At WSC, every chair is handcrafted from marine-grade mahogany plywood sourced from Indonesia—a durable, attractive material ideally suited for boatbuilding and outdoor furniture.

Each chair requires slightly more than one full 4-by-8-foot sheet of plywood. From that single sheet, a CNC router precisely cuts 88 individual components. Those pieces are then shaped, assembled, sanded, stained, and finished by hand to create a chair that combines lasting strength, functional design, and natural beauty.

Our Process

Precision Cutting

A CNC router precisely cuts the marine-grade mahogany plywood into 88 individual parts.

Hand Preparation and Assembly

Every part is carefully sanded by hand in preparation for assembly. The chair’s four main sections are individually aligned, glued, and secured with pin nails, creating strong, durable bonds designed to last a lifetime when properly maintained.

Detailed Sanding

Once the glue has fully cured, each section is thoroughly sanded. This labor-intensive stage takes several hours per chair and blends the individual components into smooth, seamless sections.

Staining and Curing

Each section is treated with Cabot® Timber Oil to enrich the mahogany’s natural character and help protect the wood. The finish is then allowed to cure properly before final assembly.

Stainless-Steel Assembly

The four finished sections are joined using 1/2-inch 304 stainless-steel rods, washers, eye nuts, and acorn nuts. The suspension system uses 3/16-inch, 7×19 construction, 316 stainless-steel wire rope, precisely swaged to the length required for the height of the chair’s mounting points.

Final Finishing

After assembly, the chair is hand-sanded again with 400-grit sandpaper to remove the fine wood fibers raised during staining. Finally, a thorough application of Howard® Beeswax Polish and Conditioner helps protect the wood while giving the chair its smooth, beautiful finish.

Thirty Hours

The time required to properly build The Swivelle Hanging Chair