by Elia Bizzarri | Jul 2, 2018 | Chairmaking Tools and Supplies, Classes, How-To | 4 Comments
I recently posted about drill bit varieties for chairmaking and got a number of comments about Wood Owl bits. I had never used them, but someone kindly sent me a couple to try. Here's what I found: There is no such thing as a perfect bit. Designing a drill bit is a...
by Elia Bizzarri | May 9, 2018 | Chairmaking Tools and Supplies, How-To | 6 Comments
The following are my thoughts on drill bits for Windsor chairmaking. Bear in mind that I have used some of these bits (augers, bradpoints, etc.) daily for 15 years and other bits I have used infrequently. In these reviews, I am comparing well tuned examples of...
by Elia Bizzarri | Mar 28, 2018 | Chair Stories, Chairmaking Tools and Supplies | 1 Comment
Teresa bought a Comb Back Rocker, a chair I built with my friend Don a couple years ago. Here’s a story about her chair: I put the finishing touches on the Comb Back Rocker, and set down my brush. “Brush; Comb...” my mind set off, as my father’s does, on a caper of...
by Elia Bizzarri | Jan 10, 2018 | Chairmaking Tools and Supplies, How-To | 5 Comments
Nearly any wood will work for a Windsor chair seat. It depends on how much work you are willing to do and how heavy a chair you want to move every time you finish dinner. I refuse to use anything but the highest quality and most easily worked materials available. In...
by Elia Bizzarri | Dec 30, 2017 | Chairmaking Tools and Supplies, Craft Films | 4 Comments
With the holidays, a new girlfriend and huge quantities of tool orders, I have been delinquent in my blog posts lately. This year saw a huge growth in my business, with Seth Elliott starting to help me make tools, refurbish drawknives and sell rivings. I wasn't...
by Elia Bizzarri | Oct 29, 2017 | Chairmaking Tools and Supplies, Chairs For Sale, Finishing, How-To | 6 Comments
The viscosity of milk paint directly affects the ease with which the paint can be applied and the smoothness of the painted surface. True milk paint only comes in powered form and must be mixed with water before use ("pre-mixed" milk paints are really acrylic...
by Elia Bizzarri | Sep 1, 2017 | Chairmaking Tools and Supplies | 1 Comment
I have traded for a newer bandsaw and am selling my old one. It's a Crescent 32" Bandsaw built in 1919, babbit bearings, wooden table (old, but probably not original), new carter roller guides, new rip fence. The motor mounts on the floor/wall so you can easily put...
by Elia Bizzarri | Aug 24, 2017 | Chairmaking Tools and Supplies, How-To | 7 Comments
Green wood is everywhere. In fact, dry wood doesn't usually exist in nature: trees are veritable pipes full of water and once they die the rotting process is fed by water. Yet finding green wood can be a daunting task for many modern woodworkers. Where to look? What...
by Elia Bizzarri | Jul 23, 2017 | Chairmaking Tools and Supplies, Craft Films, Finishing | 2 Comments
My Popular Woodworking Milk Paint DVD has just come out. While many paints hide the wood's subtle surface quality or create a plastic looking finish, milk paint is an incredibly thin, natural-looking paint that allows every pore of the wood and every tool mark...
by Elia Bizzarri | Jun 25, 2017 | Chairmaking Tools and Supplies, Classes, Craft Films | 0 Comments
My new DVD is out! I love building these little tables - they have many of the fun aspects of building a chair, but they can be made in a weekend. Well, maybe two weekends, a month apart. Here's a tour of my shop that the crew filmed while they were...
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