Lost Art Press

Author: Lost Art Press

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

The Question: How Thick? The Answer: 1-3/16”

Posted on by Lost Art Press

teak_stool_IMG_6708

Yesterday morning I turned leg after leg, experimenting with different diameters and shapes to produce a folding stool that would easily hold a 225-pound person but not look like it was made with Tuscan-order columns.

About 2 p.m. I had my answer. Here are the specs on this stool:

Legs: 1-3/16”-diameter x 24” long. The ankle is 7/8” diameter with the taper starting 6” from the floor.

Hardware: 5/16” x 3” hex bolt, 5/16” x 2-1/2” eye bolt. Three washers. Two acorn nuts.

The stool is stout. Sitting in it inspires confidence. And it looks only marginally heavier. The one shown is in teak (yes, more teak offcuts. Will I ever be rid of them?). The design also worked fine in mahogany.

One other note: This stool starts out with a seat about 18” from the floor. After the leather stretches, it ends up about 16” from the floor. Now I can write the chapter for “Campaign Furniture” on these stools.

— Christopher Schwarz

Stool Sample (Try a Bigger One)

Posted on by Lost Art Press

stool_sample_IMG_7688

As a woodworker who loves to make chairs, I always try to use components that are as light and strong as possible. Thin spindles look better and can help a chair conform to the body of the sitter.

But wood has its limits.

Today I started assembling some folding campaign stools that were based off an original that had 1”-diameter legs. The original had a thin 5/8”-diameter ankle and 7/8”-diameter foot. They looked fantastic, so I decided to build the project as-is.

Unfortunately, we moderns are lard-butts.

In comparing the new stools to my old ones (which had a 1-1/8”-diameter legs and chunkier ankles), I definitely preferred the feel of the chunkier stools.

I weigh 185 pounds, and the stool with the thin legs was just too flexible to be comfortable. Every time I shifted my weight, the stool would give a little bounce. That’s not good feedback in the buttocks region.

So if you are building this stool before the book comes out, I recommend you beef up the legs. Use 1-1/8”- or 1-1/4”-diameter legs. Tomorrow I’m going to turn some more legs and try to get the look of the skinny leg on a thicker component.

Indeed: Spanks for stools.

I’ll let you know how it goes.

— Christopher Schwarz

For a Rainy Day (or a Nuclear Apocalypse)

Posted on by Lost Art Press

rivets_IMG_7685

Today I was riveting the heck out of the seats for these folding campaign stools I’m building. And after the 25th rivet, I realized something bad was going to happen. I was going to run out of “burrs.”

Burrs are the copper washers that get compressed against the leather and hold the rivet tight. You need one burr for every rivet. And I was five burrs short of finishing the seat.

This is generally not my way. I always buy too much hardware – I have boxes full of knobs, screws and doovlackys galore. But today I was five burrs short.

So I abandoned the project until I could buy some more copper rivets and burrs. I made dinner. My mind wandered.

Growing up in Arkansas, our garage was home to three things: my dad’s workshop, kids’ toys and my father’s private collection of canned tuna fish, Tostitos and toilet paper.

We belonged to one of those early warehouse-style food store where you buy food stacked on pallets and box it yourself. My dad, keen on the idea, bought boxes and boxes of tuna, Tostitos and TP. I often wondered if he tried to keep the tuna in balance with the TP. As in: Do I have enough TP to accommodate this amount of tuna?

But our family’s humor has always leaned toward the scatalogical.

When my friends saw the stack of tuna, TP and Tositios, they’d mock me and ask to see the fallout shelter and so forth. I just shrugged my shoulders. I’ve always liked Tostitos and a clean bum.

Somehow today this image (of the Tostitos, not the clean bum) wandered through my head, and I scolded myself for not buying more burrs the last time I was buying buckles.

But wait, I thought. I did buy some more burrs. They were with the buckles. In the bag with the buckles.

I rushed to the shop. Sure enough, the bag was full of buckles and burrs.

Ha! Time for a tuna fish sandwich.

— Christopher Schwarz

Reason No. 2 to Attend Woodworking in America – Plate 11 Bench Co.

Posted on by Lost Art Press

plate11_1

2. If you want a French workbench but don’t have the machines or time to build it yourself, I’d like you to meet Mark Hicks of the Plate 11 Bench Co.

Mark took my campaign chest class at Marc Adams School of Woodworking this year. Not that he needed it – he runs his family’s furniture business in Ozark, Mo. This year, Mark has expanded his business to start making workbench kits.

If I were to buy a workbench, this is exactly how I would want it.

The parts come unfinished. All the joinery is cut. No vises. All you need to do is do the final fine-fitting, assemble the bench and then add the vises of your choosing. The bench comes in two heights (which can be trimmed to a wide variety of custom heights) and with two joinery choices when it comes to the joint that fits the top to the legs: a tenon, or the sliding dovetail/tenon in French benches.

Here are the specs:

Material: Kiln-dried 16/4 silver maple
Weight: 200lbs
Top Dimensions: 23” wide x 84” long x 3-3/4” thick
Leg Dimensions: 5-­1/2” wide x 3-3/4” thick
Two standard leg heights: 38” (adjustable to 34”) or 33” (adjustable to 29”)
Leg Joinery: Bare Faced Tenon

Mark is still working out the pricing, but he thinks the base bench will be about $2,000.

He will have a booth at Woodworking in America and prototypes of his benches to show and sell. Do stop by, meet him and check out his benches.

If you can’t attend Woodworking in America, you can read more about the benches at his web site: Plate11.com.

— Christopher Schwarz

Update on ‘To Make as Perfectly as Possible’ Deluxe and Standard Editions

Posted on by Lost Art Press

roubo_proofs2_IMG_7016If you have ordered either the deluxe or standard edition of “To Make as Perfectly as Possible: Roubo on Marquetry,” here is a quick update on the books and your order.

Both the standard and deluxe editions will be released first at Woodworking in America. We didn’t plan it this way, but that is when both books are going to be in-house and available. If you are coming to Woodworking in America, you can pick up your copy there in person.

If you are not attending Woodworking in America, your order will ship immediately after Woodworking in America. We’ll be shipping the deluxe versions first. Then the standard editions.

If you ordered the deluxe edition, we know this has been a long wait for you (it has been a long wait for us, as well). To thank the people who bought the deluxe edition, they will all receive a coupon that will allow them to download the electronic version of the book at no additional charge. This will be a high-resolution pdf that will work on computers or ebook readers.

None of the books – deluxe or standard – that ship out will be autographed. If having a book autographed is important to you, we encourage you to pursue this on your own.

Publishing these editions has been the most complex, expensive and time-consuming venture I have ever been involved in. As someone who has read these books at least six times over in the last year, I can say that it will be worth the wait.

— Christopher Schwarz

P.S. There is still time to order the standard edition with free domestic shipping. Orders before Oct. 10 receive free shipping. To place an order, visit our store here.