Woodworker's Central Woodworker's Gazette Gazette Archive 1/15/01

A video review: By Judy Bradley Title: Peeling & Weaving Hickory Bark Chair Seats Author: Owen Rein 67 minutes, $30 Rein breaks the process down into understandable steps. First, he tells how to pick the right tree, set it up for work and demonstrates the use of a drawknife to remove the outer rough bark. He shows tricks born of experience for determining the proper thickness of the inner bark before scoring it into strips for weaving. Now he begins the process of attaching the warp to the chair. At this point I have a question. He did not explain that he was weaving the bark weavers as they come off the log with the outer side up. This is important because as drying occurs there is a slight curl of the edges. These edges would be uncomfortable to sit on if the underside of the weavers faced up. Rein explains the importance of the different tensions for warping and weaving. His explanation for weaving a 2-twill herringbone pattern was good and I liked the way he used a cartoon to show the weaver's knot and also demonstrated this knot several times. Using the video, I believe a motivated novice could prepare the bark and weave a rustic hickory bark chair seat. In the spring I certainly plan to look for a nice straight, tall, hickory tree in our woods and put some new seats on a couple of old chairs. Judy Bradley Basket Weaver Red Barn Gallery Editor's Note: You can order the video via this website.