I tried to finish the seat of the dugout chair today in preparation for our open day tomorrow (10 a.m. to 5 p.m. – lots to do and see). But I was only able to squeeze in about 30 minutes of work as I was dealing with heavy construction out back with the Lost Art Press Horse Garage.
In any case, I’m trying not to make this seat too refined or precious. I want it to match the ruggedness of the chair. But I don’t want it to look sloppy. So I’m shooting for “done quickly and with purpose.”
This seat is made from the last significant chunk of Eastern white pine from Midwest Woodworking I own. I’m going to miss this stuff.
I don’t wear cologne (heck, I barely wear deodorant). But if someone could make a cologne that smells like Eastern white pine when it’s being cut, I would actually wear that scent. Of course, the scent would only really attract beavers and some bark-eating grubs. But oh well.
— Christopher Schwarz, editor, Lost Art Press
Personal site: christophermschwarz.com
The shaping of that seat is awe inspiring.
Ahhh, now I can see what you were scribing with those French curves. Very cool! You may need to drink meade in that chair. Beer may be too modern.
Can’t get Eastern White Pine down there? Or was this particular log just clear and ideal?
“But if someone could make a cologne that smells like Eastern white pine when it’s being cut, I would actually wear that scent. ”
Perhaps a bit of turpentine behind each ear or a dab of pine tar on each elbow?
Who wouldn’t want to attract a bit of beaver?
I was thinking the same thing…(looking for a eastern white pine tree tomorrow to find out if Chris is right).
You do know we get desensitized to our own scent. Now, if you gave it to people around you? But then I don’t think they’ll appreciate as much as you.
I’ve heard Pino Silvestre cologne is pure pine, but I don’t know anything else about it.
If you’re serious, try “Herbissimo Mountain Juniper” available online. It is a nice cologne. Otherwise there’s always Pine Tar Soap (a favorite in Estonia) which makes you smell like a nice fire for half a day. Or a dab of Birch Tar Oil someplace.
Correction: It would attract beavers, some bark-eating grubs, and Nick Offerman.
In my part of the Adirondacks, beaver never chew on white pine
It is remarkable how pleasant some wood scents are when being cut and worked, and some are downright disgusting. Professional laboratory scentmakers use surprising materials in their work, some of them entirely unlike the final result. No doubt they could make that cologne for you – for a few tens of thousands of dollars.
You should try the needles. Foot thick on the ground under the trees, summer warm in July, Nothing like it. I don’t miss much about Upstate NY but I do miss that. Also the cider donuts at Lakeside Farm in the fall.
Do you get a concentrated wiff of it when you open your ATC? I know for me, that is a special sensations when I open my tool containers, I catch the scent of those experiences. It’s likely also a Pavlovian response to whet my appetite to use tools.