Lost Art Press

Category: The Anarchist’s Design Book

Looking for 1890

Posted on by Lost Art Press

willard_front_room_121215_IMG_4174

I hope to never smell 100-year-old beer again. It’s nasty enough to turn you into a wine drinker.

This week we cranked up work on the new Lost Art Press building – trying to remove every layer of material that wasn’t original to the building.

We filled a dumpster with 30 cubic yards of debris – a bar built about 1995, an entire layer of studs and drywall that was attached to the original plaster and flooring. I’m going to have dreams about flooring. There was just so much of it: tile, cement board, a 1/4” subfloor, another layer of tile and then another subfloor. We kept going until we got to the layer above the joists.

willard_rear_room_121215_IMG_4175

We found doors and original windows beneath all the modernization – plus the stovepipe for the heating system, which will be perfect for a wood-burning stove.

Raney Nelson of Daed Toolworks sorted out the electrical – he removed the 1930s wiring and all the outlets tacked to the plaster. Megan Fitzpatrick of Popular Woodworking Magazine likes to destroy things. She’s quite good at it. She took down the stud walls and laid waste to the purple tile floor.

Woodworker Justin Leib and John (the other half of Lost Art Press) drove down from Indianapolis to wreck the CDX plywood bar with sledgehammers. Toolmaker Andrew Lunn helped on every phase of the project.

As we pulled the bar from its moorings and removed the flooring behind the bar, the nastiest beer smell filled the room. I love beer and I love wood. But when you soak wood with beer for a 100-year period, the result will make you gag. So don’t try it.

willard_exterior_121215_IMG_4179

And when the space was clear, we put it to use. Photographer Narayan Nayar (he did “Virtuoso” and the photos that open the chapters of “The Anarchist’s Tool Chest”) helped the destruction and then stuck around to help with some photography for “The Anarchist’s Design Book.”

With any luck, the space will be habitable enough to show on March 11-12, 2016. That’s when the Lie-Nielsen Hand Tool Event is coming to Braxton Brewing Co., which is right down the street from us. We’ll have a booth at the brewery, but we’ll also open up our storefront and have some sort of event. Details to follow as we get closer to March.

— Christopher Schwarz

A Recipe You Should Try: ‘Soft Wax’

Posted on by Lost Art Press

softwax_IMG_9762

One of the themes in “The Anarchist’s Design Book” is about how I have turned my back on modern finishes that – even with precautions – are harmful to your health. During the last four years I’ve moved almost exclusively to using shellac, wax, milk paint and soap.

I’m no evangelist; if you like precat lacquer and other similar finishes stick with them (for as long as they are legal). I’m simply trying to say: There are alternatives to these finishes that work very well in an amateur or professional shop.

One of the recipes I didn’t have room for in the book was “soft wax,” a concoction I got via Derek Jones that originated with Yannick Chastain. I’ve made several batches of this stuff and love it for interiors, especially drawers and cabinets.

It smells fantastic – much more exotic that you would think with these basic ingredients. You can read Derek’s entire method here.

Here’s the recipe converted to Standard American.

Take 7 ounces of shredded beeswax and melt it in a double boiler (a glue pot will work fine). When the wax has melted, take it off heat. Stir in 3.5 ounces of mineral spirits and add 10.5 ounces of turpentine (the real stuff, not the fake).

When the mixture cools it will become a substance that is about the consistency of peanut butter. I keep it in glass jars in the shop.

Apply the wax with a soft, lint-free cloth. Let it absorb for about 15 minutes. Then buff it with a second clean cloth.

Oh, and if you need really good beeswax, see this entry in my gift guide.

— Christopher Schwarz

Finishing Up ‘The Anarchist’s Design Book’

Posted on by Lost Art Press

six-board-chest-plate-IMG_4084

After four years of work, I am done with my part of “The Anarchist’s Design Book.” It is written, laid out and edited. The only things missing are the completed plates and some more artful photography of a few of the finished pieces (this will be fixed this coming weekend with the assistance of Narayan Nayar).

