Boggs Bench

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Boggs Bench A look into the Brian Boggs Chairmakers workshop
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From Tree to Chair: The Story of Hickory BarkFor many years, hickory bark seating was an important part of Brian’s chair...
10/20/2026

From Tree to Chair: The Story of Hickory Bark
For many years, hickory bark seating was an important part of Brian’s chairmaking. He began harvesting and processing the bark by hand, eventually incorporating machinery into the work, including a machine he designed and built himself.
We’ve just shared a video from his teaching archives, originally produced by Lie-Nielsen Toolworks, that follows the process from harvesting bark in the forest to weaving a finished chair seat.
It’s a companion to his recent essay, How Far a Chair Travels.
Read the introduction and watch the full video on Brian’s Substack. Link in bio.
Craftsmanship TraditionalCraft

07/14/2026

A spokeshave with adjusters sticking into your palm can’t be trusted to move the way your hand does.
I designed this one with a clean surface, front and back, so I can flip it, turn it, pull it out of the horse for a closer look, any way the work asks for, without anything in the way.
Balance holds no matter how I hold it. That’s the whole point. A tool that’s always ready doesn’t chatter, and it doesn’t make me work to keep it clean.
Last week’s Substack essay, Worthless Paper, tells the fuller story of why I designed the Lie-Nielsen Boggs Spokeshave this way. Link in bio.
HandTools FineWoodworking Woodworking Craftsmanship Handmade StudioFurniture Asheville

07/02/2026

The barriers that shape us are rarely made of steel. They’re made of our own expectations.”
I was thirteen, cutting to***co, and the tool I had was destroying my wrist. So I made a better one.
That moment changed everything I believed about what I could do.
The full story — including the worst spokeshave I ever bought and the one that finally took me across a different kind of barrier — is in this week’s essay. Link in bio.

handmadetools craftsmanship boggsbench

06/26/2026

I’ve always had an appetite for tools and machines. It’s gotten me into trouble more than once.
Forty years in the shop taught me there’s a real difference between buying capability and buying hope. I didn’t always know which one I was doing.
This grinder took me about a year to decide on. How I got here — and the questions I wish I’d had at twenty — is in this week’s essay. Link in bio.

Most makers spend so much energy trying to be original that they never become receptive.This essay first appeared in 200...
06/18/2026

Most makers spend so much energy trying to be original that they never become receptive.

This essay first appeared in 2009. After another seventeen years of designing furniture and teaching others, I find my answer hasn’t changed.
Originality isn’t something we manufacture through effort. It arrives when we develop the skills, attention, and humility to attract it.
The Myth of Original Design is now on Boggs Bench Substack.
Link in bio.

06/11/2026

Most table bases are designed around what looks right. This one is designed around where your feet actually land.
In this short video, Brian uses a piece of MDF and a few borrowed shoes to show exactly why the foot of a table base needs to land where it does — and why those angled legs on the Timber Frame Table aren’t just an aesthetic decision. They’re solving a problem.
If you’ve ever felt cramped at a beautiful table, this is why.
Learn more about the geometry in the free full essay on Substack — link in bio.

06/02/2026

There’s something more important than skill in woodworking — and that’s skill in developing processes.
What I’ve done with this project is develop a way of making curves so precise we get veneer joint quality curves right off the bandsaw. Every part interchangeable. Three different radii — and they all come out reliably perfect.
Because there is no line. There’s a guide with everything.
Build it for clients if you want. No license fee. Just give credit where it’s due. Full drawings included.
8+ hours. 30 lessons. Link in bio.

05/29/2026

Most woodworkers have no idea how their bandsaw tension gauge actually works.
This one uses a bicycle brake cable. A half-inch blade needs 25,000 pounds of pressure to perform at its best. Does your saw’s frame have what it takes?
Full video on YouTube — link in bio.

05/28/2026

You’ve seen this pattern before. You probably blamed your technique.
It wasn’t your technique. It was your blade telling you something — and once you understand what it’s saying, you’ll never see a washboard cut the same way again.
Full video on YouTube. Link in bio.

Repetition isn’t always mastery. Sometimes it’s just safety. New essay up today. Link in bio. woodworking furn...
05/20/2026

Repetition isn’t always mastery. Sometimes it’s just safety. New essay up today. Link in bio.



woodworking furnituredesign furnituremaker craftsman Boggsbench

Address

2000 Riverside Drive #9
Asheville, NC
28804

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 4pm
Tuesday 9am - 4pm
Wednesday 9am - 4pm
Thursday 9am - 4pm
Friday 9am - 4pm

Telephone

+18283989701

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