The Stick Chair Book, Christopher Schwarz (book), 1st Edition

The Stick Chair Book by Christopher Schwarz, Lost Art Press, first edition. After 20 years of building vernacular stick chairs and studying historical examples in the U.K., Europe and North America, Christopher Schwarz shows how anyone can design and build these chairs without a lot of gear.

You don't need a shavehorse, drawknife, steambox, green wood, lathe, froe, beetle, cant hook, axe or even a passing knowledge of geometry. Most of the work is done with saws (a band saw speeds things up), a drill or brace, a jack plane and maybe a couple of specialty tools if you want to saddle the seat. You can use any kind of wood, even stuff from the home centre.

You don't have to be a highly skilled woodworker to make a chair. Everyday woodworkers, such as farmers, amateurs and people in other trades, made wonderful chairs with common tools and whatever wood was available: dry, wet, soft, hard or branches plucked from a tree. The book explores the craft of the "hedge carpenters" who built chairs for the everyday home, chairs designed to be comfortable, stout and nice to look at.

It is divided into three sections. The first, "Thinking About Chairs", introduces stick chairs and the tools and wood to build them. The second, "Chairmaking Techniques", covers every process, from cutting stout legs and making curved arms from straight wood to carving the seat. It includes 14 seat shapes, 16 leg forms that can be made with a couple of handplanes, 11 arm shapes, six arm-joinery options, 14 hand shapes, seven stretcher shapes and 11 combs.

The final section offers detailed plans for five stick chairs, from a basic Irish armchair to a dramatic Scottish comb-back. These five designs are a great jumping-off point for designing your own. Additional chapters cover chair comfort, finishing and sharpening the tools.