We’re fairly confident that the last day to get your order placed at lostartpress.com in time for Christmas delivery is December 14 (this Sunday). Why 10 days out? Because we’re a small staff and can only pack only so many orders in a day (plus, of course, the carriers are swamped right now).
That might change by a day or two if things go well – but to ensure Christmas delivery, we recommend placing any orders in our online store by Sunday.
Big day here. “The Stick Chair Book: 2nd Revised Edition” is here (the first 1,000 people who purchase it from us will receive a free merit badge). And we are now selling 24″ Joiner’s Rules – made in Maine and hand lined and inked by us.
“The Stick Chair Book: 2nd Revised Edition” has been completely updated and features a new, very-tricky-to-pull-off stamp on the cover and spine. As with all my books, you can download the pdf for free (no tricks, promise). Just go to the product’s page and you can download it from there. The book is $47, made in the U.S.A. with library-grade materials and construction.
Our new Crucible Joiner’s Rules are made in the U.S.A. from hard maple and brass with markings that are ideal for woodworkers (instead of machinists).
We are offering these rulers for the introductory price of $29. The rulers measure 1/4″ x 1″ x 24″. The ends are bound in brass for durability. The ruler features a tough film coating and are hand waxed.
This Joiner’s Rule is based on a handmade antique we saw earlier this year. The markings are on one side and go down to eighths. The horizontal lines help prevent you from looking at the wrong marks.
We had some – a lot , actually – leftover quark after last week’s chair class. We bought enough so that everyone could make their own milk paint to paint their chairs…and only one person chose to make milk paint and paint their chair. Ah well – their loss is our gain (weight gain, that is).
In the back of Nick Kroll’s “Make Fresh Milk Paint” is his wife Babsi Kroll’s recipe for topfengolatschen that takes only five ingredients (including the leftover quark): a little granulated sugar, two eggs (one is for egg washing the dough), instant vanilla pudding mix, puff pastry sheets (thank you, Pillsbury) and quark. And if you’re fancy, a little dusting of powdered sugar on top for good looks.
Chris’ pantry was missing the powdered sugar, so I sprinkled a few grains of granulated on top for crunch…and let’s be honest: powdered sugar was not going to make mine any prettier…gotta get that dough twist down! But they taste darn good. Thanks, Babsi!
Oh – and milk paint? Looks as good as these pastries taste, and takes about the same amount of time to make (15 minutes, tops – including cleanup).
We always joke in classes that the collective IQ drops by at least 30 points when anyone opens a bottle of glue. But now that we’ve switched to using Fish Stick Glue for most of our glue-ups, the stress level is greatly reduced – because this stuff has an open time of 90 or so minutes, there’s enough time to make mistakes and recover with grace. And glue-up success.
Made from the skins of cod, Fish Stick flows nicely at room temperature, and it cleans up easily with hot water, even after it has dried. And no, it doesn’t smell like fish.
Here’s a short video showing it in action:
We’ve just added the latest Lost Art Press pocket book – “Make Fresh Milk Paint” – to our bundled pocket book offer: just $83 for the set.
Though the pocket books are small in size – just 4″ x 6-1/2″ – each one is chock-full of expert guidance on a given topic. Current titles (also available individually) include:
“Woodworker’s Pocket Book”
Edited by the great Charles H. Hayward and first published in 1949, “Woodworker’s Pocket Book” is a guide to everything from finishing recipes to drawing ellipses to choosing the correct screw or nail.
“Workshop Wound Care”
Author, woodworker and emergency room doctor and author Jeffrey Hill has seen every workshop accident in the book…in this book, to be exact. So he knows exactly the information a woodworker needs to know when it comes to injuries. And he presents information in a way that a non-medical professional can easily understand it.
“Sharpen This”
Author Christopher Schwarz cuts through the mystery and fear that surround sharpening and tells you what you need to know, in simple, easy-to-understand instruction. With the help of this book, you’ll quickly get your tools sharp and back to the fun part of woodworking: making them dull.
“Build a Chair from Bulls%$t”
With the instruction of author Christopher Schwarz, you can build a comfortable wooden stick chair using only materials and tools found at your home center. No jigs, no specialty tools and no exotic techniques. Shovel handles and stair handrails can be easily made into chair legs. The seat and headrest come from the construction lumber aisle. The spindles? Dowels. And the curved arm? Plywood.
“Make Fresh Milk Paint”
Woodworker Nick Kroll spent two years formulating and testing his recipe for fresh milk paint, which is based on historical recipes for casein paints – plus a little modern ingenuity. The paint goes on like an acrylic and dries fast – you can put on four coats in a day with no problem. Once dry, the paint has a low luster and hardens to become incredibly durable. You can then leave the paint as-is or topcoat it with wax, oil or whatever you prefer.
