Lost Art Press

Author: Lost Art Press

Publisher of woodworking books and videos specializing in hand tool techniques.

John Brown Week: Day 1

Posted on by Lost Art Press
cardigan-and-primitive-langsner-00010015
Two of John Brown’s chairs at Country Workshops. Photo courtesy of Drew Langsner.

During the last two weeks I have been deep into designing Chris Williams’s book on John Brown. It’s great to see all these years of work from people all over the world come together on the page.

In addition to Chris’s detailed account of his life with John Brown and all the important details on chair construction, the book features essays from other important voices in John Brown’s chairmaking life. Anne Sears, JB’s wife while at Pantry Fields; David Sears, a nephew who built chairs with JB at Pantry Fields; Matty Sears, one of JB’s sons who made chairmaking tools for his dad; and Nick Gibbs, the editor who hired John Brown to write a column for Good Woodworking. We’re also using many linocut illustrations made by Molly Brown, one of JB’s daughters.

On top of all that, we have purchased the rights to publish 20 of John Brown’s best magazine columns. I’ve just finished laying out that chapter, and it’s 72 pages long – almost a novella. As a result, I’ve pulled a few choice quotes that I’ll publish here this week in an attempt to give you a taste of JB’s writing.

This leads me on to gripe about some of the woodworkers I come across. I hope you will forgive my opinion. When I talk to readers or get letters it often seems to be about the petty cash of woodwork (technical points about dovetails or getting joints to fit), but rarely about shape, proportion or colour. I don’t think joints are that important. I would prefer to see woodworkers look at the total picture, is the piece they have just made beautiful, will it hold together, will it do the job it was made for?

Woodworkers don’t buy my chairs, but they spend ages looking at the details of construction and then frown disapprovingly. They want engineering perfection. People who buy my chairs do so for two main reasons. Firstly and by far the most important point, they buy because they like the look of them. Secondly they buy them because they like sitting in them. They rarely inspect the joints. They think they look good, they think they will do the job they are made to do and even though the parts don’t fit particularly well, they are strong enough!

The book should be off to the printer in January and released by March. I’ll have more details as they become available.

— Christopher Schwarz

Another Gibson Chair

Posted on by Lost Art Press

gibson-red-IMG_4713

Last week I built a second Irish Gibson chair while Narayan Nayar photographed the construction process.

Though this chair has its faults, it’s much closer in appearance and construction to the originals I studied at Mark Jenkinson’s place this fall. Mark and I are planning a short book on this chair that will be along the lines of John Brown’s “Welsh Stick Chairs” book. But that project will take a little time to research – plus I want to first build another dozen of these chairs.

I’m fairly happy with the construction process I’ve devised for these chairs. Making a Gibson is an easy chairmaking experience – perfect for the beginner. And that’s what makes this project particularly exciting.

I built this chair with only two electric tools: a small band saw and a battery drill. No shavehorse, lathe, drawknife, adze, scorp or travisher. No steambending or green woodworking. Every operation was done at a standard workbench with few specialty tools (a couple tenon cutters are helpful but not necessary).

The legs and sticks are sawn out (with special effort to get dead-straight grain) and then shaped with a jack plane and a block plane. The tenons can be shaped with a block plane or you can use a tenon cutter to speed the process.

The arms and seat are sawn out and shaped with a rasp and a spokeshave. The crest is glued up from three sticks of maple, sawn out on the band saw and then shaped with rasps and a scraper. (The crests of original Gibsons seem to have been cut from one huge chunk of wood – no laminations. I couldn’t get wood of that size at our lumberyard.)

I chose this tool set after looking at the tool marks on original Gibsons, which (we strongly think) were made in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. I found evidence of band saw marks and circular saw marks. The facets on the legs and sticks are clearly shaped by hand – not with a lathe. It could have been done with a drawknife, but I suspect that handplanes were just as likely to be used – especially to make the flats on the sticks for the back.

What’s wrong with my chair? I split one of the arms during assembly. One of the features of the Gibson is how two of back sticks are notched into the arms. The tension between the stick and the arm helps stabilize the chair. I added too much tension. Way too much tension, actually. Now I know what is too much and can dial it back for the next chairs.

