by Elia Bizzarri | Feb 1, 2018 | Chair Stories, Classes | 3 Comments
Last month Leo bought a Velda's Arm chair, a chair I made at Anderson Ranch with the class I was teaching there. Here's a story about his chair: Imagine spending a hard day's work shaping a single piece of walnut, then putting it in a piping hot steam chamber....
by Elia Bizzarri | Oct 8, 2017 | Classes, How-To | 0 Comments
I prefer to size stretcher tenons with a Turner's Gate (Sorby calls it a Sizing Tool). It's major advantage over dowel plates and tenon cutters is that the tenon shoulder can be easily removed using a skew, plus the tenons are always in line with each other. A...
by Elia Bizzarri | Jul 20, 2017 | Classes | 0 Comments
I have added a Comb Back Rocker class to my schedule, May 14-19, 2018. It is open to returning students only, since the spindles and bends will have to be made at home. This is the first time I have taught this chair in a group setting and I think it will be a...
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...
by Elia Bizzarri | May 23, 2017 | Classes, How-To | 0 Comments
A couple months ago I filmed an Octagonal Side Table DVD and a Milk Painting DVD with Popular Woodworking. They should be out sometime this summer. Here's a photo of the table: To film a DVD you need lots of parts at various stages, so I made a pile of bent...
by Elia Bizzarri | Apr 23, 2017 | Classes, How-To | 0 Comments
Curtis Buchanan and I spent some time carving spoons last January. I photographed his process, which he describes as "the way a chairmaker with bad elbows carves a spoon." Or something like that. He carves the bowl first. This is steam bent cherry....
by Elia Bizzarri | Feb 9, 2017 | Chairmaking Tools and Supplies, Classes, Craft Films, How-To | 0 Comments
Over a decade ago, a customer told me he used a dowel plate to cut the tenons on his spindles. "That won't work," I...
by Elia Bizzarri | Dec 10, 2016 | Classes | 0 Comments
Classes in My Shop I have added several classes to my 2018 schedule (more info on my teaching page): LOOP BACK SIDE CHAIR, January 22nd to 27th, 2018 – $1200 – FULL CONTINUOUS ARM SETTEE, February 19th to 24th, 2018 – $1400 – FULL (returning students only) CONTINUOUS...
by Elia Bizzarri | Aug 21, 2016 | Chairmaking Tools and Supplies, Classes, How-To, Kiln | 0 Comments
A kiln dried tenon, an air-dried mortise, no glue and a sloppy fit: wait overnight and the tenon will swell so tight that you can't budge it. At least that is true where I live - I don't know what happens in the desert. Temperature How hot does your kiln need to be to...
by Elia Bizzarri | Feb 14, 2016 | Chairmaking Tools and Supplies, Classes | 0 Comments
BEVEL BUDDY Several years ago a student sent me a .PDF file of a template for accurately setting a Sliding T-Bevel to any angle between 0-55 degrees. It was made by Wisconsin chair-maker Steven First, who has generously allowed me to post it on my links page. Similar...
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