Katherine has been busy as a full-time worker at Rookwood Pottery, and has just started taking classes at Covington Clay to exercise her creative side. But she had time this weekend to make a batch of Soft Wax 2.0, which is now in her etsy store.
This might be the last batch before Christmas – it’s hard to say.
Instructions for the wax are below. You can watch a video of how to use the wax here.
Instructions for Soft Wax 2.0 Soft Wax 2.0 is a safe finish for bare wood that is incredibly easy to apply and imparts a beautiful low luster to the wood.
The finish is made by cooking raw linseed oil (from the flax plant) and combining it with cosmetics-grade beeswax and a small amount of a citrus-based solvent. The result is that this finish can be applied without special safety equipment, such as a respirator. The only safety caution is to dry the rags out flat you used to apply before throwing them away. (All linseed oil generates heat as it cures, and there is a small but real chance of the rags catching fire if they are bunched up while wet.)
Soft Wax 2.0 is an ideal finish for pieces that will be touched a lot, such as chairs, turned objects and spoons. The finish does not build a film, so the wood feels like wood – not plastic. Because of this, the wax does not provide a strong barrier against water or alcohol. If you use it on countertops or a kitchen table, you will need to touch it up every once in a while. (I have it on our kitchen countertops and love it.) Simply add a little more Soft Wax to a deteriorated finish and the repair is done – no stripping or additional chemicals needed.
Soft Wax 2.0 is not intended to be used over a film finish (such as lacquer, shellac or varnish). It is best used on bare wood. However, you can apply it over a porous finish, such as milk paint.
APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS (VERY IMPORTANT): Applying Soft Wax 2.0 is easy if you follow the simple instructions. On bare wood, apply a thin coat of soft wax using a rag, applicator pad, 3M gray pad or steel wool. Allow the finish to soak in about 15 minutes. Then, with a clean rag or towel, wipe the entire surface until it feels dry. Do not leave any excess finish on the surface. If you do leave some behind, the wood will get gummy and sticky.
The finish will be dry enough to use in a couple hours. After a couple weeks, the oil will be fully cured. After that, you can add a second coat (or not). A second coat will add more sheen and a little more protection to the wood.
Soft Wax 2.0 is made in small batches in Covington, Kentucky. Each glass jar contains 8 oz. of soft wax, enough for about five chairs.
Unlike its maker, this cherry tray will benefit from a nice tan. So it’s hanging out in the courtyard, soaking up some rays.
I promised my Pine Croft students last weekend an online lesson on leveling their pins and tails (the glue hadn’t set up enough to stress the joints before it was time to clean up). So I’m sharing it with the rest of you, too.
Even if you set your marking gauge/cutting gauge to the exact thickness of the mating board when you mark your through-dovetail baselines, odds are excellent that you’ll still have to level the pins and tails to the project surface, before you can smooth plane the outside to clean up shop rash etc. before finishing.
But end grain can be a bear to plane (though cherry isn’t usually too bad), and you have to be careful to not break out the cross grain. So here’s how I do it.
Supplies.
Supplies 1. Mix up some Magic Strazza Elixer (we “stole” the formula from Frank Strazza) and always have it handy. It’s 1/2 alcohol (we use 190 proof Everclear, though isopropyl works too) and 1/2 water. 2. Make sure your woobie is well saturated with oil 2. Sharpen your block plane (and if it has an adjustable mouth, set it for a tight mouth)
Clamp the tray/box to your bench, sleeve it over the end of the bench if it fits, or support it as I have above, on a piece of scrap wide enough to allow you to plane without the workpiece tipping.
Spray the end grain with the alcohol/water mixture and let it soak in for a few seconds. (The long grain will also get wet, and that’s no problem.)
Plane into the work, not off the end.
Set your plane for a fine cut. Plane into the piece, concentrating on the proud pins/tails, to level them to the work. You’ll know you’re there when you start to get shavings from the side of the piece instead of just the end grain of the proud joint. Skewing the blade (shown above) as you come onto the work can help.