Also, the back sticks seem a little thin to my eye. I probably shaved them a bit too much and need to start with wood that is 1/16” or 1/8” oversized in width and thickness.

But the chair sits well. The broken arm is repaired. And paint did the rest of the job.

— Christopher Schwarz

gibson-detail-IMG_4715

2019 Anarchist’s Gift Guide, Day 10: Berea College Brooms

Posted on by Lost Art Press

brooms_IMG_2266

Batting cleanup for the gift guide, I recommend you try the Shaker Braid Brooms from Berea College. Not only are these the best brooms I’ve used, but they are made by students at Berea College, one of the eight “labor colleges” in the United States. Students get free tuition and they work 10-15 hours a week to help support the college.

We own a lot of brooms and use them throughout the day to keep things tidy. The brooms from Berea feature tightly packed broom corn – and lots of it. As a result, they make a literal clean sweep. And they last through years and years of abuse.

While all the utility brooms from Berea are great, I’m partial to the Shaker Braid variant (above, left) as it features a nice bit of handwork where the broom transitions to the handle.

I know you are thinking: It’s just a broom.

It ain’t.

— Christopher Schwarz

Disclaimer: We buy all of our tools. We don’t accept advertising or sponsorships. We are not part of any affiliate program. We don’t make any money if you buy these items. We just like these tools.

Saturday: The Last Open Day Until June 2020

Posted on by Lost Art Press

clock2_IMG_0054

This Saturday, Dec. 14, is the last open day for the Lost Art Press storefront until June 2020. So if you have wanted to visit us, please do stop by sometime between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. Our address is 837 Willard St., Covington, Kentucky 41011.

We have lots going on that day:

  • We would like to show you our clock. Ask to see the clock and we’ll take you back to the machine room. Note, you must be 21 or older to “see the clock.” We’ll also have cookies and other pastries on hand that you can eat with your glass of clock.
  • At 2 p.m., John Kuntsman will give a demonstration of how to make breadboard ends. It’s a nice presentation – and there will be a free handout for everyone who attends.
  • I have just completed another Irish Gibson chair (with a significant flaw). It is based on my research in Ireland. The chair sits well and is close to how the originals looked and sat.
  • We have blemished holdfasts and books for sale for 50 percent of retail (cash only for blems).
  • There’s a good chance we’ll get a surprise visit from one of our Lost Art Press authors (no, it’s not me).
  • Plus we’ll all be here to answer your questions about woodworking or where you should eat.

As I mentioned above, this is the last open day until June 2020. Why? I am so far behind on our publishing schedule that I am cutting back on activities such as this until I can get caught up.

This might be a bummer for you. If so, I apologize. If you are ever passing through town and would like to buy a Lost Art Press book, please visit Downbound Books in the Northside neighborhood at 4139 Apple St., Cincinnati, Ohio 45223. Downbound carries (almost) our complete line.

See you Saturday!

— Christopher Schwarz

2019 Anarchist’s Gift Guide, Day 9: Wera Tool-Check PLUS

Posted on by Lost Art Press

wera_IMG_4674

I always include one tool in our gift guide that is a bit on the pricey side. This year it’s the Wera Tool-Check PLUS set, which is an incredibly well-made and handy set of sockets and drivers that will get you out of many jams.

The tooling is high-quality stuff. But what is really remarkable about the set is the way it is packaged. All the sockets and drivers are in a clever plastic holder. All of the tools fit in a tiny space that can go in the bottom of your tool chest or in a drawer. So when a problem comes up with a machine or a tool, you’ll be ready.

Yes, I have a complete (huge) set of sockets and drivers and 100 other bits of drivery in our machine room. And when we need to take the table saw or planer apart, that’s where I go. But when I need to tighten a bench bolt or encounter a weird Torx screw, I grab the Wera set and get it done and get back to work.

— Christopher Schwarz

Disclaimer: We buy all of our tools. We don’t accept advertising or sponsorships. We are not part of any affiliate program. We don’t make any money if you buy these items. We just like these tools.