After learning the epoxy has enough gap-filling properties to make a great edge joint with “factory” edges, we decided to see if Elmer’s Glue Max could also do the trick. James Wright of Wood by Wright has been testing glues for years and has some nice things to say about the Elmer’s Glue Max.
Spoiler alert: It works great.
We don’t use Elmer’s much, so this is good information to know. And if you are a beginning woodworker who doesn’t have the tools to make flawless edge joints, this glue can take away some of the worry.
Bridgid Gruber (and Kale) are your guides through the “bulls%$t.”
We have just launched a free 12-part video series that accompanies the new book “Build a Chair from Bulls%$t” and walks you through the chairmaking project.
Filmed by Bridgid Gruber (of Dinkle’s Woodshop) and apprentice Kale Vogt, the video walks you through every single stage of the process, from collecting the materials at the home center to painting the assembled chair.
Bridgid and Kale also bring their own perspective and humor to the project. They filmed the whole thing with complete creative freedom. And they spent months editing the video, adding graphics and generally making the video fun to watch.
We’re offering this video for free forever to help make chairmaking more accessible. In addition to the free video (it starts here), you can download a pdf of the book for free here and download free full-size patterns for the chair here.
And the book itself is only $21 (but is still made in the USA to our rigorous library-grade specifications).
This project – which we lovingly call the “BS Chair” – is made from home center materials and built with home center tools. Anyone can do it. Wanna see proof? Watch Kale and Bridgid make the journey for the first time in this great video:
In the next few days, we’ll release the free video series on “Build a Chair from Bulls%$t,” which will help make chairmaking accessible for more people. The chair (and stool) in the book are built using only home center materials and tools.
After finishing up the book and videos, my brain did not get the memo that the project was complete. One night this week, my brain came up with a way to glue up boards of construction lumber to make the seat without a good edge joint.
So we filmed this video where I join two factory edges from construction lumber with home center epoxy. Epoxy fills gaps. Does it work? Yes. Surprisingly well.
My brain is slow, but sometimes it does OK work. Check out the video for details
A special book at a great price – only until June 13.
With more than 16,000 new books headed our way during the next month, we are making space at our Covington warehouse to keep us from storing books in our cars and under our beds.
So for the next 30 days we are offering “James Krenov: Leave Fingerprints” by Brendan Gaffney at a significant savings – $29, down from $49. This book is simply the best woodworking biography I’ve ever read.
Brendan spent years piecing together the story of Krenov’s movie-ready life, from the wilds of Russia, to halfway around the world in Sweden to Mendocino, California. That’s where Krenov founded the famous woodworking school that bears his name.
Before becoming a woodworker, Krenov’s life was spent doing everything from working in a factory to writing a travel guide. He picked up the tools later in life and quickly became one of the most skilled and thoughtful craftsmen alive.
His first three books inspired many of the woodworkers of the late 20th century to pick up the tools and work to a very high level. Krenov changed the trajectory of the craft for the better.
But his life could be a struggle at times, even when he was the driving force behind the College of the Redwoods (now the Krenov School of Fine Furniture). Gaffney, a graduate of the school, paints a balanced and nuanced view of Krenov. And he tells the story with hundreds of archival photos, maps and documents.
This is an excellent price on an outstanding book.
I just finished up a stick chair inspired by old Welsh ones I study. This chair’s stretchers are particularly low and oval in cross section. The armbow is rounded throughout (using spokeshaves) and features elliptical coves on the ends of its shoe. Plus the stick arrangement is quite Welsh, with negative space between the short sticks and the long ones.
The chair is suited for lounging, with a slouchy 22° lean to the back sticks and a seat that’s tilted an additional 5° back. The comb is positioned just 10-3/4” above the arm to support the sitter’s shoulders as they lean into the back.
The chair’s seat and arm are red elm, which resists splitting, with the rest of the chair in straight-grained red oak, which is flexible and strong. All the joints are assembled with hide glue, which we make here, and are wedged for durability.
Slightly proud and burnished tenons.
The chair is finished with a soft wax (also made here). It offers a low luster and looks better the more you use the chair. The finish isn’t terribly durable, but it is easily repaired (just add more soft wax). The front legs have painted “socks” on the feet. This is a traditional touch that protects the feet from scuffs and knocks (and looks good).
Compact and comfortable.
How to Buy the Chair
The chair is $1,700. That price includes shipping and crating to anywhere in the lower 48. If you wish to buy the chair, send an email to lapdrawing@lostartpress.com before 3 p.m. (Eastern) on Friday, May 16. Please use the subject line: “Elm chair.” In the email please include your:
U.S. shipping address
Daytime phone number (this is for the trucking quote only)
If you are the “winner,” the chair will be shipped to your door. The price includes the crate and all shipping charges. Alternatively, the chair can be picked up at our storefront. (I’m sorry but the chair cannot be shipped outside the U.S.)
My chairmaking efforts have been slowed this year by writing projects (“Build a Chair from Bulls%$t” and the revised edition of “The Anarchist’s Tool Chest”). But coming up I have a low Irish chair and a new chair design that is struggling to be born.
