Mark loads a pallet of books into the second floor loading door at our warehouse.
On Sept. 29, 2023 (last Friday, for those of you reading in real time), the last Lost Art Press order shipped out of the Indiana warehouse. Today, a semi brought the first load of our books and tools from that third-party warehouse to our new warehouse in Covington, the Anthe Building. And there are two more truckloads to come, tomorrow and Wednesday.
John Hoffman, the business side of Lost Art Press, is on hand to oversee the changeover, and our shipping team, Mark Gilsdorf and Gabe Gavre, are loading all the books and tools into the warehouse, and keeping it all organized. They’ll do their best to also get orders out while the changeover happens, but there might be a delay of a day or two this week; we beg your patience and understanding.
Also, the new warehouse is our shipping operation only (for now); it is not open to the public. So if you’re planning to visit Lost Art Press (and we welcome all visitors!), please continue to come to the storefront at 837 Willard, Covington, Ky. 41011. We remain fully stocked at the storefront with all our book and tools. And if you don’t see us up front in the bench room, please knock – we’re likely around the corner at our computers.
– Fitz
Wow. Three Hoffman sightings in a year. That’s never happened.
We’re delighted to have Matt Bickford, author of “Mouldings in Practice” (and he’s working on a book on making moulding planes!) on Open Wire today to answer your woodworking questions. (And he knows a lot more about making high-style furniture than do Chris or I – so now’s your chance!)
Here’s how it works: Type your question in the comment field, and Matt will do his best to answer it. And know that concision is much appreciated. Comments will close at around 5 p.m. (Or today, at 9:16 p.m….oops!)
Almost every week, someone on the LAP Open Wire asks what book they should read to learn about the different furniture styles. To be honest, I haven’t had a good answer because most of the guides to furniture styles are terrible and not worth buying for $1.
So I took some time to see if I could hunt up a decent one. During my search, I thought: Dang. I sure wish there was a book like Virginia McAlester’s “Field Guide to American Houses.” It is clear, concise and does not turn its back on vernacular forms.
Turns out, there is a similar book for American furniture styles: “Field Guide to American Antique Furniture” by Joseph T. Butler (1985, Henry Holt).
The book is exactly what we would publish here at Lost Art Press. The first section contains a short overview of the major American styles, from the 17th century to the early 20th century. How did the styles emerge? What influenced them? What are their major features?
The bulk of the book is devoted to showing you illustrations of different furniture forms in all of the American styles.
Chairs
Tables
Beds
Daybeds, Sofas, Benches, Settes
Lift-top Chests
Chests of Drawers
Desks and Bookcases
And Miscellaneous
So you’ll learn – through illustrations – what are the differences between a Queen Anne candlestand and a Chippendale one. Or a William and Mary cupboard compared to a Victorian one.
It’s fun to browse through. And is a great reference. There’s even an excellent glossary of furniture terms at the back.
So there you go. Buy that book. Read it. Memorize it (there will be a quiz). And only then can you bug me about a book on European furniture styles.
This Saturday’s Open Wire will be hosted by Matt Bickford, owner/planemaker at M.S. Bickford, which offers reproductions of 18th-century-style British moulding planes.
Matt is the author of “Mouldings in Practice,” and he worked with Lie-Nielsen Toolworks to release a DVD with the same name. Both the book and DVD illustrate the process of creating moulding profiles using a simple set of tools. He is currently writing a new book for Lost Art Press detailing the process of making the various tools that he offers.
Open Wire will go live at about 7 a.m. for questions (post them in the comments), and Matt will stop in as his time allows to answer. Comments will close at around 5 p.m. Eastern.
Recently we started making our own animal-based glue called “Piggly No Wiggly.” It’s made from three ingredients: food-grade gelatin, uniodized table salt and tap water.
The glue is great for furniture. It has an open time of about 18-20 minutes (depending on the temperature and humidity in your shop). That extra time is nice for complex assemblies. The glue is reversible, like hide glue. It dries clear, which is great when using light-colored woods. It has little smell. And if you store it correctly it will last indefinitely. (Complete instructions can be downloaded at the bottom of the product description.)
Megan and I make several batches a week now as we are gearing up this project. You can buy a bottle of ours for $16. Or you can easily make your own using ingredients from your grocery store and a slow cooker (such as a Crock Pot).
The whole process takes about 15 minutes of active time during two days.
When experimenting, we measure by weight. Eventually we convert that to volume for speed.
Piggly No Wiggly
4 parts gelatin, such as Knox
4 parts hot water from the tap
1 part uniodized table salt (the regular fine-ground stuff)
We make the glue in pretty big batches in vats. But a great way to make it at home is to mix it and cook it in a squeeze bottle for ketchup or mustard.
Start by pouring hot tap water into your bottle. Then add the gelatin and salt. Stir it up. Then close the lid and shake the mixture vigorously. Let it sit for 30 minutes, which is plenty of time for the finely ground gelatin to absorb the water.
The glue after mixing and shaking.
Now heat the bottle in a slow cooker, glue pot or a double boiler. The heat should be about 140° to 150° F. Don’t let it get much hotter or the glue will lose its strength. Cook the glue for two hours. Shake the bottle a couple times during the process.
At the end of two hours, put the glue in your fridge overnight.
The next day, heat the glue the same way as detailed above for two hours. Your glue is done.
The glue being cooked in our glue pot.
At room temperature, it will be a bit like Jell-O. Heat it in a warm water bath (or in your glue pot or slow cooker) before using it. If it’s too thick for your liking, add a little water. If it’s too thin, cook it a little longer.
Store the glue in the fridge, and it will last and last and last.
I know you have questions. Here are some answers. Gelatin has been used to make glue for many years and is basically a form of refined collagen (aka hide glue). It is plenty strong – a good joint will demonstrate wood failure and not glue failure. The gelatin we use is 250 bloom strength, which is the same as most general-use hide glues.
This glue is the result of about a 100 different batches of glue that used different ingredients – everything from vinegar to glycerin to urea.
Will iodized salt work? Yes, we haven’t noticed any difference. Can you use distilled water? Sure. How long should I clamp my joints? Read the instructions here for a complete discussion.
Why the funny name? Well, it’s funny. And the glue is made from pigs.
Oh, one more thing: Your pets will love to eat the squeeze out (Wally!!!!).