Once your joints are flush with the work, you may find you’ve left a plane track on the side of the piece. Back off your iron and take a few super-fine stop cuts (that is, plane only a few inches into the piece, not the whole side), lifting up the back of the plane slightly as you come out of the cut. It sounds counterintuitive, but lifting the back will keep you from leaving a hard line at the cut terminus.
I’m exaggerating slightly in this picture, but keep moving forward as you lift the back of the plane and come out of the cut.
Then turn the box/tray and plane the pins/tails on the next surface, using the spray as needed to soften the wood and make the cut slightly easier.
After you have all the joints level, you’ll likely want to smooth plane before applying a finish. You can plane into the work from both ends, using the “lift the back end” method above to keep from leaving plane tracks at the end of the cut, or you can put a chamfer on the corners of your work, and carefully plane right off that edge. The chamfer removes the corner of the cross-grain pins/tails and protects them from breaking off as you plane across them. Usually. And that’s why I say to plane “carefully.” Take very light cut and keep and eye on that chamfer – once it’s gone, so is its protection. I typically cut a relatively large chamfer – you need to break the edges anyway before finishing, so yay. On the corners, the remaining chamfer after smooth planing means I’ve already done that.
It’s a visible chamfer – this is probably 4-5 passes?
And now it’s time to clean your block plane before moving onto smoothing. Water and steel are not friends – so make sure you get into the mouth of your block plane with a brush to remove all shavings, then wipe it down with your oily rag.
I never put my planes away without cleaning out the dust/shavings and wiping them with an oily rag. I’m even more careful to get them fully clean if I’ve used them with the alcohol/water mixture.
After smooth planing, break the rest of the edges – for that, I usually use #180-grit abrasive. Or #120 if that’s closer to hand.
Finish won’t stick to a zero-degree radius. So break all your edges. (And for a more precise result, wrap the abrasive around a sanding block…but here I don’t mind the bit of variation my fingers will introduce to the result.)
Then apply a finish. On this one I used “Soft Wax 2.0,” made by Chris’s daughter Katherine. She’s sold out right now, but I trust there will be more available soon, and we’ll announce it here. Or you can make your own.
We get a lot of requests to reprint our letterpress “By Hammer & Hand” poster, and now I am pleased to report that the project is in the works.
Brian Stuparyk, the artist of the poster, has agreed to a second run (he will receive a royalty on each one sold, FYI). The poster will be the same size as the original 13” x 19”. It will be printed via letterpress in two colors on nice paper here in the US. Price will be about $25 to $27.
In an effort to make sure we order enough (but not too many), I have a tiny favor to ask. If you plan on ordering one, could you please “like” this post? You just have to click the star at the bottom of the post. You don’t have to leave a comment. Just click “like.” Here is what the “Like” button looks like. (Don’t click the image.)
We are trying like heck to get the poster out before Christmas. I have been working nights cleaning up the plates. But no promises.
— Christopher Schwarz
P.S. I’m afraid we will not be selling these through our retailers. Nor are we able to ship internationally. If you are overseas, we recommend you try a mail forwarding service. More here.
Two curved-back armchairs in bog oak, by Andy Brownell.
Over the last year, Christopher Schwarz and I have been making our way through the last of the bog oak boule we split between us. To date, it’s been used for tables, sculpture and a bunch of chairs. As I wrap up my final two chairs from this ancient and preserved tree, Chris has been kind enough to help let the world know these two pieces are for sale.
The price is $2,800 a piece, or $5,000 for the pair, plus shipping for anyone living outside of a 150-mile radius of Cincinnati. Here’s a quick run-down on these two chairs:
They’re both made from the darkest parts of a bog oak tree sourced from M. Bohlke Lumber, originally imported from Poland. We had a sample of the tree sent to a lab for radiocarbon dating; it’s 2,175 years old. One of the chairs is exceptionally dark, almost charcoal-like in some areas.
The design is modified from the curved-back armchair from Chris’s “The Stick Chair Book” (Lost Art Press).
The most obvious design change is the addition of a medial stretcher to the leg assembly. I think this addition not only gives the chairs additional strength, it also makes them feel more grounded and balanced with the upper part of the chair. All the undercrriage parts are joined with through-tenons.
