Lost Art Press

Add a Drawer to the Roubo Workbench

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Most drawers attached to the benchtop of a workbench get in the way of clamping, the bench dogs or the holdfasts. And so when I build a workbench for a customer, I typically omit the drawer (with their permission, of course).

But this bench that I’m finishing up needs a drawer, and so I was determined to make it look just like the drawer in A.J. Roubo’s Plate 11 and not get in the way.

Roubo didn’t have much to say about the drawer: “One should place a drawer at the end of the bench so that the workers can close up their minor tools like gouges, compasses, etc.” That brevity gave me a lot of leeway as to how the drawer should be constructed and hung.

As to construction, the drawer is built like a typical 18th-century drawer. The rear corners are joined with through-dovetails. The front corners are joined with half-blinds. The bottom slides in through the back of the drawer via a groove in the sides and drawer front.

The sides, back and bottom are all 1/2”-thick pine. The remainder of the parts are made with 7/8”-thick oak. The drawer itself is 7” high, 10” wide and 15-1/2” deep. I came to this measurement by scaling Roubo’s drawing of the drawer compared to the rest of the bench.

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But how to hang the drawer? If I were worried about theft, I would design the mechanism differently. But as this bench is destined for a private shop, I decided to make the runners and slides robust and repairable.

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The two drawer runners are each constructed of two pieces of oak screwed to the underside of the benchtop to create an “L” shape. Then I glued two slides to the drawer sides that slide back and forth in the runners. It’s basically a side-hung drawer. You’ll note that the slides are about 17” long, which will allow for some over-travel if the drawer is pulled out too far.

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I nailed a couple of drawer stops to the benchtop and oiled everything up to match the bench.

All this is left is to mortise in the strike for the lock.

This might not be the way that Roubo would have done it, but until I get my Ouija board dialed into 1767, this will have to do.

— Christopher Schwarz

Looking for 1890

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I hope to never smell 100-year-old beer again. It’s nasty enough to turn you into a wine drinker.

This week we cranked up work on the new Lost Art Press building – trying to remove every layer of material that wasn’t original to the building.

We filled a dumpster with 30 cubic yards of debris – a bar built about 1995, an entire layer of studs and drywall that was attached to the original plaster and flooring. I’m going to have dreams about flooring. There was just so much of it: tile, cement board, a 1/4” subfloor, another layer of tile and then another subfloor. We kept going until we got to the layer above the joists.

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We found doors and original windows beneath all the modernization – plus the stovepipe for the heating system, which will be perfect for a wood-burning stove.

Raney Nelson of Daed Toolworks sorted out the electrical – he removed the 1930s wiring and all the outlets tacked to the plaster. Megan Fitzpatrick of Popular Woodworking Magazine likes to destroy things. She’s quite good at it. She took down the stud walls and laid waste to the purple tile floor.

Woodworker Justin Leib and John (the other half of Lost Art Press) drove down from Indianapolis to wreck the CDX plywood bar with sledgehammers. Toolmaker Andrew Lunn helped on every phase of the project.

As we pulled the bar from its moorings and removed the flooring behind the bar, the nastiest beer smell filled the room. I love beer and I love wood. But when you soak wood with beer for a 100-year period, the result will make you gag. So don’t try it.

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And when the space was clear, we put it to use. Photographer Narayan Nayar (he did “Virtuoso” and the photos that open the chapters of “The Anarchist’s Tool Chest”) helped the destruction and then stuck around to help with some photography for “The Anarchist’s Design Book.”

With any luck, the space will be habitable enough to show on March 11-12, 2016. That’s when the Lie-Nielsen Hand Tool Event is coming to Braxton Brewing Co., which is right down the street from us. We’ll have a booth at the brewery, but we’ll also open up our storefront and have some sort of event. Details to follow as we get closer to March.

— Christopher Schwarz

A Recipe You Should Try: ‘Soft Wax’

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One of the themes in “The Anarchist’s Design Book” is about how I have turned my back on modern finishes that – even with precautions – are harmful to your health. During the last four years I’ve moved almost exclusively to using shellac, wax, milk paint and soap.

I’m no evangelist; if you like precat lacquer and other similar finishes stick with them (for as long as they are legal). I’m simply trying to say: There are alternatives to these finishes that work very well in an amateur or professional shop.

One of the recipes I didn’t have room for in the book was “soft wax,” a concoction I got via Derek Jones that originated with Yannick Chastain. I’ve made several batches of this stuff and love it for interiors, especially drawers and cabinets.

It smells fantastic – much more exotic that you would think with these basic ingredients. You can read Derek’s entire method here.

Here’s the recipe converted to Standard American.

Take 7 ounces of shredded beeswax and melt it in a double boiler (a glue pot will work fine). When the wax has melted, take it off heat. Stir in 3.5 ounces of mineral spirits and add 10.5 ounces of turpentine (the real stuff, not the fake).

When the mixture cools it will become a substance that is about the consistency of peanut butter. I keep it in glass jars in the shop.

Apply the wax with a soft, lint-free cloth. Let it absorb for about 15 minutes. Then buff it with a second clean cloth.

Oh, and if you need really good beeswax, see this entry in my gift guide.

— Christopher Schwarz

‘Hands’ on DVD: A Worthy Gift for Yourself

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HandsWhen my family asks me what I want for Christmas, my response is: What I want is for you to buy me nothing.

They listen. Sort of. This year I might receive a couple of interesting beers and some underwear to replace the elastic rags I pull on each morning.

But this year, I did purchase one gift for myself, the “Hands” DVD by David and Sally Shaw-Smith. This remarkable collection of 37 films shot during the 1970s and 1980s capture many of the disappearing traditional crafts in Ireland.

Each short movie focuses on a particular craft, from building Regency furniture to carriage making to stone cutting to leatherwork. If you work with your hands, you will be captivated by the stories, the filming and the people who are trying their best to keep these skills from vanishing.

The DVD set is sold by the good folks at Benchcrafted, and I’ve caught glimpses of it at the different shows during the last few years, including Handworks. I once had a set of the DVDs, but they have disappeared into my basement. So I purchased a replacement set this year. Yes, it’s a pricey set, but I know that you and your family will enjoy these films.

You can buy the set for $199 here.

Jameel and F.J. Abraham have put up three of the films on Vimeo for you to enjoy, free from advertising. Check out the film on cutting stone here.

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Part 2

Also a film on making the currach, a clever leather-skinned boat:

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Part 2

And a film on rural Fermanagh Country in Ireland.

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Part 2

Very highly recommended.

— Christopher Schwarz

Another Interview? Does He Ever Shut His Mouth?

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Trevor Green of Trevor’s Workshop interviewed me last month as part of his continuing series of podcasts on woodworking magazines and interviews with makers. The 30-minute interview is here. But be sure to check out some of the other interviews here – Christian Becksvoort, Darrell Peart and Mario Rodriguez, to name a few.

Trevor and I talked about woodworking (of course) but also the future of woodworking publishing (is there one?), and whether or not I’m forcing my children to become woodworkers. It was a fun interview, so thanks to Trevor for arranging it.

— Christopher Schwarz