The Stick Chair Journal

Issue 2 now shipping! While supplies last, you can purchase a bundle of issues Nos. 1 & 2 at a special price (see "Your Selection" above). What's a stick chair? You can learn all about them here.

The Stick Chair Journal is an annual publication that expands the universe of all things stick chair. More history. More plans. More techniques. Plus reviews of tools. The Journal is a supplement to the content of "The Stick Chair Book" (which is free to download).

Each issue of the Journal contains a complete plan for a stick chair. And if you purchase The Stick Chair Journal directly from us, you will also receive the pdf of the journal and a pdf of the full-size patterns for the chair in the issue.

The Stick Chair Journal has no advertising and is printed using the same high-quality specifications we use for books. That means the pages are folded into signatures and sewn together. Then we wrap the pages with #100 Mohawk card stock, which is stamped with the cover image.

It’s excessive to make a journal this way, but we want it to last for several lifetimes. 

About Issue No. 2

Not One Chair, But 1,000: Some chairmakers become obsessed with perfecting one form of chair. That’s fine. But stick chairs ask something different from their makers.

‘Preflight’ Avoids Assembly Disasters: The most common problem stick chair makers face is with cracked arms. These simple techniques reduce the chance of a cracked arm to almost zero.

Gareth Irwin, Chairmaker in the Forest: We visit the Wales shop of Gareth Irwin, who builds his chairs entirely by hand. With lots of inspiring photos.

The Tyranny of Tables: The seats of modern chairs are too high (18”) for short sitters. Why don’t we lower the standard seat height of chairs? Simple answer: The dang tables we dine at. We offer a solution.

Stick Chairs in the Wylde: A detailed photographic look at a selection of antique stick chairs from Tim and Betsan Bowen, antique dealers in Ferryside, Wales.

John Brown’s Cardigan Chair: To our surprise, we now own the first chair that John Brown built in the United States. This article is a close examination of the Cardigan chair, both its virtues and faults.

Hobbit-y Armchair: This chair is inspired by a prop from “The Fellowship of the Ring.” It combines elements of British and Germanic elements into a chair (actually, a backstool. Kinda?) that is perfect for the hearth and telling tall tales.

Control the D#^& Tenon Cutter: If you struggle with the Veritas Power Tenon Cutter, this article will set you (and your tenons) straight. 

Important note: We have printed 2,000 copies of issue No. 2 of the Journal. Once that press run has been exhausted, we will not reprint this issue.

You can read about the contents of Issue No. 1 here.