Editor’s note: In this Chair Chat, Chris gets a visitor and we conspire to hijack Lost Art Press while he’s gone. Rudy wonders how to get that “shiny brown finish,” and Chris explains his theory on creating Worm Holes. Please only read further if you dare to enter the area on the Lost Art Press blog reserved for the cool people who can appreciate deep quality humor.
(more…)‘Sharpen This’: A Free Dustjacket and a Polishing Tip
When we published “Sharpen This,” some readers were disappointed that the book’s cover wasn’t the slightly naughty “Sharpen This” image we printed on a sticker in 2017.
Had we used that image, which I adore, we would have faced complaints from some readers, and I suspect the image would have prevented some people from buying the book. As the book is supposed to remove your barriers to sharpening, an off-putting cover seemed a bad idea.
Or maybe I’m just a wuss.
In any case, Chair Chatter Rudy Everts suggested we offer a free downloadable dust jacket for the book that used the 2017 image. And so I made one today. It prints on 11” x 17” paper, which is easily found in most photocopiers. Or you can take it to your local print shop to print it out.
Then you just have to cut it out and wrap it around the book’s hardcover boards. And then – instantly – problem solved. Mischief achieved. And all that.
Another Video Tip
I am working on a few videos that will advertise the book and offer up some of the hard-earned sharpening knowledge and time-saving techniques I’ve learned through the years. You can see the latest video above.
— Christopher Schwarz
Storefront Open Day: Nov. 26th, 2022
We will open the storefront to the public from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, November 26. We will be selling our full line of books and tools, of course. But more importantly we are here to answer your questions and talk about woodworking. And to show you the clock if you ask (if you know, you know – but let’s just say you need to be 21 to see the clock, and it’s not naughty).
We will have a special, free, commemorative Lost Art Press…something…to give away – one to a visitor. It’s so special that we can’t yet reveal what is it. (And OK…we haven’t yet come up with it.) And we will also have a lot of blemished books to sell at 50 percent off. We might also have a few personal tools to sell – I need more room in my basement! Blemished books and tools are cash only. Our storefront is at 837 Willard St., Covington, Ky. 41011
While you are visiting, you might grab lunch at The Standard on Main Street. On Saturdays they make some excellent barbecue (try the brisket). Also recommended: Crafts & Vines serves lunch on Saturdays – it’s always something tasty and usually smoked. And we’re newly love with the Empanada’s Box, which recently opened a few blocks from the storefront.
We hope to see you in November!
— Fitz
Free Shipping on Orders Over $100
In an effort to become a more competent/normal/slightly-more-successful company, we are trying an experiment. For the next couple months we are offering free shipping on all orders more than $100.
If the math works out and we don’t lose our shirts (like selling posters), then we will make this free shipping permanent. If we start to bleed money, we will discontinue it.
There are no “free shipping” codes to learn or type in. It’s simple. Buy more than $100 worth of stuff, and the shipping will be set to free, automatically.
This obviously means that things such as our Crucible Holdfast, Dividers and Sliding Bevel now ship for free. Plus any combination of books, tools and apparel.
Let’s hope this works for everyone.
— Christopher Schwarz
Doin’ the HVLP Dance
I don’t spray finishes enough to feel confident doing it – that is especially true for “complicated” work such as stick chairs (not so complicated to make, but sort of complicated to paint, because there are many surfaces to be coated). I’ll bet I’m not the only one. So, I grabbed my camera as Christopher Schwarz got ready to spray the final coat on his most recent chair and shot the video below. It’s a bit of a dance, moving fluidly around the project… so apologies for the brief moments of Chris’ backside blocking the view.
The legs got good coverage on the first two coats (one coat with the chair flipped upside down, the next with it right-side up), which is why they’re skipped on this go-round. But the general order of operations is to spray all vertical surfaces (legs and sticks) with the fan pattern horizontal, then the horizontal surfaces with the spray pattern vertical.
A few additional notes:
• The paint is Tuscan Red General Finishes Milk Paint (which is actually an acrylic), thinned about 10 percent with water.
• The spray setup is the Apollo Sprayers HVLP ECO-5 5-Stage Turbine system.
• The picture above is the chair shown in the video, but with the addition of a coat of buffed Liberon Black Bison Wax in the color Dark Oak.
• Our spray booth is also the back patio/bier garden/barbecue area/catio. So, we don’t spray when it’s really humid, too hot, too cold, or raining/snowing. And we almost always bring the work inside immediately after spraying, so that it can dry in a controlled environment.
– Fitz
p.s. The chair shown is a variation on the chair in volume 1 of The Stick Chair Journal.