The underside of Chris’s two most recent arm bows.
It’s no secret that ensuring a tight joint between arm and mid-arm can be a challenge. We know this first hand and because readers have reached out in the past asking for advice on the matter. Well readers, wait no longer – Chris has spilled the beans on his method!
We recently created a video highlighting Chris’s match planing method, the technique he uses on all his arm bows. In the video, Chris welcomes all skill levels as he breaks down this approachable technique step-by-step. You can catch the how-to video below and on Youtube.
Enjoying this technique and video content? Take your skills even further and learn how to build a stick chair with Chris in this 18-part video series: Build A Stick Chair. Chris takes you along with him as he builds a chair design not found in ‘The Stick Chair Book’. From selecting lumber to applying wax, each step is explained and demonstrated with the beginner woodworker in mind.
Click here to buy and own the entire video series.
Chris’s photo from his current class in Munich, Germany.
I woke to a text this morning from Chris: “Found this tip for making our carving vises lower.” (See above.)
“Put the base on the underside. Works great. Might be helpful for you.”
Even though he’s off teaching in Germany, he’s still looking for ways to improve our shop here in Covington.
It’s no secret that I’m the most vertically challenged person in the shop (with Megan just a few inches taller). Megan’s two benches are 30″ high; the other six are 33″ and 34″ – and because I want the larger surface and good window light of the Holtzapffel (34″ high), this forces me to finagle myself into some awkward positions when performing certain tasks.
When building my first chair with Chris, I had block planed only half of my first long stick against Chris’s carver’s vise before my shoulder nearly gave out. Chris quickly corrected this by bringing the low Roman bench into the shop from the back room. Using my body weight, I propped the long stick against the Hulot block with my chest to plane. Instant relief.
So needless to say, I was elated to wake up to this little spark of ergonomic hope from Chris. I was eager to give it a go.
I mounted the carver’s vise to my bench. First with the base on top, in its typical location. Then with the base underneath. I measured the height of the base beforehand out of curiosity. 1-3/8″. Could it really make that big a difference?
Block planing a short stick with the vise base in its usual location on top of the bench.
Block planing the same stick against the vise, this time with the base located underneath the bench.
Now the difference in the photos may not look dramatic to you, but I truly could feel a difference. The ability to lower my hands nearly 2″ allowed my shoulders to relax. This immediately relieved tension and allowed my arm muscles do most of the work.
I also noticed the stick’s placement against my body. With the base located underneath the bench, the stick was able to sit lower on my chest, nearly against my belly. Lowering the stick’s gravity and having the stick land in an area that has more cushion than my sternum was more comfortable overall.
I know what you’re thinking and sure, this trick may not be the be-all and end-all solution to short-person-on-tall-bench carver’s vise issues. But I think this is a great start. My shoulders will be thanking me for this technique after planing seven long sticks.
Note the vise handle on the right making contact with the bench.
There is one problem with this arrangement, however. Because the vise is flush with the benchtop, the handle used to tighten the jaws bumps into the bench. You have to have the handle hanging fully off the edge, which limits the vise position.
All in all, though, I’m pleased with this simple modification. I plan to keep my vise in this position while working to continue feeling it out and work out any kinks along the way. What do my fellow shorties think?
Chair nerds unite! A class picture from LAP’s most recent Chairmaker’s Toolbox class.
Applications are now open for this year’s full-scholarship class here at Lost Art Press. Six spots are available for six aspiring chairmakers to build a comb-back stick chair in beautiful Covington, Kentucky. The class will be held Sept. 16-20, 2024.
If you aren’t familiar, The Chairmaker’s Toolbox is an organization founded by fellow under-represented chair nerds for under-represented chair nerds. The Chairmaker’s Toolbox aim is to provide access and equity in the field of chairmaking.
No pyramid scheme here. Just some chair nerds having fun.
Are you an aspiring chairmaker who has been historically excluded from the trade? This is your class. We encourage you to apply for the chance to work alongside like-minded individuals who share a love for all things chair.
Thankfully, things have calmed around here since the madness of last week’s multi-day move of inventory from storage to Anthe. With all books now on site we’ve been able to focus our energy towards the vision for Anthe (as well as packing and shipping orders, of course). Gabe, Mark and I began our day with scrapers and wire brushes, removing layer after layer of loose paint from the bricks in the front room so that we can paint what will eventually become a retail space for LAP. This project has a long way to go, but with the front room of Anthe facing a main avenue here in Covington, this space has potential.
Lee John Phillips, an illustrator from Pembrokeshire, West Wales, is no stranger to Lost Art Press. A while back, Chris Schwarz commissioned Lee for the “Family Tree of Chairs” that was on the end sheets of “The Stick Chair Book” and a poster. As much as we love Lee’s work for “The Stick Chair Book,” this post isn’t about that — for years Lee has been illustrating all the items, more than 8,500 to be exact, from his late grandfather’s tool shed, which his grandmother has kept in pristine condition.
“The Shed Project,” as Lee calls it, has been in the works for more than 10 years. Lee guesses there are more than 100,000 items in his grandfather’s shed and he’s visually recording every one of them. In the “Toolshed Coloring Book,” Lee shares just a fraction of the meticulously drawn visual studies from this project. (The book was published in 2016 – I don’t know how we only recently found out about it!). You can read more about “The Shed Project” on Lee’s website, from the humble beginnings of the project in 2014 to the rules he’s set for himself along this journey, to where he is now.
You may recognize Lee’s work if you’ve ever picked up a copy of “The Stick Chair Book” by Christopher Schwarz. We commissioned Lee for the end sheets and “Family Tree of Chairs” poster.
“Toolshed” is technically a coloring book – however, I’m so enthralled by Lee’s line work I’m afraid I’d do a disservice to his illustrations with my feral coloring. Each page is deliberately designed to stand alone for one’s viewing pleasure or to keep intact as a sort of coloring sketchbook. We’ve long been a fan of Lee’s work and love supporting artists of all sorts, and hope you do too. Color a page (or don’t) and pin it up in your workshop for wall decor, give the book and a pack of crayons to your grandchildren for them to explore and ask “what’s this?” a million times, or keep it on your coffee table as a conversation piece to share the story of Lee’s project.
