I’ve just finished up designing the third new chapter for the expansion of “The Anarchist’s Design Book” on the boarded settle chair. (What is the deal with this expansion? Here’s an FAQ.)
Thanks to all the odd angles, this boarded chair is great fun to build and is surprisingly comfortable. And the lumber bill is only $55. It is an imposing piece of furniture, and the bold curves I cut on the sides only make it more eye-catching. To turn down the volume a bit, I painted the sides black, which allows the chair to recede a bit in a room.
This design is based on historical examples from Northern Wales and Northern England that I’ve seen in furniture books. Sometimes called “lambing chairs,” many of the originals are in pine.
Below is the link to download this chapter. Here are the usual caveats:
The writing is still a bit rough. Megan Fitzpatrick edited it today, but there might be a few typos we still need to clean up for the print edition.
The construction drawing is still crude. In the printed version there will be a nice copperplate etching from Briony Morrow-Cribbs in its place.
This chapter is intended for those who already own the current edition of “The Anarchist’s Design Book.” So this chapter is offered on the honor system. Those who download the chapter without owning the book will be forced to play dice with wombat poop (which is apparently square).
That’s it. Thanks to everyone who has bought the book, and I hope you are enjoying the new chapters. There are two (maybe three) more to go.
It may interest readers to know that the best twist-turned legs are still a combination of turning and carving, and that when they were first made in the 17th century the lathe played a quite secondary part in the manufacture. In this article we are going to assume that you have no lathe at all and are going to rely upon normal hand woodworking tools plus one or two carver’s gouges. Even the last-named are not essential, but are certainly a great convenience.
Rounding the Wood. Prepare your wood in the form of a square as in Fig. 3, and mark in the centres at both ends with the gauge. Continue the lines along the length of the wood as shown, using a pencil. Mark in circles at the ends, using dividers, and plane off the corners so that the square is reduced to an octagon as in Fig. 4. Finally take off the remaining corners, so rounding it, leaving the pencil lines untouched.
FIG. 2. PITCH AND DEPTH OF TWIST; FIG. 3. MARKING THE SQUARE; FIG. 4. CORNERS PLANED OFF; FIG. 5. PRELIMINARY MARKING OF RINGS; FIG. 6. MARKING THE SPIRAL; FIG. 7. WHERE THE GROOVE IS WORKED; FIG. 8. USING V TOOL; FIG. 9. TAKING OFF CORNERS; FIGS. 10 AND 11. FINISHING OFF WITH THE HALF-ROUND FILE
Pitch. We have now the pitch and depth of the twist to consider. When a nut is revolved upon a bolt it rises by a certain amount at each complete revolution. That is its pitch, and a similar idea applies in a twist leg. Glance at A, Fig. 2. The rounded part of the twist at the top of the arrow passes spiralwise round the leg and when it reaches a point vertically beneath it has completed one revolution, and the distance down it has travelled is the pitch. There is no definite ruling about it, but generally the pitch is made to equal the diameter of the wood as in the present example. You can vary it, however, by way of experiment if you prefer.
Now for depth. The hollowed-out groove of the spiral can be cut in so deeply that it passes more than halfway through the wood, as at B, Fig. 2. This would be graceful enough, but would have little strength and would so be impracticable for most jobs. On the other hand, it could be shallow as at C, in which case it would appear as little more than an indeterminate ripple along the surface. Obviously something between the two is needed, and you can take into account the work the leg is expected to do. For instance, a heavy chair or table leg would have to be shallower than a spindle which carries no weight. This depth, by the way, does not affect the pitch.
Marking the Spiral. We will assume that the pitch is to equal the diameter, and the next step must be to make a series of rings around the leg, their distance apart equalling the pitch. Thus, assuming the diameter to be 11∕2 ins., the distance between AB, BC, etc., (Fig. 5) will be 11∕2 ins. The rings are easily drawn by wrapping a piece of thin card with a straight edge around the wood as shown.
To mark the spiral, take a length of thin card having one edge perfectly straight and, holding the true edge at the point A, wrap it spiral-wise around the leg, adjusting the position so that it cuts the point B, then C, and so on as in Fig. 6. A drawing-pin can be used to hold the end temporarily. Run a pencil around the straight edge so marking in the centre of the rounded or high part of the twist.
Now turn to Fig. 5. You will see that AB, BC, etc. are divided into quarters, 1, 2, 3. Actually only the points 1, 3 are needed, but 2 is marked in because it is convenient to divide up into halves first. Using the length of thin card again, wrap it again round the leg to pass through the points 1-1, etc., thus being parallel with the first line. Repeat the process, this time making the line cut the points 3-3, etc. You thus have three distinct spirals passing down the leg as in Fig. 7, and it is the wood between 1-3 that is to be hollowed out. It is shown shaded in Fig. 7, and it is in fact a good plan to scribble between these lines on the actual leg so that there is no question as to what is to be cut away.
Incidentally, we may note that it is always as well to have a hollow at both ends of the spiral as the latter can then die out naturally. Hence the rings XY at the ends in Fig. 5.
Cutting the Groove. A carver’s V tool is convenient for the preliminary cutting out (see A, Fig. 8), but a carver’s gouge can be used throughout if preferred. Gradually deepen the cut until the sides line up with the pencil lines.
Of course, the direction of the cut will have to change during every stroke and it should be in alignment with the spiral the whole time. The best way of holding the work is in the bench vice, cutting away each exposed part of the groove, giving slight turn, then cutting the newly exposed part, and so on until the whole is completed.
