Years ago I used to make all my sticks with the 5/8” Ray Iles rounding plane. I think I must have had a bump on the head at some point because I cannot remember when or why I stopped using it.
Last year I bought one from Classic Hand Tools in the UK, and I quickly remembered how well it worked. When set with care, it can be used to shave sticks and tenons. And you can do it in a jiffy if you spin the stick with an electric drill.
There are other places that sell them, such as Workshop Heaven and Tools for Working Wood (plus some other small suppliers in the UK). If the tools are temporarily hard to get, Ray and his crew will make more.
The video above shows how I use the tool to create long sticks and tenons. It was shot by our new assistant editor, Kale Vogt. Kale is an enthusiastic chairmaker, and you’ll see a lot more of her in the coming weeks.
As per the usual, I buy all my tools with my own money. Nobody sponsors us. No affiliate links. No legerdemain.
— Christopher Schwarz
For other tips on making chairmaking cheaper, read these entries.
Whenever I teach a chair class, I build a chair along with the students. I don’t always sell my classroom-built chairs because I always push myself to try something different on the chair – something I’d be afraid to do to a chair that I am counting on to put food on the table.
During last week’s chair class I crossed over a threshold I have been approaching for a few years: changing the geometry of the comb of a comb-back to the point where it sits more like a Gibson chair.
This is the most comfortable comb-back I’ve made to date. I don’t like to name my furniture, but for now I’m calling this a “short-back chair.”
I don’t have “plans” for this chair. That’s not how I design chairs. It would take me longer to draw plans for this chair than to build another chair. But I am happy to share the essential geometry so you can graft it onto one of your designs. (This is my Southern way of saying all gentle-like: No, I’m not going to create plans. All you need is in the free book and the information below.)
Seat Height I have been gradually lowering the seat height of my chairs, as measured from the pommel to the floor. This chair is 15-1/2”. You might think that’s low. I don’t. I think tables are too high. When one of the students this week asked how low chair seats could go, I replied: “Many Morris chair seats are 12” off the floor.”
Here you can get a sense of the lean of the back.
Back & Seat Lean The back of this chair leans back 16.2° from the seat. The seat tilts 4.15° back. That’s a total lean of 20.25°. No, it doesn’t feel like a dentist’s chair. If you are using the chair plans in “The Stick Chair Book,” you achieve this 16.2° angle by positioning the front edge of the arm 1-1/4” behind the back edge of the seat. The seat is tilted back “two fingers.”
The Comb My big comb-back chairs have the comb about 15” above the arm. That makes for a big and impressive chair, but you have to arrange the sticks so the sitter’s shoulders don’t feel like they are being poked by a bunch of sticks.
In this chair, the bottom of the comb is 8-3/4” above the arm’s shoe. This means the comb supports the shoulders – the sticks are taken out of the comfort equation, which means the comb must be a comfortable curve. This one is 18” long and has a 20” internal radius. The top edge of the comb tilts back to add a little comfort.
What’s Next? I’m going to move the comb down 3/4” next time. I have a hunch that will help even more. (I could be full of crap.)
This chair is currently in paint (“Twilight” in General Finishes acrylic). Megan is patching a bit of blow-out on the arm (the bit of white in the photo). This chair, while experimental, is good enough to sell. I’ll post it for sale on the blog in the next week or so. It is made of elm with ash sticks. The chair will be $1,500 (which will include shipping). We’ll sell it via a random drawing.
Work on my next book, “The American Peasant,” has slowed my chairmaking a bit, but it hasn’t stopped me. I have six more chairs in the works right now.
Today I am offering this low-slung comb-back in ash. This chair is completely set up for lounging, and is about as comfortable a comb-back as I can make. The seat is low-slung – 15-3/4” off the ground, like old stick chairs. The seat tilts 5° back and the back tilts 17°. This chair is designed for long and comfortable sits.
The sticks are shaved and left faceted. And the short sticks were left slightly proud off the saw and then burnished to give the feel of the older chairs.
Like all my chairs, this one is assembled with animal glue, which is reversible should it ever need repairs. The finish is soft wax, which does not provide much protection but is easily repaired and develops age quickly.