If you’ve ever worked on a project for four years, then the following statement should come as no surprise: I would do it differently if I could start again. But this is the path I chose. The “bright string” that I found in the forest has ended here.

What’s next? I have about a dozen people combing through the book for typos and mechanical errors. We do this with every Lost Art Press book. The plates, the index and the final editing should be done by Dec. 28. Then the book will go to the printer on Jan. 1, 2016, and be ready to ship in early February.

We’ll have a special pre-publication offer for this book on Jan. 1. The publication of “The Anarchist’s Design Book” will mark a significant change in the way Lost Art Press does its business day to day. We’ll have more details on this change on that day. I think you will be pleased by the news.

— Christopher Schwarz

Indexing The Anarchist’s Design Book: Butts? Bambi?

Posted on by saucyindexer

imageIn the first 90 pages of “The Anarchist’s Design Book” Chris has used “butt” or “buttocks” thirty-seven times (that might be a slight exaggeration). I know, disturbing isn’t it? Especially when you consider the huge number of other terms he could have used. To name just a few: arse, behind, bottom, bum, derriere, duff, haunches, hinder, rump, tush. Just for clarification there was also some mention of furniture to go along with all the butts.

Your twelve-year old self is probably giggling and thinking, “Butt! Buttocks! That’s my kind of book!” But, I’m a little concerned. Is this a developing theme or concept? Will “Butt” and “Buttocks, see butt” have to go in the index? Well, it wouldn’t be my first time for an unusual index entry; “cupcake” and “tube top” are in the index for “The Anarchist’s Tool Chest.”

Putting all the “butts” aside, I was a bit startled when Bambi arrived in Chapter 2. That’s Bambi, as in the cute little fawn, not the cocktail waitress. At this point you might think I’m reading Guillermo del Toro’s remake of Tim Burton’s “Nightmare in Wonderland.” Maybe I am. Those weird wired-legged models are in the book, but so far no white rabbits or clowns.

I may be in for some very disturbing dreams tonight.

–Suzanne Ellison

Three New Upcoming DVDs

Posted on by Lost Art Press

ADB-18-bookcase_color_web-IMG_2071

Because I’m not teaching anytime in the near future (and because I quite enjoy eating), I have time to film three new DVDs with the crew at Popular Woodworking Magazine.

The first one, which we begin filming Monday morning, is the bookcase project from my upcoming book “The Anarchist’s Design Book.” It’s a contemporary bookcase built entirely by hand using nails, dados, rabbets, tongue-and-groove joinery and hide glue.

I spent a lot of time rethinking book storage when designing this piece. As a publisher, book collector and woodworker, I have a lot of things I like and dislike about book storage. I hate sagging shelves. And I think a lot of our choices when using adjustable shelves are ill-conceived.

This project is as much a treatise on bookshelves as a lesson in building something by hand.

ADB-7-staked_chair_open_rear-IMG_1863

The second project is on making chairs without chairmaking tools. It was inspired by the stick chair I built for “The Anarchist’s Design Book,” but I’ll be designing a new (but similar) chair for the DVD.

Many woodworkers are intimidated by chairmaking because of the angles, tools required and the tradition of using green wood. After building chairs for almost 12 years now for customers, I have developed methods for building chairs using cabinetmaking tools.

I don’t have a shavehorse, froe or many other traditional tools. And you can make a gorgeous chair without those tools if you use your noggin.

ATC14_Chest

The third project is the my ambitious yet.

After many years of putting it off, I’ve decided to do a DVD on building “The Anarchist’s Tool Chest” from start to finish on DVD. This project will probably eat up a month of time to do right – and I will do it right. During the last five years of building this chest over and over in classes, I’ve learned a few things about making it easier for beginners to build.

And because people actually seem interested in making this chest – which I love as much as my bench – I feel obligated to do this for all those who cannot afford to take a class and need a little help in getting started.

Those of you who know me personally know that I really dislike being on camera. I’d rather have a double colonoscopy. (What’s that? From both ends? Shudder.) But I’ll take a stiff drink in the morning and muddle my way through.

— Christopher Schwarz