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 22, 2018 | Classes, How-To | 1 Comment
One of my students filmed this short video during his week in my shop building a Continuous Arm Windsor chair. It's fun for me to hear some of the random things I say during a week in the shop. Maybe you'll enjoy it too... I just had a cancellation in my August...
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...
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