The gouge follows as at B, Fig. 8, care being taken to make the depth as equal as possible throughout. The sides should slope outwards slightly as at B. At all events avoid undercutting as at C. Once again let the gouge follow the line of the spiral.
Finishing the Rounds. Using either chisel or flat gouge, take off the corners now as in Fig. 9. You will find that one side will cut easily; the wood will have to be reversed for the other to be done. Working in this way you will find that the work will aproximate roughly to the finished shape.
To take out chisel and gouge marks a large round or a half-round file is used.
If a compound movement is adopted the high parts will automatically be taken out. The flat side of the file can be used for the rounded parts. Rest the work just above the vice as in Fig. 10, so that it can be revolved with the left hand whilst the file is used. Note from Fig. 1 how at the ends the round diminishes into the circular hollow.
Glasspaper is used finally, and it is essential that this is thorough. A shaped rubber can be used, but the fingers are also handy. Follow round the course of the spiral using first Middle 2 grade, then finer until you complete with No. 0. In this way you will finish with a beautifully smooth surface.
We are asked regularly by customers and retailers about the status of upcoming books and other projects at Lost Art Press. I sometimes hesitate to talk too much about upcoming projects – or put a release date to them – because people get upset if we miss those dates.
That said, here is the list of active projects at Lost Art Press. I offer it with these two caveats:
We don’t have firm deadlines at Lost Art Press. We print a book when it’s as good as we can make it – no less.
The information below is all I have. If a project isn’t listed here, the author is still researching it, writing it or trying to return from falling off the edge of the earth. So asking me about Andrew Lunn’s book on sawmaking isn’t going to garner a response – I simply don’t know.
Here we go:
“Shaker Inspirations” by Christian Becksvoort This is our final release for 2018 and should go to press tomorrow. It is part autobiography, part lesson in craftsmanship, part business treatise and part measured drawings to some of Chris’s best pieces. If you know Chris, you will find this book to be Classic Chris – plainspoken and opinionated – with the chops to back it up.
Lost Art Press “Blackout” T-shirt This is the other product we are offering for the holidays. It’s an inexpensive dark blue T-shirt with a black Lost Art Press logo on it. We’ve been experimenting with this sort of shirt for a while to see how it ages. It’s awesome. These should be available in three weeks.
Lost Art Press Chore Coats The factory making the final batch of chore coats in Japanese cotton has been dragging its feet. Officials there promise we’ll have coats in three weeks. Don’t hold your breath. For the new edition of the chore coat in American-made cotton, we are waiting for prototypes to arrive from two vendors.
“The Difference Makers” by Marc Adams This will be a huge, beautiful and inspiring book. Marc Adams, owner and founder of the largest woodworking school in North America, has written a book that profiles more than 30 of the best furniture makers, toolmakers and artists he’s encountered through his school. Each profile features a biography of the person, Marc’s personal tale of his history with the person and lots of gorgeous photos of finished work. Editing this book has been both humbling and inspiring. Definitely 2019.
“Joiner’s Work” by Peter Follansbee We’re all eagerly awaiting Peter’s follow-up to “Make a Joint Stool from a Tree,” which will delve into Peter’s case work, boxes and chairs. The book is tantalizingly close to being in our hands so we can finish editing it and designing it. Let’s hope for 2019.
“Make a Chair from a Tree, Third Edition” by Jennie Alexander Our dearest hope is to get this book out by the end of the summer in 2019. The text is in pretty good shape now (thanks to Larry Barrett), and I am going to Baltimore in October to finish up the new photography we need for this new edition.
“The Life & Work of John Brown” by Christopher Williams This project is beginning to pick up steam, and I hope the research and writing will be done by the end of 2019. I am off to Wales tomorrow to work with Chris Williams a bit, meet some of John Brown’s family, see some chairs and (I hope) look through archival photographs for the book.
“Country Woodcraft, Then & Now” (working title) by Drew Langsner Drew is updating his classic “Country Woodcraft,” which was published way before anyone used the term “green woodworking.” It was an important book that launched a lot of woodworkers into pursuing traditional crafts. The new edition will feature the book’s original contents (slightly edited in places) plus a big dose of new chapters that reflect what Drew learned by a lifetime in the woods and at the bench.
“The Anarchist’s Design Book (Expanded)” by Christopher Schwarz My goal is to finish writing this updated version by the end of 2018 so it can be published in 2019. I have only two more projects to build – though I desperately want to add a third project to my to-do list. If you have questions about this expansion edition, read this FAQ.
We have lots more projects in the works from the likes of Nancy Hiller, Jarrod Dahl, Vic Tesolin, Don Williams and Brendan Gaffney. But I don’t have any updates to report on those books.
In some old images of staked stools and chairs, you’ll find the legs and other components are a bit curved. Sometimes this is the result of the “hedge carpenter” using a curved branch scavenged from the woods. Or from using sections of a log that are riven from the swelling at the butt of the tree, which is naturally curved.
Today I encountered a description of a hedge carpenter that was charming that led me back to Walter Rose’s “The Village Carpenter” (of course).
“Thus they had never become enslaved to line and level; their minds had not been trained to revolt if their work deviated from the square, or if it was slightly on the twist and the faces of their joints not absolutely flush. They themselves made no claim to art – I doubt if they knew the meaning of the word. But the work they did was part of the beauty of the countryside; the cleft fence-rails and posts split from oak saplings, with the bark left on in places, and the rough knots trimmed with axe or drawing knife.”
