This is the first stick chair that I’ve built entirely with red elm. It’s a bit extraordinary that this chair exists because the species (Ulmus rubra) is rarely found in commercial lumberyards around here. Plus, finding enough straight and clear sections of red elm to make the sticks, legs and stretchers is unusual. But I…
Read moreWe have a handful of copies of the discontinued first edition of “The Stick Chair Book” for sale at about 50 percent off – $24.
Here’s the link if you would like one.
Read moreSadly, it’s another day, and we still have exactly zero weird Yelp reviews for our classes. I mentioned this today to the students in my chair class as we were working on our combs, and we started brainstorming what some negative Yelp reviews of my chair class might sound like. Here are a few. We…
Read moreWhen you rehabilitate an old building, your plans have to change (almost daily) to keep things moving forward and to code. The “code” part of the project is what has been driving us for the last few weeks. We want the building to look like it did when we bought it and was empty. But…
Read moreI buy and process at least 900 board feet of red oak each year for chairmaking and chair classes. When chosen and cut with care, red oak can look much better than the ugly 1980s kitchen cabinets it is associated with. But before you embrace this inexpensive and plentiful wood, here’s a quick lesson on…
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