With the recent discussion of shop light and window direction, I thought it would be interesting to post a short excerpt from A.J. Roubo on shop light. While I don’t recall Roubo discussing the direction the windows should face, he does detail how to bring diffuse light into the interior.
Ever since translating this section 10 years ago, I’ve wanted to make some muslin diffuser panels to try them out.
— Christopher Schwarz
“The front counter of the shop should be of a height equal to that of the benches so that in the case of works of an extraordinary length you can pass the wood over them while working and rest them there.
“There should be as many entrances as necessary for the width of the building, which should be closed with doors that should open the complete height to facilitate the entry of the wood. They should be covered with light muslin fabric so that when in use you can enjoy daylight in the interior of the shop.
“The upper part of the counter should also be closed up with frames covered in fabric, which are pulled open during the day and are held to the floor by wooden crossbars [hardware fittings] which hold them there.
“At the top of the front of the shop should be placed a porch roof of about 18 thumbs or 2 feet overhang, which serves to prevent water from entering and ruining your work and tools.”
— from the forthcoming “To Make as Perfectly as Possible: Roubo on Furniture”
As I recall from years long past there is in Miami a notorious interchange known as “The Spaghetti Bowl,” no doubt the result of some distant urban planner making a dot on a map and saying, “This is where all the highways meet!” I have no doubt that similar complexes exist in many metropolitan areas, but the one in Miami is especially memorable due to the highway routes being stacked five high as they weave together, merging and departing with and from each other.
This absurd traffic construct serves as a nearly perfect metaphor for the current fortnight. It seems that the threads of LAP and other projects are stacked about five high.
Last night I sent off my final review of the page proofs for “Virtuoso: The Tool Cabinet and Workbench of Henry O. Studley,” which Chris sent me last week when I was in Florida on a speaking engagement talking about my favorite topic – historic wood finishing – and reveling in a reunion with my mom and all of my siblings. I spent what time I could on the review, but did not actually finish until midnight last night. I feel about 500 pounds lighter today.
I am not displeased with the product (that is Donspeak for “Holy cow, this is great!” If I wasn’t such a Calvinist I would be really proud). Narayan’s photos and Wesley’s design make the book a nearly decadent experience. The book goes to press very soon (Ed note: Next week), and I am very much anticipating the first of several boxes of books arriving on my doorstep. (I owe copies to about two score contributors to the effort.)
The preparations for the accompanying H.O. Studley exhibit are in red-hot mode, as my fabrication of the exhibit accouterments are well underway, the first slate of big checks have flowed out for the exhibit hall rental, platform and vitrine fabrication, insurance, graphics, lighting, secured shipping, etc.… Tickets are still available, so if you ever wanted to get up close and personal with Studley’s tool cabinet and workbench, this may be your one and only chance.
On Saturday past I presented “Making New Finishes Look Old” for the Society of American Period Furniture Makers’ Tidewater chapter, a test run for my demonstration at the SAPFM Mid-Year meeting in Knoxville, Tenn., in June. Increasingly I find my mind wandering and fingers noodling on the keyboard in crafting my magnum opus “Historic Finisher’s Handbook” (HFH), which will begin in earnest as soon as I complete the revisions for “Roubo on Furniture Making” this summer, and then take the following three years. If I go “dark” this autumn it is because I’m up in the barn having too much fun working through the dozens of recipes detailed in HFH.
And today I spent some time conserving a Roentgen desk; tonight I’m wrapping up the conservation of a c.1720 Italian tortoiseshell veneer mirror frame with another dozen conservation projects in wait.
Yeah, I think the “Spaghetti Bowl” description is just about right.
We have a small number of copies of our deluxe edition of “To Make as Perfectly as Possible: Roubo on Marquetry” that have bumped corners, small tears or blemishes in the cloth, or are missing a slipcase.
All of the copies are 100-percent readable, and most people would not even notice the damage unless they looked for it. Rather than pulping these books, we are selling them for $300 (domestic shipping included), which is a 25-percent discount off the regular price of $400.
All sales are final and we will simply pick from the top of the pile as each order comes in (in other words we can’t send you photos of all the books and have you evaluate each bump).
To read more about the deluxe Roubo book, click here.
Furniture maker David Savage has posted a review of “The Book of Plates” on his blog today.
I wasn’t sure what he would think of the book. His furniture is so incredibly contemporary, that it would be easy for a modern maker to dismiss the work of A.J. Roubo as irrelevant or obsolete.
But then David is also an artist who values highly the skill of drawing.
If you would like to read his entire entry, go here.
Here is a brief excerpt:
This book is just stunning! Why in this three-second-attention-span age should we need an American publisher to show us the work of an almost forgotten French furniture maker? We deserve the celebrity-ridden, cultural desert we inhabit – so we should celebrate and recognise the publishers who take this delightfully contrarian view. It will have taken conviction and determination to do this – this alone should be celebrated.
So what have they done, this small independent American (dammit) publisher?
They have found and published the writings of an almost forgotten and largely ignored French writer, designer and craftsman, called Andre-Jacob Roubo. This is a man who not only has the technical skill of great maker, but the illustrative ability of an artist and, to complete the circle, the communicative ability of a writer.
“The Book of Plates” is available from the Lost Art Press store, where it is shipped in a box made from baby seals who were clubbed by Festool employees. It also is available from our retailers here.
Lie-Nielsen Toolworks is offering a gorgeous and simple polissoir that is the twin of the one shown in A.J. Roubo’s “l’Art du Menuisier.” It matches the original in form, size and everything. And it’s only $36. Buy it now or you will regret it when they run out.
This polissoir is made by the same artisan who makes Don Williams’s polissoir. And these are provided to Lie-Nielsen by Don Williams. In other words, everyone wins. Including you.
