Starting in the the linden forests of Russia, this video follows the making of nesting dolls from tree to paint. From what I could find on the internet this is still a localized craft industry in Russia, like so many trades were in England and...
Craft Films
Growing Chairs
by Elia Bizzarri | Apr 18, 2018 | Craft Films | 1 Comment
If I was a farmer I would grow chairs. A couple years ago, Curtis Buchanan sent me photos of chairs by the company Full Grown. I think they are brilliant: Apparently it takes seven years to grow a chair, exponentially less than it takes to grow the trees I...
Turning Chess Pieces
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...
Ring turning video
by Elia Bizzarri | Sep 25, 2017 | Craft Films | 0 Comments
I had forgotten about this video till one of my students mentioned a similar idea in my class last week. This is a pretty cool greenwood cottage industry and an amusing video:
Curtis’s Cradle
by Elia Bizzarri | Aug 10, 2017 | Craft Films | 4 Comments
In June, Curtis became a grandfather. Since I've known him, he has wanted to build a version of one of the cradles in Santore's book. He finally got the chance and what a beauty it is: Here's a lovely video interview of Curtis Buchanan describing his conscious...
Milk Paint DVD
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...
Octagonal Tables/Continuous Arm Class
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...
Casting Bells
by Elia Bizzarri | Jun 8, 2017 | Craft Films | 0 Comments
This video has nothing to do with woodworking and it is in German, yet it is one of the most memorable craft videos I have ever watched. Casting giant church bells. It starts with hand building 8' tall molds made of brick and layers of mortar, fiber and metal. ...
Making Shellac
by Elia Bizzarri | May 10, 2017 | Craft Films, Finishing | 0 Comments
This video was made by the fellow I buy my shellac flakes from. Who knew it took so much effort by insect and man to make a pound of shellac? Or that different trees make different kinds of shellac? Now I feel bad for spilling the stuff.
Thanks Curtis
by Elia Bizzarri | Apr 2, 2017 | Chair Stories, Chairmaking Tools and Supplies, Craft Films | 0 Comments
I first met Curtis Buchanan 15 years ago this month. My father drove the five hours to Jonesborough, TN and dropped me, a 17-year-old homesick boy, off for a week. Curtis had a student that week. I split logs and listened in on the class. I couldn't imagine I would...
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