I am selling this chair via a random drawing for $1,800. That price includes shipping the chair anywhere in the lower 48 states of the U.S.
Purchasing the Chair
If you wish to buy the chair, send an email to lapdrawing@lostartpress.com before 3 p.m. (Eastern) on Friday, Jan. 12. Please use the subject line: “Ash Chair.” In the email please include your:
U.S. shipping address
Daytime phone number (this is for the trucking quote only)
We will pick a name via a random drawing. If you are the “winner,” the chair can be picked up at our storefront for free. Or we will crate it and ship it to your door. (I’m sorry but the chair cannot be shipped outside the U.S.)
All my books sold through Lost Art Press will be signed by me.
All my books that you buy through Lost Art Press will be signed by me through 2024.
It takes a few hours of my time each week, but we are thrilled we can offer this small personal touch now that we have our fulfillment center up and running in Covington, Kentucky.
We also will offer the PG-13 “Sharpen This” sticker when you buy “Sharpen This.” (Our bestselling product of 2023.
This personal-touch stuff is what we have always wanted to offer our customers, but we were hobbled by our efficient but inflexible fulfillment center in Indianapolis.
More personal stuff on the way (no, you won’t be able to buy my underwear).
— Christopher Schwarz
All copies of “Sharpen This” come signed by the author and with this free sticker.
One of the more difficult bends I make. This is for a Welsh chair I measured at St Fagans.
I love using Cold-Bend Hardwood for the bent parts of my stick chairs. During the last 10 years I have basically a 0 percent failure rate with the stuff (the only failure was my fault – more on that in a bit).
When I steam-bend arms, I typically lose about one-third of my bends.
People think it’s expensive. I disagree. Each chair arm costs me about $100 in material. But there is almost no time involved in making the bends. Today I opened a new pack of Cold-Bend Hardwood, sliced it to size and bent three chair arms (by myself) in less than 45 minutes.
When I steam-bend an arm, I have to find and purchase some suitable material (that takes time). Rive it out (more time). Then slice it, steam it and bend it. And then 33.33 percent of the bends fail during the bend or during drying.
If you live in a forest and have the space and time, steam-bending is ideal. When you live in the city, have no land and every minute counts, Cold-Bend Hardwood is the way to go.
Note the holdfasts that secure the form. And the extra length sticking out the front of the bend. And the calm atmosphere….
My Tips Below
Before you even order the stuff, build your bending forms because you need to bend the stuff within a few days of its arrival. The packaging will get damaged in shipment. The plastic will get a tiny hole in it. And your stuff will dry out.
Do not let it sit around. Assume the plastic is letting out moisture.
Order stuff that is overlong by about 18” to 24”. You need the extra length to provide leverage as you make the bend. If you won’t do this, you’ll need to use a bending strap with a long handle to give you leverage.
That extra length is the difference between a cakewalk and a desperate slog.
Order stuff that is the correct thickness for your bend. You cannot joint and plane this stuff. It will explode in your machinery. You can’t rip it on the table saw (crosscuts are OK). Again, it will self-destruct.
There are only two ways to dimension the stuff when it’s wet: the band saw and abrasion. After it is dry you can machine it and shape it with hand tools. But until then: band saw and sanding only.
I fasten my bending forms to the end of my bench with holdfasts. The holdfasts pass through both the form and the benchtop. Simply clamping the form to the benchtop rarely goes well. The form comes loose during the bend.
Allow some extra length at the beginning of the bend. This extra length (cut away later) will allow you to screw a batten across the arm and remove it from the form to dry.
I had one arm crack during a bend when using Cold-Bend Hardwood. The reason was simple: I had waited too long to make the bend, and the stuff had dried out. The fresher the stuff is, the easier it is to bend. I cannot emphasize this enough.
If you are wondering how the stuff is made and how it works (it’s like magic), the company’s website has all that information. If you are wondering if other companies make the stuff, the answer is yes. There’s a place in Amish country in Ohio that makes its own, but they don’t sell to the public. They make the bends for you. I also knew a couple chairmakers in Middletown, Ohio, that made the stuff in their chair factory. They have disappeared. And there are companies in Europe that make it. Google “comp wood” or “compression hardwood” for more details.
