I always use ring shank nails of differing sizes, from "paneling" nails to 16 penny,whatever is appropriate to the size of wood I'm working with. I build the basic frame first then do the arms, back frame and seat/back slats in that order. I build up the arms or backs by starting from the inside and work my way out, piece by piece ( or in other words, layer by layer). I will bend the first piece to the desired contour I want and nail it in place to the frame to hold its shape, then drive nails through it, from the inside pointing out along the length. Then the second piece I attach to the frame at the bottom end and bend it around, following the contour of the first and pushing or hammering the willow through the nail that is already sticking out of the first run. In most cases I want the nail long enough to penetrate two full pieces with enough tip sticking out of the second run to act as a tack to temporarily hold the third piece, then I'll build out, nailing each additional piece from the outside in...if that makes since. In some cases I use mortise and tenon joints on legs and frame braces and use glue and nails or screws to hold them. Other times, I just overlap the pieces like the chairs in the pics and use mostly nails over screws.
Some pieces I leave natural but I usually finish them with a couple of heavy coats of semi or high gloss polyurethane.
A lot of people ask if it is hard to make and how did I learn to do it. I always tell them "Its like anything else..it takes time". Nobody taught me how to do it, I have an old hickory child's chair my great grandfather had made and my wife coaxed me into trying to make one like it. It is really quite basic and almost anyone could do it. After your first one, you pretty much figure out how to build a frame, place the nails, how the wood will twist and bend, and how to pick pieces of willow that will best follow the contour of the one you are putting it against, etc. The best part is it's supposed to look rustic...no cabinet or high end furniture making skills or tools needed. I would usually spend an afternoon and
cut willow to stock pile material for a number of projects. You have to use it while it's green or it will snap. It doesn't shrink much at all and is actually quite durable and stout after it seasons. If it is indoors or out of the weather, a piece can last for decades.
As long as you have your materials close by, a good knife, a hand saw (or better yet a power miter saw), tape measure, some small anvil or bypass shears, lopping shears, nails and hammer and sometimes a drill, I could usually knock out two large adult chairs with nice detail work in 6-8 hrs. In the early '90's, I could wholesale an adult chair for $100-130 and they would sell in shops for $175-$200. I would often make table tops out of slats from oak pallets that were sanded or would use a plywood base and cover it with herringbone or other patterned pieces of thin willow. It is amazing what I have seen some pieces go for in upscale shops in metropolitan areas. I saw a table in a recent Ralph Lauren catalog exactly like ones I often carve from a solid oak trunk and it was $1000...I give them away to friends.....maybe I need to change my name to Ralph L
Re: Any rustic furniture makers aboard? 
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