The legs are hexagons, rather than octagons, and gradually taper to round at the top.
The seat has curved sides, rather than straight ones in the original plan. I find this to be a nice visual complement to the curves in the arms.
The underside of the seat has a curved bevel with a recessed edge to make the seat appear thinner.
I’ve pinned the back ends of the arm supports to their supporting sticks for extra strength.
The backrest is made from sequential bent lamination to create a consistency in grain and color across the entire part. The curved profile is intentionally heavier towards the top.
All of the edges have a heavy roundover for maximum comfort.
Butter knives and cake slicers made of split birch wood. Decorated with chip carving and painted with linseed oil paint.
The following is excerpted from Jögge Sundqvist’s “Slöjd in Wood.” The first project (excerpted here) is a butter knife that will begin to unlock the world of slöjd for you. You will then learn to make bowls, a sheath for your knife, spoons, a place to hang your clothes, cutting boards and so many more things. In the end, you will look up into the branches of the trees around your home and see the things you need.
“Slöjd in Wood” is the first English translation of Jögge’s classic Swedish book. It’s a gorgeous peek into a work that is dominated by saturated colors, crisp bevels and handmade work. In addition to introducing you to the pieces you can make for your home, Jögge shows you how to grip the knife to produce the cuts shown in the book safely and efficiently. And shows you how to replicate the deep colors on your pieces that are positively mesmerizing.
Carving a butter knife is a good beginner project. It may seem to be an easy object to make, but the design requirements require some reflection. A tapered handle with a thin blade is important to work well.
Tools required: Axe, knife, drawknife (optional).
Carving direction for a butter knife.
Material: Juniper (Juniperus) is moisture resistant, dense and durable. Rowan (Sorbus) and maple (Acer) are excellent alternatives, as well as ring porous woods such as oak (Quercus) or ash (Fraxinus). My preference is to use birch (Betula) because it is convenient to make butter knives and spatulas from straight-grained leftovers from splitting green logs. It is also possible to split out blanks from naturally crooked blanks, if you wish.
Rough-finished and rough-carved blanks. It is important the handle fits the hand well and the blade is thin and flexible.
Select a straight-grain, knot-free piece of wood approximately 25cm to 30cm (9-1/2″ to 11-3/4″) long by 10 or more centimeters (3-15/16″) in diameter. Split it right through the pith of the wood. From one half, use your axe to rough out a piece 5cm (2″) wide by 2cm (3/4″) thick. Hew carefully along the wood grain, working down the grain so you don’t split the piece apart.
Roughing the blank.
If you need to remove a lot of material, use the axe to hew relief or scoring cuts nearly to your line. Start at the bottom and work your way up the blank. Then come down with the axe to chop this waste away. Taper the handle gradually toward the blade. If you have access to a shaving horse, it is a good idea to use a drawknife to quickly shape the form and create even bevels, or you can use a knife.
Taper the blade’s thickness from 6mm (1/4″) along the back to 3mm (1/8″) toward the edge. Feel the thickness with your fingers. A butter knife must be flexible or it will be too stiff to use. Cut or saw off the excess handle material and carve the bevels. The handle should be 16mm to 22mm (5/8″ to 7/8″) thick and have a total length of 170mm to 180mm (6-3/4″ to 7-1/16″).
Carving Away from Yourself Apart from the common elbow grip, there are some powerful and safe grips known as the power grip and the scissor grip.
Note that safety is important. The grips must be safe in your hand to give you the confidence to use the knife with the strength that is needed to cut through the wood. There are several tricks to get strength and controlled cuts, depending on the object you are making and the carving challenges. On page 102 you will find a list of 10 basic grips.
Power grip.
Power grip Hold the knife close to the blade. Drive the knife powerfully with a straight arm, without bending your elbow. Use the muscles in your shoulder and back. Lift your shoulder and carve downward with a smooth and firm movement. Tilt the tip of the blade upwards and skew the knife as you slice. The slicing action is from the handle toward the tip. Be sure that the bevel is riding on the wood. The concave bevel is supporting the cutting edge. This is one of the most common grips.
