Winter/Spring 2019 Classes
I must apologize; I’ve been dilatory with my blog posts the last couple months. I’ve been busy building two sheds off my shop, one off the front for outdoor shaving-horse work and one off the back for Seth to set up for tool manufacturing. We’ve also put down about 1000 square feet of brick pavers (previously installed at the NC State campus) around the front, side and back of the shop. Here’s a photo from last weekend’s Savoy/Lege cajun party showing the two sheds and pavers:
It’s not done yet, but getting close. Here’s a photo from later in the evening, once the party really started:
Photos by M. Barlow.
I have scheduled three classes the beginning of next year:
LOOP BACK SIDE CHAIR, January 21st to 26th, 2019
CONTINUOUS ARM ROCKER, February 17th to 23rd, 2019
FAN BACK SIDE CHAIR, March 18th to 23rd, 2019
More info on my teaching page.
Testing Wood Owl bits/class opening
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 series of compromises. Do you want extremely low power use or extremely clean holes? Do you want the bit to be easily steerable, or do you want it to track well?
I feel one of the main requirements for a chairmaking bit is a very clean entry hole at steep angles.
At first glance, the Wood Owl bit is a lot like a tradition auger bit, except it has three flutes rather than two. read more…
Matruska Dolls – A green woodworking project?
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 elsewhere a few hundred years ago. Then you bought Sheffield tools and Wycombe chairs; now we buy Stanley tools and Ikea furniture without caring if they are made in Mexico or China. read more…
A week in a chairmaking class
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 13-18th Loop-Back chairmaking class. Who’s going to jump on it? More info on my teaching page.
Review of Chairmaking Drill Bits
The following are my thoughts on drill bits for Windsor chairmaking. Bear in mind that I have used some of these bits (augers, bradpoints, etc.) daily for 15 years and other bits I have used infrequently. In these reviews, I am comparing well tuned examples of each bit. Poorly tuned bits will make an awful mess regardless of type.
Spoon Bit
Spoon bits: The traditional bit of the Windsor chairmaker. Advantages – cuts clean holes even at extreme angles, thickness of shaving changes relative to hardness of wood being cut, is fun to use, operator can easily change angles at anytime. Disadvantages: Hard to sharpen. The diameter of the bit changes with many sharpenings. The shortness of the bit makes it harder to sight accurately (this can be overcome with an extension). It requires skill to start the hole in the right place or a gouge to hollow a spot for starting the bit. New bits either don’t work or require considerable tune up. Lee Valley’s spoon bits don’t work in dry hardwoods. Old bits can be hard to find. read more…
Growing Chairs
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:
Chair Stories: Tall Tales
Comb back rocker
Teresa bought a Comb Back Rocker, a chair I built with my friend Don a couple years ago. Here’s a story about her chair:
I put the finishing touches on the Comb Back Rocker, and set down my brush. “Brush; Comb…” my mind set off, as my father’s does, on a caper of words:
“Brush with….” and I thought of Don, a retired elevator installer with hair-raising stories.
Don wanted to learn how to make a Comb Back Rocker, so we traded. He’d paint my house, and I’d teach him chairmaking. read more…
Early 19th C. Settee
My girlfriend Morgan and I went to an estate sale last weekend that had several early 19th C. Windsors, including this settee. I love looking at old chairs – there’s so much to learn.
It’s pretty big, 60 or 70″ wide. The seat is too deep for comfort in my opinion, though the lady at the sales counter seemed a little offended that I was so opinionated. The seat is a single piece of pine about 21″ deep and my tall legs just barely allowed my back to touch the chair’s back. Morgan had to slouch to lean against the back. Is the back just for looks? Or maybe this is the 19th C. equivalent of a modern couch; looks comfy, feels awful. read more…
New Tables (some on sale)
My photographer recently sent me a bunch of photos, including picture of some new tables I’ve been working on. I’ve never put any of my work up for sale on this blog, but I have a number of tables floating around the house, so here goes:
A walnut-topped table with bent octagonal legs. This is the table I painted in the Popular Woodworking article last month. On sale this month for $500.
This one I designed out in CO when I was teaching at Anderson Ranch last fall. Butternut top with hickory legs painted black-over-red. It sold almost immediately, so I guess I need to make another.
Close-up of the top.
Chair stories: Bending Day (plus a Class Opening)
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. You spend an hour waiting for it to heat, wondering if it will bend or break. For students, steam bending is a stressful process in the best of circumstances.
Pulling your crest rail out of the steam chamber, hands encumbered by big heat-shielding gloves, you rush to where fellow students hold an unwieldy piece of sheet metal fitted with wooden handles: a bending strap. read more…