"Not a lot of money in that is there?" "No, not a lot of money.... Still we've always done it... Money's not everything." Bodgers were wood turners who worked in the beech woods around the furniture-making town of High Wycombe in England. They would cut, split...
Craft Films
Dowel Plates/New Class
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...
Mountain Shovel Maker
by Elia Bizzarri | Jan 15, 2017 | Craft Films | 0 Comments
I just stumbled upon this old Folkstreams video for the second time - it's well worth watching. A poplar or basswood log and five tools: scribe, ax, adz, drawknife and a knife. No work-holding devices, but a neat way to hold the shovel using his feet...
Bending Fun
by Elia Bizzarri | Aug 7, 2016 | Craft Films | 0 Comments
I thought you all might like to see a fun, short video Roy Underhill and I did after we filmed a TV show last week: Bentwood Firewood Carrier FailHappy Woodwright Wednesday! Who's ready for some fresh video? It's blazing hot out there, so why not get a jump on winter...
Clogs
by Elia Bizzarri | Jul 6, 2016 | Craft Films | 0 Comments
Sunday in Portland, biking back from the farmer's market with a backpack full of berries, I stumbled upon an Estate Sale. A turn-of-the-century house in a nice neighborhood, full of nice things. Dozens of copper pots, hundreds of beautiful drawings, closets of wool...
Guinness Cooperage Video
by Elia Bizzarri | Apr 21, 2016 | Craft Films | 0 Comments
Filmed in 1954, this video shows a large cooperage in full swing. At this time the cooper's trade had been going uninterrupted for hundreds of years and we are watching the result. These guys move! I suspect chairmaking was once this efficient, but our trade died out...
Chair Stories: The Workbench (plus new classes & chest update)
by Elia Bizzarri | Dec 16, 2015 | Chair Stories, Classes, Craft Films | 0 Comments
Last week I delivered a set of two Birdcage Side Chairs and two Birdcage Arm Chairs to Cara in Chapel Hill, NC. Here's a story about her chairs: I wiped a spot of spilled hide glue off the workbench as I glued up the last in a set of four birdcage chairs. Reveling in...
Craft Films: Greenwood Chests in 1955 Hungary
by Elia Bizzarri | Dec 13, 2015 | Craft Films | 0 Comments
My friend Bill Anderson just found this incredible film. A fellow and his wife are working outdoors making a chest using an axe, drawkife, hook knife and a few nifty brakes. They split a log into planks and work them down on the shaving horse - I wonder what's the...
Craft Films: Umbrellas
by Elia Bizzarri | Oct 14, 2015 | Craft Films | 0 Comments
Rain: A Natural and Cultural History - I'm on chapter two about Charles Macintosh, windshield wipers and umbrellas. In Japan, the book says, umbrellas were status symbols in ancient times. In the 19th century they became a popular accessory for the masses and...
Chairmaking DVD
by Elia Bizzarri | Sep 29, 2015 | Chairmaking Tools and Supplies, Craft Films | 0 Comments
I am excited to announce my first how-to video, an 8 hour long DVD on building Curtis Buchanan's Continuous Arm Rocker. Published by Popular Woodworking, this two-disc set was filmed in beautiful high definition film by Joshua Farnsworth. I have them for sale on my...
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