I keep telling myself that modern spade bits are not great, but they’re OK. But I am lying to myself. Anytime I use a NOS (New Old Stock) Irwin spade I am shocked by how good the old ones are compared to the modern stuff. During the last few chairmaking classes I taught, the modern…
Read moreThe tour at the High Wycombe Chair-making Museum begins almost the moment you arrive. You ring the bell on the front door. Robert Bishop answers and welcomes you into a room filled with chairs, tools and photographs. You sit down, and bam – he begins telling you a story. You are hooked. And for the…
Read moreOver the last year, Christopher Schwarz and I have been making our way through the last of the bog oak boule we split between us. To date, it’s been used for tables, sculpture and a bunch of chairs. As I wrap up my final two chairs from this ancient and preserved tree, Chris has been…
Read moreDuring the summer my steam box took its last hot breath. The interior bits had rotted away, as had the door and its hinges. I pitched the thing, planning to build a replacement. Then I thought: Am I really happy with the Earlex wallpaper steamer that powers it? It’s fine for small chair parts, but…
Read moreThis stick chair features some of my favorite details on older chairs: low side stretchers (with no medial stretcher), plus faceted short sticks and a newly designed skinny armbow. I’m selling it via a random drawing. Details on the drawing are below. Here are some notes on the chair. This comb-back chair is set up…
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