Scissor grip.
Scissor grip This is a grip providing good strength and, above all, control. Hold the knife in your hand with your palm facing upward and with the edge facing outward. Be sure that your thumb is on top of the handle. Take the material in one hand and the knife in the other, forming a pair of scissors in front of your chest. Curl your shoulders in a little and press your hands to your chest. Start the cut from the base toward the tip while you pull both the blank and the knife.
Slide your forearms along your body and feel how your shoulder blades and your shoulders pull back. This action helps your forearms to lever the cut, using large muscles. Press your knuckles onto your body. It is a combination of pulling the blank and slicing with the knife that makes the cut. If you want to make short stops, for example in the transition between the bowl and stem, press your knife hand firmly to your body, adding friction to stop. This is a strong grip.
CarvingTowardYourself
Pull grip.
Pull grip Hold the far end of the blank with your off hand and support it against your chest. The thumb of the knife hand rests on top of the handle and the tip of the knife is tilted away from the body. This way the base of the thumb hits the body before the knife releases from the wood. To provide safety, tuck your forearms against your ribs. Pull the knife toward your body and let the edge run from base to tip. While pressing and sliding with the forearm of the carving hand toward your chest, your wrist remains stiff. Press the bevel into the wood while you carve. This provides good support and a nice surface.
The crossed thumb grip (see page 108 [see below]) is necessary to smooth out the surface. Decorate and paint the handle with linseed oil paint, but don’t paint the blade or you will paint your food! Once the paint is dry, place the spatula blade in linseed oil and soak for a couple hours. The linseed oil must be food-grade – raw, cold-pressed and sun-thickened. (In the U.S., food-grade linseed oil is usually labeled as flaxseed oil.) Wipe off the excess oil with a rag or paper towel. Dispose of oily rags properly.
CROSSED THUMB GRIP Cutting direction – hybrid. Hand position – palm down, finger grip. Type of cut – shaping, clean-cutting. This grip is based on the can opener and thumb grips. You alternately carve from different directions on the work, first in a pushing phase (10a), then a pulling phase (10b). It is particularly useful when you need to control the area where straight grain and cross grain wood meet. For example, when smoothing a concave form.
10a. Crossed thumbs, pushing.
10a PUSHING – Grip the knife in your fingers so the back of the handle rests at the point where your fingers meet your palm. Be sure to position your index finger so it is about ¼” above the handle. The blade edge should line up with your fingernails. Stretch out the thumb of the knife hand to rest on the blank and act as a pivot point.
Slice across the work from tip to base. From the top view, the knife moves at a 90° angle to the work. The power for this cut comes from the shoulder and elbow moving in an arc with the thumb as the pivot point.
At the same time, place the other hand’s thumb to the back of the blade to add power. This also presses the bevel into the wood for added friction and control. As in the can opener grip, the safety stop is the index finger of the knife hand meeting the blank.
10b. Crossed thumbs, pulling (on a knob).
10b PULLING – When the pushing phase is complete, the knife edge is positioned next to the handle. Keeping this position and the thumb on the back of the blade, flip the knife so the edge is now facing away from you.
The elbow and shoulder have a pulling motion as the knife slices from base to tip. The non-knife thumb once again presses the knife’s bevel into the wood by pushing against the back of the blade.
From the top view, the knife slices across the work at a 90° angle in this phase as well. You are now back to the starting position to repeat the cycle. Remember that the blade’s edge is meant to slice into the wood, not to push it away!
This grip is very useful for carving V-shaped notches or bevels on knobs or pegs. When you are cutting V-shaped notches, first make a relief cut. Position the blade vertically at 90° to the work, and slice across the blank at the notch’s center point. If you are cutting a notch into an octagonal spindle, make the relief cut on all faces so the center mark will be properly aligned.
Proceed to cut the sides of the notches to the desired angle. For deep notches, repeat the push pull cycle until you reach the desired depth.
Carving repetitive, precise bevels is more controlled and effective with this grip.
