When we started fundraising last year to help repair the Anthe Building (the location of our warehouse in downtown Covington), we thought that surely, we would be ready to show it to the public in early 2024.
Unfortunately, old buildings don’t care about our plans.
Right now the back wall is being rebuilt and mortared. The roof needs its new skylight. And the material lift, which moves books from floor to floor, is being repaired. As a result, all our books and tools are crowded into the first floor, plus the planned storefront and the second floor. Until we can get the material lift functioning, there is little room for employees to move.
So as soon as we get the place functioning and safe for the public, we will notify everyone who donated about the Opening Day. Right now, we are shooting – with confidence – for June.
Even though I know the building is laughing at us right now (and leaking gas, which plumbers are fixing this minute).
Great news: We are honored to welcome back Lie-Nielsen Toolworks to the Lost Art Press storefront for the first Lie-Nielsen Hand Tool Event since before the pandemic! Details on the event from Lie-Nielsen are here. (The company’s 2024 Hand Tool Event schedule is here.)
Admission is free, and there is an abundance of free street parking within walking distance of our storefront.
Lie-Nielsen will have its full line of tools on site for you to try out, and company representatives will be on hand to answer questions and demonstrate hand tool techniques. (And with a few exceptions, any Lie-Nielsen tool ordered at the event will get free shipping.)
And of course we’ll be here too, with our full line of books and tools.
Please note that the event will be held at our storefront on Willard Street – not our warehouse at the Anthe building on Madison Ave.
Whenever I teach a chair class, I build a chair along with the students. I don’t always sell my classroom-built chairs because I always push myself to try something different on the chair – something I’d be afraid to do to a chair that I am counting on to put food on the table.
During last week’s chair class I crossed over a threshold I have been approaching for a few years: changing the geometry of the comb of a comb-back to the point where it sits more like a Gibson chair.
This is the most comfortable comb-back I’ve made to date. I don’t like to name my furniture, but for now I’m calling this a “short-back chair.”
I don’t have “plans” for this chair. That’s not how I design chairs. It would take me longer to draw plans for this chair than to build another chair. But I am happy to share the essential geometry so you can graft it onto one of your designs. (This is my Southern way of saying all gentle-like: No, I’m not going to create plans. All you need is in the free book and the information below.)
Seat Height I have been gradually lowering the seat height of my chairs, as measured from the pommel to the floor. This chair is 15-1/2”. You might think that’s low. I don’t. I think tables are too high. When one of the students this week asked how low chair seats could go, I replied: “Many Morris chair seats are 12” off the floor.”
Here you can get a sense of the lean of the back.
Back & Seat Lean The back of this chair leans back 16.2° from the seat. The seat tilts 4.15° back. That’s a total lean of 20.25°. No, it doesn’t feel like a dentist’s chair. If you are using the chair plans in “The Stick Chair Book,” you achieve this 16.2° angle by positioning the front edge of the arm 1-1/4” behind the back edge of the seat. The seat is tilted back “two fingers.”
The Comb My big comb-back chairs have the comb about 15” above the arm. That makes for a big and impressive chair, but you have to arrange the sticks so the sitter’s shoulders don’t feel like they are being poked by a bunch of sticks.
In this chair, the bottom of the comb is 8-3/4” above the arm’s shoe. This means the comb supports the shoulders – the sticks are taken out of the comfort equation, which means the comb must be a comfortable curve. This one is 18” long and has a 20” internal radius. The top edge of the comb tilts back to add a little comfort.
What’s Next? I’m going to move the comb down 3/4” next time. I have a hunch that will help even more. (I could be full of crap.)
This chair is currently in paint (“Twilight” in General Finishes acrylic). Megan is patching a bit of blow-out on the arm (the bit of white in the photo). This chair, while experimental, is good enough to sell. I’ll post it for sale on the blog in the next week or so. It is made of elm with ash sticks. The chair will be $1,500 (which will include shipping). We’ll sell it via a random drawing.
When I set out to write, “The Anarchist’s Design Book,” my intent was to create a “pattern book” of vernacular furniture. The book didn’t turn out that way, which is sometimes how it goes. But during the research, Suzanne Ellison turned up a little book that fulfilled my original objective.
“A Craftsman’s Handbook: Henry Lapp” (Good Books) is a reproduction of 47 pages of a pattern book created by woodworker Henry Lapp (1862-1904). Lapp was an Amish furniture maker and hardware store owner in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.
His book is filled with more than 100 designs that he made for customers on the farms and in the towns surrounding him. Each one is drawn in pencil and then painted in watercolor.
These pieces represent an excellent cross-section of the vernacular pieces common in the Americas during the 19th and early 20th century. You could spend your whole lifetime building these pieces and pretty much find contentment (both for you and your customers).
The little book is 4-3/4” x 8” is nicely printed on uncoated paper, but it is unfortunately perfect bound. Mine fell apart shortly after it arrived. Despite this flaw, it is an excellent addition to your library if you are interested in vernacular furniture. Highly recommended.
— Christopher Schwarz
p.s. There are a couple versions of this book out there. I don’t know how the others are bound.
p.p.s. You can read more about Lapp in this post from Suzanne Ellison (aka the Saucy Indexer).
We just received our first printing of “Backwoods Chairmakers” by Andrew D. Glenn. If you placed a pre-publication order, Gabe and Mark are packing up your book now. If you would like to purchase a copy, you can visit our online store.
(If you aren’t sure if you ordered the book, log into your account in our store to see what you have ordered recently.)
Today, Megan and I made this short video tour of the book and discussed what we like about this title. Check it out below if you like.
