Last week, the county inspectors said we could start occupying the first floor and the basement of our new headquarters. And, after we add some more exit signs and emergency lighting, we will be allowed to occupy the second and third floors.
On Monday, we will move our fulfillment operations to the first floor of the Anthe building. John and his crew are going to set up the packing tables and picking carts. And set up some more shelving racks.
This is a big step forward. But there is still much to do. We need to get the second floor cleaned up so we can move the last of our inventory from Indiana. And our general contractor is now fitting out the storefront.
The storefront will be used for storage until we can get the second floor ready for inventory. But after that, we’ll start designing shelving for the retail space. We want to have the retail area done for Christmas. But that is (I’m guessing) stupidly unrealistic.
But “Stupidly Unrealistic Since 2007,” is our corporate motto.
I am happy to announce that we have a new video with the Wood Whisperer Guild that will launch next Friday (Sept. 15). The video “American Welsh Stick Chair” can be purchased with a pre-release discount. The video is $79 until it is released next Friday. (After that date, the video will be $99.)
This long-form video serves as an introduction to chairmaking for woodworkers who have no chairmaking tools but would like to build a chair. The chair shown in the video is a modified version of the comb-back stick chair shown in “The Anarchist’s Design Book.” It’s a proven design – I am sitting in it right now while drinking my morning coffee. It is comfortable, stout and (if I do say) nice to look at.
This video with the Wood Whisperer Guild differs from our two videos on chairmaking in many ways. First, it is a professional production that was filmed by a crew with lights, professional sound and multiple high-definition cameras. My dorkiness has been captured like never before.
Thanks to the production values and outstanding editing, the video is a pleasure to watch – even entertaining (and I hate to watch myself on screen).
Second, the approach I take with this video is to show you how to build a chair without chairmaking tools. All the little tricks, dodges and wheezes I’ve developed over the years to try to democratize and simplify the process. Don’t get me wrong, I love my chairmaking tools. But I understand that there are a lot of barriers to make the jump from making cabinets to chairs.
This video is me setting the bar to make a chair to the lowest position.
As a bonus, we include a chapter on how to saddle the seat with only one chairmaking tool – plus standard bench tools.
One more thing – the money. The proceeds from this video won’t go to me. Instead, they will help fund the restoration of the Anthe building (our new headquarters). We got the green light from Kenton County to occupy the first floor and basement. We now have got to get the second-floor storage area ready to get our fulfillment operation fully on its feet. So any purchase of this video helps our headquarters.
Many thanks to Marc Spagnuolo, Todd Tidwell and the rest of The Wood Whisperer Guild for agreeing to work with us on this video. I hope we get to do it again sometime soon.
John Hoffman, the other owner of Lost Art Press, is captured here in this rare photo by Kara Gebhart Uhl.
We are in the Amana Colonies in Iowa this weekend for the Handworks hand tool show. Friday was an insane day of reuniting with thousands of our closest friends.
As a result, we are holding the Lost Art Press Open Wire in Amana – live and in person. Come to the Lost Art Press booth and ask your question. We will do our best to answer.
Next week we will return to our regular online question-and-answer format here on the blog.
One of the big pluses of filling orders from Covington occurred today. Mark, one of our fulfillment employees, was at the Anthe building on an errand and saw a box that wasn’t in the right place.
It was a sealed box of 20 engraved lump hammers. We’ve been out of these hammers for months and don’t have any plans to make any more until next year. I don’t know how they escaped the inventory count, but things have been a bit chaotic here as we get set to move the remainder of our inventory to Covington.
Anyway, if you have wanted one of these special engraved hammers, here is your chance. Or wait until next year.
A wedged through-tenon after the gelled glue has been removed.
In 2018, I shared this trick that David Savage used to improve dovetail joints. He called it “Juicy Lucy,” and it involves flooding the exterior of a joint with extra hide glue to swell the fibers and improve the joint cosmetically.
We continue to use his trick with dovetails with great success. And at some point I started using it with the wedged through-tenons on my chairs. Here’s how I do it.
Applying glue around all show surfaces of the joint before wedging.
After I glue the joint and assemble it (but before wedging), I paint a thick coat of glue around the show surface of the joint. Then I paint glue on the wedge and knock it in place.
Once the glue has gelled, I remove the excess with a dry rag and let the joint continue to set up overnight.
I’ve been real happy with the results.
— Christopher Schwarz
What the glued tenon looks like just before wedging.
