairs so his family and friends could enjoy the
outdoors. The chair Thomas Lee designed/built had a slanted seat and
back. It is believed that the slanted chairs allowed people to sit in
an upright position when placed on a steep hill, making it possible to
sit comfortably looking down the mountain side. There were many
variations of hill sitting chairs around the area, but the one Thomas
Lee designed is the chair getting the credit. Thomas Lee would probably
be surprised that his chair, family members called "Uncle Tom's chair",
would be anything more than a comfortable chair that brought so much
joy to his Summers.
The Westport chair may have never been documented if Thomas Lee had
not offered his chair design to his hunting friend Harry Bunnell, who
owned a wood shop and needed money. Sadly, Bunnell was awarded a patent
July 18, 1905, calling his chair "Westport Chair". Bunnell never told
his helpful friend Thomas Lee about the patent, nor did Thomas Lee ever
try to do anything about it. For the next twenty-five years Bunnell was
successful at manufacturing and selling the chair. The Westport chair
was made of Hemlock or Basswood, the backrest was stamped with the U.S.
patent number, painted a dark red-brown or left unpainted, and had
different variations. Distribution at the time did not reach much
further than a 100 mile radius of Westport, New York. Today, an
original antique "Westport chair" can be valued at more than one
thousand dollars.
The Adirondack chair of today has evolved and can have any number of
differences, such as seats and backs with any number of slats,
contoured seats and backs, straight seats and backs, built out of any
wood or plastic -- the possibilities are endless. However, there are
still two main distinguishing characteristics of the Thomas Lee chair,
that have not changed in over 100 years, considered the hallmarks of a
true Adirondack chair, the raked slanted back and the large broad
armrest. The Adirondack chair has changed over the years, but for many
it remains the all American chair, symbolizing Summer living.