A Mind Like a Limp Balloon

I strive to read every dang word I can about the craft (except the spiritual or “sawdust therapy” hoo-hah), but I’m here to tell you that nothing is a better teacher than working in the shop with a fellow woodworker.

From 1996 to 2010, I got to do this almost every month while I was a magazine editor. I learned how Troy Sexton, Glen Huey, Frank Klausz and a dozen other authors made joints, furniture and a living working wood.

I took notes. After working with Troy Sexton for a year, I came home one Friday, chugged a beer and ordered my first hollow-chisel mortiser. It was a huge step forward for me (and a huge expense at my salary). But it paid off. Instantly, I could make Morris chairs in days instead of weeks.

This week I’m in North Carolina working with Elia Bizzarri on the photos for his first book. It’s titled “Built for Speed” at this point, but that might change. It’s about 18th-century Windsor chairmaking at the get-it-done-yesterday commercial level. And more than once, Elia and I have had this conversation:

Me: “Wow, this technique is so much more advanced that what I do with stick chairs.”

Elia: “Wow, I had to struggle to make this joint/surface/assembly as roughly as this.”

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not ashamed of how I build chairs. But I am amazed (always) at how much there is to learn from others. Here’s a short list of things that Elia does that blew my mind (which is where the headline of this entry comes from – a limp balloon is easy to blow…).