Lost Art Press

I Don’t Need Another Chair, But this is a Douro

Posted on by Lost Art Press

10-Douro-Chair-with-Case-by-Allen(1)

Here’s one of my shameful secrets. When I finish writing a book, I buy something for myself. It can be big or it can be small.

When I finished “Workbenches: From Design & Theory to Construction & Use,” I bought a beat-up 1968 Karmann-Ghia to restore. When I finished “The Anarchist’s Tool Chest,” I bought a pair of canoe moccasins from Arrow Moccasin Co. (my favorite shoes ever).

When I finished “Campaign Furniture,” I purchased a piece of campaign furniture.

douro_10Last fall when I visited Christopher Clarke Antiques for research, they had a Douro chair there that I fell for. The Douro chair is an amazingly comfortable chair that folds into a box. The box converts into a table thanks to four turned legs. I really wanted to own an original because I want to make a copy to take on the road.

The chair arrives this coming week, and I am greatly looking forward to geeking out over its details, from the iron-lined box to the caned back. Building a reproduction of the chair will let me try caning and do some more leatherwork, which is fun.

So if you’ve bought a book from Lost Art Press in the last few years, thanks for your help with buying this Douro.

— Christopher Schwarz

P.S. We are still waiting to hear a shipping date on “Campaign Furniture” from our printer. My guess: March 7.

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18 thoughts on “I Don’t Need Another Chair, But this is a Douro”

  3. You shouldn’t need an excuse for something that nice! How has the VW resto gone?
    Cheers,
    Burbidge.

    1. I finished restoring the body and engine to factory condition. Then I sold it to another woodworker (in Texas) so I could focus all my energy on Lost Art Press. I dearly love air-cooled vehicles, but I need another lifetime to devote to them.

      1. I had a similar thing last year with a Mini Moke – time and responsibilities (sans publishing house, in my case)!

  4. Think of it as a reward for a job well done. Each time I finish a major project, I buy a handtool of exceptional quality. It’s the carrot at the end of the exceptionally long stick. Reading about your love/hate/acceptance relationship with the “roubo” book, I am curious what reward you had in mind to push you through the hardest part of the project (that moment when you need to keep going but really, really want to chuck it all). FYI, Roubo Dlx was my reward for a houseful of cabinetry.

    1. I hate to say it, but there was no “crisis moment” with “Campaign Furniture,” other than worrying about getting images of historical pieces. I am happy with the result, which leaves me oddly discomfited.

  5. If the book ships from the printer on the 7th, should we expect to see it on the webpage at that time, or will it take some time to arrive at the shipping company and then be inducted into inventory?

    1. Jim,

      The book will be available for purchase (with free domestic shipping) on the day it arrives in our Indianapolis warehouse. If it ships on March 7 (my guess) it will arrive in the warehouse on March 10.

  11. Chris,
    A camp table has long been on my build list. However, I’m not a fan of folding legs and would like to have screw in legs like the ones used in your Douro chair’s box. Another great example is visible here: http://www.campaignfurniture.com/photos/watermarks/80964_4.jpg. Unfortunately I’ve struck out on a resource for the screw-in leg hardware so far. I could always go with hanger bolts or clinch nut plates, but they just don’t seem like they’d be as durable as the ones pictured on Christopher Clark’s site.
    Looking forward to reading the new book!
    -Seth

    1. You can make your own wooden threaded hardware with a screwbox and tap. That’s what I did to make the feet for the teak campaign chest in the book. T-nuts and the like will work, too.

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