Carving the Perch Seat (video)

Whenever a student leaves my shop and heads home to build another chair, almost invariably, the first thing they do is carve a seat. Seat carving holds a magical draw. Perhaps its because it is so rare that a modern woodworker gets to step so deeply into the organic world of shaping wood. It's kind of odd when you think about it. Wood is an easily shaped material that is happy to take on just about any form, yet we spend most of our time trying to get it "in line".

The perch seat is small enough that just about any solid wood that one is willing to carve will do the job, but for reasons that I think become clear in the video, I chose white pine for my seat. I hope the video demonstrates the ease and fun to be had in making the seat and invite any questions that it may arouse.



On a technical note, I've had comments from some folks that the volume is too low on the video. I haven't found any way on my end to boost it any higher but have found a volume adjustment on the bottom of the video box. Just click on the speaker icon and turn it up. I've also found that going directly to Youtube.com and using the "view in high quality" option at the bottom of the video box is worth the effort. Try this link to get there.
To see all my videos just search my name and then click on it in the line beneath the title of any video that comes up .