Just a heads up that you have only until this Friday – Sept. 25, 2026 – to get Christopher Schwarz’s revised “Build a Stick Chair Video” for the introductory price of $37.50 (50-percent off). The price then goes up to $79.
In this video, Chris teaches you to build using common woodworking tools and machines, plus kiln-dried wood from the lumberyard. This video, which clocks in at more than four hours long, has 18 separate chapters that cover all aspects of stick chair construction, from selecting the lumber to applying the finish.
Purchasers will also receive a digital file with full-size patterns for the chair shown in the video, which can be printed out at any reprographics firm or office supply store. Plus, notes on the sizes of the chair parts and sources for tools used in the video. (This chair is a new design, not one found in “The Stick Chair Book.”)
This, and all of our videos, can be watched one of two ways. You can stream it (after logging into your account here at Lost Art Press). Or you can download the video and put it on any device. The video is offered without DRM (digital rights management), so the files will be easily moved to any of your devices, now and in the future.
Making the side-hung drawers is a fun challenge. I don’t do it often enough to have a systematic step-by-step approach; I’ve done it this way and that over the years. First off, the stock I use for the drawers is all radially riven and planed well ahead of time so it’s nice and dry. The drawer sides in particular need to be good, clear stock.
After assembling the case, I take some final passes with a sharp plane to size the drawer fronts to their openings. Three of the drawers have applied mouldings and turnings decorating the fronts. This work can be done once the drawers are assembled. The second drawer has a carved front, and I do that work before assembly. I’ll address the carving separately.
Let’s look at the drawer construction. It might confound some modern sensibilities. Three of the drawers use half-blind dovetails to join the drawer sides to the fronts.
Plow the groove in the drawer side before cutting the tails.
The backs of the drawers are not dovetailed; they’ve got rabbet joints and nails to attach to the ends of the drawer sides – except for the deepest drawer, which has through-dovetails front and back. You could give yourself a headache trying to understand why this particular mix of techniques appears on this cupboard. I don’t even bother. Some of the related cupboards used dovetails in the drawer fronts; most just used nailed rabbets. Which gives you plenty of leeway.
The deep drawer (7-1/4″) has two tails on the drawer sides; the others have only one. The only difference between them, as I noted, is that the large drawer has through-dovetails and the shallower drawers have half-blind joints. I plow the groove in the drawer sides before laying out the dovetails. Then, when I lay out the tails, I arrange them so the groove runs through one. The groove placement needs to agree with the notches in the stiles for the drawer runners. As discussed in the section on framing the lower case, you can make the notches in the frame first or the groove in the drawer sides first. Doesn’t matter. But make them agree – that’s critical. So much has been written about dovetails that I don’t want to add my two cents’ worth. The photos and captions cover what I know.
Assembling the drawer is simple enough. The rabbets are just nailed; out of habit I glued the dovetails in addition to nailing them. I’ve seen some period dovetailed drawers without nails; thus glue is implied. Make sure the nail heads don’t protrude from the drawer side as this could interfere with the drawer’s fit. I often hollow an area with a gouge to sink the nail head in. Nail the joint through the drawer back into the ends of the drawer sides, again with reamed pilot holes. After assembling the drawer, make two saw cuts to open up the groove through the drawer’s ends. Then knock out the waste with a chisel and mallet. It doesn’t have to be your neatest work; it just has to allow the drawer to slide along the runner.
Drawer Bottoms Seventeenth-century drawer bottoms appear in several configurations. Hardwood, softwood, riven, sawn – I’ve seen them all. Some run lengthwise, some front to back. I like to make drawer bottoms from white pine boards running front to back. This can be a good use for short bits of wood. In this particular case, though, they are all riven oak, a bit less than 1/2″ thick. The log I had on hand yielded boards 6″ to 9″ wide, so there are about five or six boards per drawer. They butt up against each other with the same V-shaped joint used in the cupboard’s floorboards and soffit.
Pilot holes are a must. Be careful nailing into the front rabbet; a bit of an angle helps prevent blowout.
My drawer bottoms are finished on one face and rough-planed to thickness. I start each drawer by installing the outer boards at each end. These need one edge and the front end square. The inner edge doesn’t need to be parallel to the outer edge. Then flip the drawer upside down on the bench, lay the bottom in place in the rabbet and flush with the drawer side. Then, scribe the bit hanging over past the drawer’s back to get its finished length. Trim that length and joint the second edge. The same steps for making the V-groove in the soffit and floorboards apply here. Nail the drawer bottoms up to the drawer sides and back, and into a rabbet in the drawer front. The drawers use up a lot of nails, depending on how many boards make up the bottoms.
Get your signed copies at Handworks! (And yes, that is milk paint on our office copy of “Make Fresh Milk Paint.”)
We have all the Lost Art Press books, Crucible tools (including 150 of our new lump hammers!) and apparel ready to ship out to Handworks in Amana, Iowa for the Sept. 4-5 show, and we’re hauling ourselves out there on Sept. 3. The show runs from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and features 80 hand tool demonstrators and vendors – the largest Handworks yet! (You’ll find us in the Festhalle Barn.)
And make sure you’re in the Festhalle Barn at 10 a.m. on Saturday for Christopher Schwarz and Mike Siemsen’s presentation! Chris won’t let me reveal his topic … but it will make you both laugh and cry. And while I don’t know what Mike is planning, I have no doubt it will make you laugh; he’s hilarious.
We’ll have signed copies of Christopher’s many LAP books and my one LAP book available, and we are happy to personalize them upon request. We’ll be in our booth for pretty much for the entire show – barring bathroom breaks – so come on by whenever if you want to say hey to us. We also have two other LAP authors scheduled for book signings. Mike Pekovich, author of “Benchwork,” will be at the LAP booth from noon-1 p.m. both days to sign copies of his latest book. Nick Kroll, author of “Make Fresh Milk Paint,” will be demonstrating fresh milk paint and signing his book from 2-3 p.m. both days.
Don Weber (middle, in the hat) teaching a low-back Welsh chair green chairmaking class at Country Workshops with Drew Langsner (to the left of Don, with the camera) in attendance.
This is the final post in a three-post series featuring images from a carousel of Don Weber’s slides, which he found while working with us on a profile for The Stick Chair Journal No. 4. This post features images of chairs and a wonderful series of photos from a Country Workshops chairmaking class, taught by Don Weber with Drew Langsner in attendance. Some have captions from Don (in quotes), some have captions from us, many have no captions at all.
Enjoy!
“Tulip-backed Windsor”
“A close look at a Jacobean table leg”
“Frame & panel chair and Brewster chair”
“Brewster chair, Plymouth”
“Brewster chair, Plymouth”
“Turned elements of Brewster chair”
“Turned elements of Brewster chair”
“Brewster chair”
“Back rail and through-mortised with peg”
“Child’s highchair”
This photo and the following photos are from a low-back Welsh chair green chairmaking class Don Weber taught at Country Workshops, with Drew Langsner in attendance.
