In this short pocketbook, Schwarz brings his characteristically irreverent outlook to chairmaking, taking a subject often seen as intimidating and reducing it to its fundamentals.

Whether you’ve never built a chair before or you’re a seasoned woodworker seeking to simplify your craft, it is a uniquely approachable strategy, using readily available materials, a few basic tools, and a method that makes drilling the holes for chair legs and spindles far less complicated.

An adaptation of a traditional stick chair with straighter, simpler lines, the chair is made entirely from materials found at your local home center: shovel handles and stair handrails for legs, a seat and headrest made from construction lumber, dowels used as spindles, and curved arms cut from plywood.

The only tools needed are a jigsaw or bandsaw, a cordless drill, a block plane, drill bits and other basic shop gear.

The techniques described are easily adapted, not just for other chair styles but also for other workshop projects.

A bonus section at the end shows how to turn leftover scraps into a sturdy three-legged stool.

• Hardcover,
• 4 1/4" × 6 3/4",
• 107 pages,
• 2025.