I got some photos back from my photographer of a reproduction chair I made for a collector in Kentucky, who owns the original of this chair. It is the only signed Windsor chair from KY known to exist, made near Lexington KY between about 1810 and 1830. The old chair...
Finishing
Milk Paint Viscosity Measure/Studio Tour
by Elia Bizzarri | Oct 29, 2017 | Chairmaking Tools and Supplies, Chairs For Sale, Finishing, How-To | 6 Comments
The viscosity of milk paint directly affects the ease with which the paint can be applied and the smoothness of the painted surface. True milk paint only comes in powered form and must be mixed with water before use ("pre-mixed" milk paints are really acrylic...
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...
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.
Black-over-Red/Oak for Sale
by Elia Bizzarri | Nov 9, 2016 | Chairmaking Tools and Supplies, Finishing | 0 Comments
We've painted the red coats on our rocker in a few previous posts, so it's time for the black: Make sure you spoon the foam off the top of the paint. I do this every time I mix up paint. Some brands of paint have more foam than others. I'm trying to keep...
Further coats of Milk Paint/Instagram
by Elia Bizzarri | May 29, 2016 | Finishing, How-To | 0 Comments
Those following my series of posts on milk paint may remember that back in January we painted the first coat of paint on the Continuous Arm Rocker. Paint makes surface defects much more apparent, so let's look and see what we can find: A couple drops of paint on the...
Brush Technique & First Coat of Paint
by Elia Bizzarri | Jan 31, 2016 | Finishing, How-To | 0 Comments
I've spent the last two weeks traveling. First, I spent a week up in Jonesborough, TN with my mentor Curtis Buchanan, working on a birdcage barstool and refining our techniques for reaming bent posts. Or more importantly, eating Marilyn's good food and getting a...
Mixing Milk Paint
by Elia Bizzarri | Nov 21, 2015 | Finishing, How-To | 0 Comments
This is the second installment on finishing the Continuous Arm Rocker from my DVD: Mix 2 parts water to 1 part paint. This is a good starting place for black and red, but some colors require less water. You can always add more water later. 8 Tbs of red paint will...
Dents, Gaps and Tears
by Elia Bizzarri | Aug 29, 2015 | Finishing, How-To | 0 Comments
Joshua Farnsworth recently filmed a video of me building a Continuous Arm Rocker. It should be published by Popular Woodworking in the next month or so. Today I started cleaning up the chair in preparation for painting and plenty of minor things needed fixing. I...
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