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Today I got smart and worked on this dugout chair before I took a shower – genius. Also, I found an easier way to remove the inner bark – with a chisel.

Last night after dinner I went out to look at what one blog commenter has called “about the ugliest thing in woodworking history” and decided to see how easy it would be to chisel the inner bark away from the heartwood.

Some of the inner bark I removed with a chisel.

After all, the traditional way of stripping bark is with a “bark spud,” a giant chisel-like tool. Also, I wasn’t too crazy about grinding up the inner bark as it is home to a lot of friendly bugs that have been watching my progress each day (Bug Lives Matter). A chisel, mallet and some carving skills made short work of the thick inner bark, and it peeled off in satisfying chunks. I threw these in the yard so the bugs could continue to eat their homes.

This morning I finished the job with the TurboPlane and it was remarkably quick work with the inner bark removed, which was 1” thick in places.

I’m moving onto making the seat now and will spare you daily updates. If you are interested in seeing this chair in person, we’ll have it at the open day at my shop between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. on Oct. 14, 2017. The shop address is 837 Willard St. Covington, Ky., 41011.

— Christopher Schwarz

Oh, and this last shot is for Brendan Gaffney, who is the spokesman for the National Society of Stickering Your Work.


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Showing 3 comments
  • Brendan Gaffney

    I believe the club I’m founding will be called “Sticklers for Stickering.”

  • tjhenrik

    You sure this will fit in the bathroom?

  • Thomas

    Finally starting to look like a throne. We expect no less!!
    BTW, are you going to fully debug the throne before you bring it in the house?
    Can’t wait for the dugout canoe….

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