Lost Art Press

The Hammer Poster: From LAP and Steam Whistle Letter Press

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We got our first look today at the finished letter press poster carved and hand-printed by Brian Stuparyk at Steam Whistle Letter Press in Newport, Ky. It’s a beauty.

The 13” x 19” poster will go on sale at Woodworking in America in Kansas City, Mo., next weekend. The price will be $20. We don’t have the room in our truck to bring mailing tubes, I’m afraid, but we will be rubber-banding the posters if you like.

We have 500 of them. If we have any left after the show, we’ll put them up in the online store. The price might be a little higher because we’ll have to use special packaging. Details to come.

This is a joint project that Brian and I have been talking about for many months. And after kicking around a few ideas we settled on a poster that embraced the ethos of both of our companies for quality, handmade stuff. And the poster actually has some useful and fun information on it. The art elements of poster were hand-carved by Brian and printed on vintage letter press equipment. I’ve included some photos of that process in a gallery below.

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As I loaded the posters into my truck today we started kicking around a few other ideas. Could we do a book together that he printed on letter press? That’s crazy, right?

— Christopher Schwarz

Soap Finish: The Mushy, Flat Stuff

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The soap finish after three coats.

After cooking the soap concoction and letting it cool for 24 hours, it became opaque and thickened to a mayonnaise-like consistency. Today I used it to finish the top of a worktable that is based off examples shown in the Tacuinum Sanitatis, a health book from the Middle Ages.

My goal with this worktable was to give the top what some people call a “scrubbed finish” with a painted base below. An authentic scrubbed finish is really no finish at all. It is the result of years of washing – just bare, almost-bleached wood.

A top with a scrubbed finish at the Cheltenham museum.
A top with a scrubbed finish at the Cheltenham museum.

The finish is so prized by some collectors that it is routinely faked by some dealers. (Or so I am told.)

Applying the mayo-like finish is quick and easy. It spreads easily with a rag. The water soaks into the wood or evaporates quickly, leaving a bit of a hazy sheen on the wood. A clean rag wipes off the excess on the surface. It takes about 5 minutes total to apply a coat of finish to the top shown.

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After the soap dries, it is indeed a dead-flat finish. Unlike other users, however, I didn’t experience any raised grain on the tabletop; my guess is that is because I didn’t use any sandpaper. The top is right off the jack plane. Even so, I sanded the finish lightly between coats with a #320-grit sanding sponge.

After four coats the top is very smooth and soft. Just what I wanted.

I’m going to experiment more with a soap finish in the coming months. I like how it can be used to produce a variety of sheens depending on the amount of water you add to the flakes. I also really like how simple it is and how difficult it is to mess up – perfect for the beginner. The added bonus is that it is much less toxic than many solvent-based finishes. I have enough volatile organics in my shop.

— Christopher Schwarz

The soap finish after 24 hours of cooling and setting up.
The soap finish after 24 hours of cooling and setting up.

Soap Soup, the Movie

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My first experiments with a runny soap finish didn’t impress me – the wood just got wet and a little slimy. But after watching this movie, I’m trying it again. This time I’m going to let the mixed finish sit for 24 hours before applying it to the wood.

This morning I mixed up a runny solution of boiling hot water and soap flakes (1 cup soap flakes and 4 cups of water). And it’s cooling as I type.

By the way, I got my soap flakes from MSO Distributing. They’re made in England without any additives or fragrance. Delivery was prompt. I’ve also ordered a pound of soap flakes from Pure Soap Flakes to give the USA-made flakes a try, even though they are more expensive than the British flakes.

— Christopher Schwarz

New Lost Art Press Stuff at WIA

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In addition to our two new products – “By Hound & Eye” and the “Virtuoso DVD” – we’ll be selling two special limited-edition items at the Lost Art Press booth in the Marketplace in Woodworking in America on Sept. 25-26.

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First is a joint project between Lost Art Press and Steam Whistle Letter Press in Newport, Ky. Brian Stuparyk, the founder of Steam Whistle, approached us about doing a short run of 500 letterpress posters that are 18” x 12”, numbered and signed.

We don’t want to be in the poster business, but we agreed to this joint project because it will be a useful graphic for your shop wall – it’s all about how to use hammers and cut nails in furniture. Most of the poster’s blocks have been hand cut by Brian and the poster is being printed on his vintage equipment. We’ll unveil the design next week. I’ve seen Brian’s preliminary work, and it’s quite cool.

The posters will be $20. If we have any leftover from WIA (I expect we will) we will put them up for sale in our online store.

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The second crazy product is a new T-shirt design from Indianapolis artist Shelby Kelley. Shelby painted the artwork for Revolucion, a taco joint we like. John and Shelby re-imagined some of his wild bandito paintings and added some awesome dovetail saws (the woodworking equivalent of “more cowbell”).

We’ll have a bunch of these shirts at WIA – American-made in gray (correction: Army green) with black printing. We might add these shirts to the store after Woodworking in America. Not sure.

So look for our booth in the Marketplace. Where will we be? Chances are you’ll find us by the bathrooms. At every WIA they’ve put our booth in the back by the toilets. But no, Don, I don’t take it personally.

— Christopher Schwarz