This week we are sending “Chairmaker’s Notebook” by Peter Galbert out for a second printing.
Most of the changes made for the second printing are technical in nature – we adjusted the histogram of several of Peter’s hand-drawn images to darken them.
But there is one significant correction to the content of the book, so I would like to post that here for everyone to download for free.
In Chapter 3, Peter presents two pages of plans for the two chairs he built for the book. Because of a scanning error on my part (not Peter’s), the enlargement percentage shown on the pages of the first printing is incorrect. It should be 545 percent (not 540 percent).
Additionally, the drawings for the underside of the seat and the bending form for the balloon-back were slightly off the correct scale.
I spent the morning trying to figure out how I made this error. My conclusion: I screwed up something while scanning the original drawings.
You can download a pdf of the corrected version of those two pages here:
Whenever possible, I try to build projects in pairs. Building two pieces doesn’t take twice as long as building one project – it seems to add only about 25 percent to the hours I log in the shop.
By building two pieces at once, I end up with a second one I can also sell. And if something goes totally south during the construction process, I still end up with one finished piece and a bunch of extra parts or firewood.
The funny thing about working on projects in pairs is there is usually one of the two projects that fights me the whole way.
This week I’m finishing two chairs for a client. But I’m beginning to think I should have made three. One of these chairs, we’ll call him Joey, has resisted my every effort to make him a chair. When I assembled his undercarriage, one of his legs busted out a huge chip on the seat when I drove it home.
His armbow split twice during the bending process, even though the oak for both was all from the same dang tree.
While assembling the spindles and arm bow I had to use a 3 lb. sledgehammer to knock Joey’s armbow into the correct orientation.
And when I began bending his crest rail, it split. Twice.
So right now Joey is in “time out” on the bench while I hack up a new log of fresh pin oak for his crest rail. The other chair – its twin – has been waiting for paint for three days now.
Editor’s note: One of the delights in editing Mary May’s upcoming book on carving acanthus leaves is that she poured so much of herself into it. Not just in the instruction offered in the book – but also her biography. While you learn how to carve the many variants on the classic acanthus, you also follow Mary as she ventures all over the world in her efforts to carve, carve and carve. Here’s one of the short tales that I particularly enjoyed.
We’re working hard on getting this book edited so that it will be out by summer. Stay tuned.
— Christopher Schwarz
My first experience with woodcarving occurred when I was 6. I had just made the big move from kindergarten to first grade and we were all excited to have learned a new skill. With a big yellow pencil and some lined paper, our task was to neatly print our names in capital letters. Fortunately, my name is mostly straight lines, so writing M-A-R-Y came easily. Proud of my new skill, I practiced this new art form wherever I could.
As it happened, there was a lovely, nine-drawer antique pine dresser in my bedroom. It seemed obvious that the smooth surfaces of the wooden drawers were a perfect canvas to show off my penmanship, but the lines from the big yellow pencil did not show up well. I borrowed one of my dad’s screwdrivers and proceeded to carefully etch my name on the surface of each and every drawer. I was able to scratch the soft pine deeply without much effort, and while I was proud of my new masterpiece, I was already looking for more places to share my art.
However, it soon dawned on me that not everyone would appreciate my creativity. I loved it, but would they? My inventive (and manipulative) young mind started figuring a way to keep myself squeaky clean. In a moment of sneaky inspiration, I realized that my brother’s name “MARK” might provide the perfect cover. I thought, “I’ll just draw an extra line on the Y and make it look like a K.” I was sure everyone would think that Mark did it! So I altered the Y on every drawer with an extra, diagonal scratch to complete the transformation. I was so impressed with my cleverness that it was a real shock when my parents immediately blamed me! How did they know?
The wise punishment from my parents was to make me use that dresser all the way through high school, facing my “Mark” every single day. My love for carving only increased from that young age, as has my respect for parents who recognize the passions of their child and help foster it into their grown life’s work.
We now have Lost Art Press logo T-shirts for sale in our store in five colors and sizes ranging from XS to 3XL. These 100-percent cotton short-sleeve shirts are made and printed in the United States and ship worldwide.
The price includes domestic shipping; worldwide shipping has a small upcharge depending on where you live.
Please note that we don’t make much money from these shirts – about three dollars if I remember correctly. They are printed on demand and fulfilled by a third party. Also, please take a look at the sizing chart before you order. These shirts are made by American Apparel, and they run a bit slim.
Note: Disco Ty will not be attending the open day. Your spouse is safe.
As per our regular schedule, the Lost Art Press storefront will be open on Saturday, Nov. 12, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. We will have our complete line of books, plus T-shirts (lots of them), free posters, free stickers and blemished books for 50 percent off.
Our storefront is at 837 Willard St. in Covington, Ky. If you are coming in from out of town, I recommend you check out the newly opened Hotel Covington. It’s a 5-minute walk from our storefront and has a fantastic hotel restaurant, Coppin’s. (Try the corn fritters.)
Also, recently I got to eat at Inspirado, a restaurant across the street from Hotel Covington. I love the food – a global melange that totally works. Also new to our neighborhood (all located on Main Strasse around the corner from us):
Hail Dark Aesthetics: This is a vinyl record and skull store. OK, it’s more than that, but it’s filled with records and skulls. And bisected cats. My daughters love this place and it features the best one-eyed goat T-shirt I’ve ever seen.
Commonwealth Bistro: A restaurant that has been a couple years in the works. I’m dying to get in there and try the fried rabbit. Word on the street is the restaurant is very good.
Crafts and Vines: A new wine bar, tap room and charcuterie place. Very friendly place.
What will I be doing at the storefront next Saturday? Good question. I’m finishing up two chairs for a client and then I have a long list of things to build: a Danish modern drop-leaf table, a Campaign-style bookcase, a ladder (yes, a ladder, it’s my new obsession), and a dustpan to replace the crappy metal one from the home center.
This week we are sending “Chairmaker’s Notebook” by Peter Galbert out for a second printing.
