Backwoods Chairmakers
In Search of the Appalachian Ladderback Chairmaker
By Andrew D. Glenn
For more than 200 years, chairmakers in Appalachia built ladderbacks to sell to neighbors and the occasional tourist. It was a tradition that was handed down through generations. But with the rise of furniture factories and mechanisation, woodworker Andy D. Glenn wondered if there were any traditional chairmakers left.
So...
Chairmaker's Notebook
By Peter Galbert
Some words about Chairmakers Notebook from Chris Schwarz of Lost Art Press...
Whether you are an aspiring professional chairmaker, an experienced green woodworker or a home woodworker curious about the craft, "Chairmaker's Notebook" is an in-depth guide to building your first Windsor chair or an even-better 30th one. Using more than 500 hand-drawn illustrations,...
Chairmaker's Notebook - Full-size Plans
For those woodworkers who prefer full-size plans, we now offer plans for the two chairs featured in Peter Galbert's book "Chairmaker's Notebook".
The plans feature handmade full-size drawings of the following components of the fan-back and balloon-back chairs:
Full-size turning patterns of legs, stretchers and posts - both bobbin and baluster forms.
Full-size drawings of...
Good Work: The Chairmaking Life of John Brown
by Christopher Williams
“Good Work: The Chairmaking Life of John Brown” by Christopher Williams is the first biography of one of the most influential chairmakers and writers of the 20th century: Welshman John Brown.
The book’s title of “Good Work” was an expression John Brown used to describe a noble act or thing. He once mused he wanted to create a “Good Work”...
Make a Chair from a Tree: Third Edition
By Jennie Alexander
In 2014, Jennie Alexander somewhat reluctantly agreed to a third edition of her 1978 seminal book on green woodworking, “Make a Chair From a Tree” – a book that launched the careers of thousands of woodworkers and helped ignite a green woodworking movement in this country.
Her reluctance wasn’t due to a lack of passion for the book’s subject –...
The Anarchist's Design Book: Expanded Edition
Why is this book on sale? Basically Lost Art Press need some storage space as the floors are creaking in their new Anthe Building. Please visit the Lost Art Press Blog for more information.
By Christopher Schwarz
Most of the American furniture we celebrate as the pinnacle of design is overbearing, over-embellished and a monument to waste and excess.
These high styles of furniture took hold...
The Stick Chair Book - Full-size Plans
To remove one more barrier to making a stick chair, we have created this set of full-size paper patterns of all the important components for the five chairs in "The Stick Chair Book".
The five 22" x 34" sheets contain full-scale drawings of all the seats, arms, backrests, shoes and combs for the chairs. The drawings also include all the mortise locations, drilling sightlines...
The Stick Chair Book: Revised Edition
By Christopher Schwarz
From the outside, it seems like you need to harvest special wood from the forest, buy a bunch of exotic tools, master a lot of crazy angles, and learn high-tolerance joinery to make a chair that is comfortable, strong and approaches sculpture.
The truth is that everyday woodworkers – farmers, amateurs and people in other trades – made wonderful chairs using...
The Stick Chair Journal - Issue No 1
By Christopher Schwarz
This is issue No. 1 of The Stick Chair Journal, which Lost Art Press planned as an annual publication to expand the universe of all things stick chair: More history. More plans. More techniques. Reviews of tools. And Big Thoughts. It is a supplement to "The Stick Chair Book."
In this issue, you'll find:
• A Lousy Way to Run a Railroad: An explanation...
The Stick Chair Journal - Issue No 2
We hope to have this book delivered in December and will update should this change.
The Stick Chair Journal is an annual publication that expands the universe of all things stick chair. More history. More plans. More techniques. Plus reviews of tools. The Journal is a supplement to the content of "The Stick Chair Book" (which is free to download or can be bought as a book here).
Each...
The Welsh Stick Chair - A Visual Record
by Tim and Betsan Bowen. Published by Pethe Press.
The Welsh Stick Chair – A Visual Record by Tim and Betsan Bowen offers a useful resource for collectors, designers and makers of the stick chair and those interested in Welsh cultural heritage and folk art.
The book is filled with images of over thirty different Welsh stick chairs, including two contemporary examples. It also illustrates...
Welsh Stick Chairs
By John Brown
Welsh Stick Chairs is a small but mighty book. At 104 pages long, this book can be read in an afternoon, but it has changed the lives of thousands of woodworkers all over the globe.
John Brown (1933-2008) was a chairmaker in Wales who specialized in Welsh stick chairs, a vernacular form of furniture that was typically made by the end users. Compared to Windsor chairs, Welsh stick...
Windsor Chairmaking
by James Mursell
This book is the first new book about the making and design of Windsor chairs for over 10 years. James Mursell has written it with a broad readership in mind. It is aimed not only at existing Windsor chairmakers but also at those who are perhaps contemplating making their first chair.
Detailed plans are included for two English and two American chairs. It is also aimed at those...