Lost Art Press

Author: Lost Art Press

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

Coming Soon: Build a Gibson Chair Video

Posted on by Lost Art Press
One of my earlier Gibson chairs. This one without a saddle.

Megan and I are now filming and editing a long-form video about how I build a Gibson chair, one of my favorite Irish chairs.

The video, which should be released late next week, will include a pdf of the full-size templates needed to build the chair, plus drawings for the simple jigs I use, plus a cutting list and sources for all the tools and equipment shown in the video.

The video will be $50 for the first 30 days it is on the market. After that it will be $75.

Gibson chairs look unusual to people at first. They are low and have a back that rakes at 25° – a shocking tilt angle. It might seem like a chair for sleeping, but I assure you it’s not. It sits very much like a comfortable comb-back chair. In fact, in Ireland, these are sometimes called “kitchen chairs” because they are used for eating in the kitchen.

My version of the Gibson is a little different than the originals (we hope to do a book dedicated to the chair sometime in the future). Like almost all traditional Irish chairs, Gibsons have a flat seat. The seat in this video will be saddled, both for looks and comfort. I don’t think the form really needs a saddle, but it does look like a more expensive chair.

I’ve also made a few other small alterations here and there to the chair that I explain in the video.

I’ve tried to make the construction process as accessible as possible. All the mortises are straight holes (no tapered joints), so you can use augers you already own. The tenons are made with plug/tenon cutters chucked in a cordless drill, which are cheap and easily available. (Or you can use a Power Tenon Cutter from Veritas, which I also show in the video.) There is no steambending. You don’t need a lathe or a shavehorse. Most of the work is at the bench or the band saw.

Like all our videos, this one will have no Digital Rights Management (DRM) nonsense. So you will be able to download the video and put them on any of your devices, including your phone, laptop and pad. 

— Christopher Schwarz

P.S. The next video will be on building my hobbit chair. I’ve convinced myself that it is different enough than Bilbo’s and I won’t be thrown into the fires of Mordor, which are filled with lawyers.

Other Ways to Contribute to the Anthe Restoration

Posted on by Lost Art Press
The drop ceiling is out. Only the lighting remains. And the modern tile has been removed to expose the original yellow pine floor.

Not everyone has the money to afford one of the special products we’re offering to help fund the restoration of the Anthe Building, our new headquarters. And I’ll be honest: We are uneasy asking for help. It’s not in our nature. 

But several readers have asked for a way to contribute directly, without having to purchase an item. Here are two ways. One, you can send money via PayPal to our PayPal account at paypal@lostartpress.com. Or you can contribute directly here. Honest, any amount helps. We are currently cleaning the walls with industrial Dawn and hot water. Even $20 buys us another bottle of purple Dawn and gets us another clean wall.

Thanks to everyone who has contributed to this point. It has made a big difference. Today the HVAC started to go in. And we have been removing the modern drop ceiling and floors in the storefront, which is where we will sell our books, tools and apparel.

— Christopher Schwarz

Huck Towels that Don’t Suck Towels

Posted on by Lost Art Press

The most recent batch of Huck weave towels we bought are terrible. They leave little blue strings behind. Not just a wee bit of lint. Big blue strings everywhere, like I wiped my project with Grover during the high shedding season for Muppets.

I first fell in like with Huck towels when Ty Black, who worked in my shop, brought in a bunch of surgical towels that his (now ex-) wife had brought home from her hospital job. They were listed as sterile. They were amazing. They were soft but had a pebbly finish that was great for rubbing out wax and other finishes. They absorbed lots of material. They were washable and reusable. And I never saw Grover fur stuck to every arris.

So I am issuing a warning about Huck towels. There are so many vendors out there. I cannot try every one of them, but I can fall back on what I know: sterile surgical towels.

The Grover towels at left.

Today I received a shipment of sterile surgical towels from Medline at Home. They were about the same price as other vendors. But here’s the difference. They are the real deal. They are in sterile packs. And they don’t leave strings behind.

So if you have been unimpressed with the Huck towels I’ve recommended in the past, I encourage you to give them another try from a medical vendor. If they are listed as sterile and come in sealed, sterile packs, they are the real thing (surgeons don’t like to leave blue strings inside their patients during surgery).

I apologize if y’all have been afflicted by the Hair-loss Grover towels.

— Christopher Schwarz

LAP Open Wire, April 29, 2023, with Megan!

Posted on by Lost Art Press
A shepherd’s coffer I just finished.

UPDATE: Comments are now closed. Thanks everyone! – Fitz

Hey everybody, I am in Pittsburgh today for my daughter’s graduation ceremony. So today’s Open Wire is hosted by Megan Fitzpatrick.

She is standing by today to answer your woodworking questions. Write your question in the comments section below, and she will do her best to answer.

Before you ask a question, a couple requests and comments.

  1. Megan asks if you could be gentle and not ask about her Dutch tool chest book (when is it coming? This year, she promises).
  2. If you could limit the number of questions you ask to one or two, her fingers will appreciate it.
  3. If your question is your first comment here, it will automatically be flagged for moderation. Your question will appear after we approve it.

So here we go…. Note that comments for this entry will close about 5 p.m. Eastern. 

— Christopher Schwarz

Video Tour of the Anthe Building – Our New HQ

Posted on by Lost Art Press
The Anthe Building at 407 Madison Ave.

Work began today on the Anthe Building, the 1897 factory in central Covington that is going to become Lost Art Press’ new headquarters in June.

This morning we shot this short video tour of the building before we began work. This is the “before” picture. The “after” picture? We’re shooting that in 2028.

What is important about today is something I have said before but cannot say enough. I am the blabbermouth of this company because I have a voice that carries, the dancing monkey moves and I don’t care what other people think about me. But I am just one part of Lost Art Press. 

If it weren’t for John Hoffman, we wouldn’t have a distribution system or outside authors writing books for us. He is in charge of getting books into the mail and getting authors and suppliers paid. It is thankless grunt work. And so I now grunt my thanks at him. 

Megan Fitzpatrick, our first employee, has taken over many of the editorial and toolmaking tasks that were drowning me. She usually knows what I am going to say before I say it, and she usually has a better idea at the ready. Thanks to her, I am still able to make furniture and write books, which is my true love.

We also have Kara, who handles all our contracts and writes our author profiles (and who is working with Heather at Covington Uncovered to research the building’s history, which we’ll be sharing here). And Meghan, who handles all the customer service. Thankless jobs all. So thank you.

Plus the dozens of suppliers and retailers who perform miracles almost every week on our behalf.

All of these people were the reason we were able to purchase this building. And they are the reason I am not having a panic attack about it. 

Yes, we have a ton of work ahead of us. But all of us together will make it happen.

Additionally, as we fixed up our building on Willard Street during the last eight years, we also built a team of contractors and subcontractors who know what the hell they are doing. Most of these people are older than I am and have been in the trades all their lives. And they know Covington and its unique architecture. And they get things done.

So let it begin.

— Christopher Schwarz

If you would like to help fund the restoration project, we are selling some limited-edition items here.