Drawing on years of experience studying and building vernacular chairs, Lost Art Press co-founder Christopher Schwarz shows you how to build simple stick chairs from almost any wood species, using mostly common woodworking tools.

He covers the basics of wood strength and moisture content and explains how to select stock and process it for typical chair part sizes. Following an overview of the tools used in chairmaking, he describes techniques for constructing each chair component, showing various ways to shape the seat, arms, legs, stretchers and combs for customizing chair designs. Schwarz also offers tips on joinery options and assembly, as well as advice for tackling problems such as wood splits.

Detailed plans for five stick-chair designs include a simple Irish-style armchair and a curved-back armchair, a lowback stick chair, a six-stick comb-back chair and a comb-back with bent armbow. Additional material contains tips on sharpening chairmaking tools, recipes for finishes and a Q&A of commonly asked questions about chairmaking.

Supplemented with dozens of color photos, line drawings and illustrations, this engaging guide is an invaluable resource for newcomers to the craft or for more experienced woodworkers who want to explore chairmaking.