by Elia Bizzarri | Mar 16, 2026 | Craft Films, Sprinpole Lathe | 8 Comments
I've been on the pole lathe turning a pile of parts for upcoming 18th-Century Chairmaking classes. I've turned a few hundred parts on the pole lathe before, but this is the first time I've turned this many - 75 legs or so - on the pole lathe in one go. I'm really...
by Elia Bizzarri | Feb 12, 2026 | Craft Films, No-Glue joints, Samuel Wing Book Project | 21 Comments
"Your book is next." These welcome words greeted me a few days ago as I opened my email. Megan Fitzpatrick is my editor, Lost Art Press is my publisher, and my book may see the light of day sometime soon. Sure, there's still lots of editing and formatting for Megan to...
by Elia Bizzarri | Oct 27, 2025 | Craft Films, No-Glue joints, Rakes and Hay Forks | 5 Comments
I've been making wooden hay rakes today, which has given me the opportunity to try some new techniques. Here is a short video about making the rake tines using an old method that's new to me. (Is this is my first foray into vlogging?): You can watch the Romanian...
by Elia Bizzarri | Jul 31, 2025 | Craft Films | 4 Comments
I came down with a cold this morning, so I'm watching videos. This one is pretty astounding: hewing and turning a huge shaft for a mill's water-wheel (go here to watch the foresters fell the oak and the carters haul it to the mill with a pair of draft horses - also...
by Elia Bizzarri | Oct 14, 2024 | Craft Films, No-Glue joints, Samuel Wing Book Project | 13 Comments
I have finished writing my book about Samuel Wing. Sure, there's still editing to be done, but that never ends. The Lost Art Press folks will be here in February to photograph the book and we'll go from there. Jeff Lefkowitz just sent me the proofs...
by Elia Bizzarri | Sep 23, 2023 | Craft Films | 2 Comments
I've been getting ready for the wheelbarrow class in a couple weeks, including building some test wheels. Here's a finished wheel: Oops! Wrong photo! Here's a finished wheel: Well, at least the wooden parts are done - now it's off to Peter Ross's to shrink the...
by Elia Bizzarri | Apr 3, 2023 | Craft Films | 4 Comments
One of my readers sent me this video. It's from 1964 Sweden, of an old fellow making a spinning wheel. The film is beautifully shot and silent, so you can can choose your own soundtrack. There's a lot of great parts, but my favorite is the boring and...
by Elia Bizzarri | Aug 20, 2022 | Craft Films | 2 Comments
Morgan and I got back from a west-coast vacation a couple weeks ago and I've been carving seats and gluing up chairs ever since. I've got 18 undercarriages together and 22 to go. I might switch to putting backs on for variety. I've never had a...
by Elia Bizzarri | Aug 7, 2021 | Craft Films | 2 Comments
Here's a few more shorts from the British Pathe: Bentwood trug baskets being made in 1929. They have some sort of a square steam box. What was this made out of? I assume there was no CDX plywood at this time, and my experience with solid wood steam boxes is that they...
by Elia Bizzarri | Mar 23, 2021 | Craft Films | 7 Comments
For being in the middle of a pandemic, my life is pretty full. Tools and chairs have been selling better than ever in my career. I have made over 200 reamers in the last 12 months and am about to run out again - whew! The online classes are doing well and...
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