Pantry Fields. The original house at right. The banana boxes at left. Photo courtesy of Anne and David Sears.
When Welsh chairmaker John Brown put down roots in Pembrokeshire, Wales, he and his wife, Anne, lived in two railway cars – Fyffes Banana wagons – that had transported fruit around the U.K. up until the 1950s.
The railway cars were used as living spaces for many years, until the 1990s when they fell into disrepair. But now Anne and David Sears have fixed them up and turned them into a lovely place to stay on their grounds that is near Newport, a nice seaside town, and Carningli mountain, Tycanol woods and Bluestone Brewery.
I’ve spent a few days at Pantry Fields while working with Chris Williams on his book “Good Work,” and can attest that the plot of land is gorgeous. A serene and green spot of great beauty.
It also is an important landmark for those who appreciate Welsh stick chairs. John Brown wrote his book “Welsh Stick Chairs” there and built his chairs inside an addition to the original house. (Which is now Anne’s studio.)
The grounds also include David’s workshop (he is JB’s nephew), where he makes furniture, bread, beer and other good things. They also have a showroom of the articles they produce at Pantry Fields, including Anne’s pottery, David’s furniture and the illustrations of Sally Seymour (Anne’s mother).
More photos of the accommodations are available at the Pantry Fields web site. Photo courtesy of Anne and David Sears.
The price is very reasonable for the space in the railway cars. Details are here.
Even if you have no interest in stick chairs, Pantry Fields is a lovely place to visit. And if you want to plan the ultimate trip to Wales, with stops at St Fagans National Museum of History and Tim Bowen Antiques, then staying at Pantry Fields is a must and a privilege.
As always, I have no affiliation. I just love the people and the place.
— Christopher Schwarz
John Brown in his workshop at Pantry Fields. It looks much different now. Photo courtesy of the family.
Whitney Miller, the author of “Henry Boyd’s Freedom Bed” was featured in a solid story this weekend about black craftspeople on the show “Matter of Fact with Soledad O’Brien.”
In addition to Whitney, the story highlights our friend Jerome Bias and discusses his work to try to correct the history of black woodworkers and their contributions to our furniture record. (Jerome is also working on a book for Lost Art Press.)
It’s definitely worth five minutes of your time to check out this segment.
— Christopher Schwarz
Whitney with her nearly completed Dutch tool chest, after a class she took with Megan.
It’s a crude and obvious joke, but what do you do with all the extra kinda-crappy chair parts and chunks of waste that are piling up in your shop? Make stools.
Ever since I began making chairs, I also began designing and making a lot of stools using the leftover chair parts. While simple vernacular stools get little love in the woodworking literature, they are one of the most common pieces of peasant/farmer furniture out there. Sometimes called “creepies” or “milking stools,” these low perches are a great way to hold your butt off the ground while you are working.
While working on “The Anarchist’s Design Book,” I developed a three-legged staked creepie that had been kicking around in the back of my mind for a few years. That stool ended up in the chapter titled: “The Island of Misfit Designs.”
Yet I keep making these stools using leftover chair parts (they take only a couple hours to make), and people are delighted by them. So here is how I make them.
The seat is made from chunks of leftover 8/4 material. When making chair seats or combs, I usually end up with short chunks of wood that are no good for chairs. Rather than throw them away, I make them into stool seats.
Glue the two pieces of 8/4 stock face to face.
The seat is two chunks of 8/4 stock, about 11-1/2″ x 11-1/2″ that are face-glued to make a blank that is about 3-1/2″ thick. The exact thickness isn’t important.
After the glue dries, I cut the square blank into an 11″-diameter circle using the band saw. I rasp off any big lumps or bumps on its rim. Then I tilt the band saw’s table to 30° and saw an underbevel on the blank. I saw right on the seam between the two layers of wood. This helps hide the glue line.
Then I clean up the edges of the seat with rasps, sandpaper and a scraper.
I use 30° here. Try other angles.
To lay out the mortises on the underside of the seat, I first draw a diameter that is 1″ less than the diameter of the underside of the seat. After cutting the underbevel, the seat is about 9″ in diameter. So set your compass to make an 8″-diameter circle.
Now lay out the location of the mortises using the compass. Its current radius (4″) can easily lay out the three mortise locations. Choose a location for one of the legs on the 8″-diameter circle. With the compass, step off twice around the circle. That’s where the second mortise goes. Step off two more times. That’s where the third mortise goes.
Connect these mortise locations with the center of the circle. These three lines are your sightlines for drilling.
Draw the 8″ diameter circle on the underside of the seat.
Choose a mortise location. Step off twice to find the second mortise location. And twice more for the third.
Now drill the mortises with a 1″ auger. Set a sliding bevel for 18°. (This is called the “resultant angle” in chairmaking.) Put the sliding bevel on one of your sightlines. Line up your drill bit in line with the sightline. Tilt the auger bit back toward you to match the 18° bevel. Drill. The mortises should be about 2-1/2″ deep.
The legs are usually leftover 1-3/4″ octagonal sticks that didn’t make the cut to be used in a chair. Usually because of some small defect or color problem. I also have a lot of extra legs sitting around in case I mess up a leg or two while building a chair.
The legs should be 1-3/4″ x 1-3/4″ x 18″-long octagons with straight grain. Cut a 1″ x 2-1/2″-long tenon on the end of each leg. Sometimes I use a 1″ plug/tenon cutter in my drill. Other times I make the tenon on the lathe. Sometimes I taper the legs. Sometimes I do a double-taper. It all depends on what the legs look like and how late in the day it is.
Cut the tenons. I used a plug/tenon cutter in a cordless drill for these.
Before assembling the stool, clean up all the show surfaces. Then glue the legs into their mortises with hide glue. I don’t fox-wedge the mortises. If the legs ever come out, I’ll just glue them back in.
Then level the legs and cut them to length. I like my stools to be between 16″ and 20″ in height. Lower stools for around the fire. Taller stools for work.
These days I usually engrave a spell on the seat as well.
“Please almighty beings, protect this rumpus from harm.”
— Christopher Schwarz
A witch’s mark engraved on this example.
Another finished stool. With leveled legs. A little wonky.
We have now opened the floor for woodworking questions this morning.
Every Saturday, I post a new blog entry that calls for your questions. You can write them in the comments section below. I’ll do my best to answer them.
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The stuff takes 24 to 48 to dry. And we let the panel sit around for a full week to really harden. The colors are gorgeous, and the paint covers bare wood in one thin coat. So a little paint goes a long way.
Now I am experimenting with how to finish the finish. The painted surface is a bit rustic. It’s a little rough in texture. And with the green and red colors, there are areas that are shinier than others. The blue is more consistent in sheen.
After messing around with several abrasives, I settled on fine sanding sponge (#220) that has a firm backing. The paint takes a surprising amount of abuse, so cutting through the color isn’t a huge risk like it is with latex or acrylic paint.
After sanding the panels smooth, I followed with a very light coat of boiled linseed oil. I wiped it on with a rag and wiped it clean with a second rag. This is the best result so far. The surface is smooth, consistent and a bit luminous. Though it doesn’t look plastic at all.
If I come up with a better method, I’ll share it here.
— Christopher Schwarz
The paint before rubbing it out. The reflected light makes it look worse than it really does.
After rubbing out. Again, the reflected light makes the surface look more textured that it actually appears.
