Lost Art Press

Soft Wax 2.0 For Sale

Posted on by Lost Art Press
Bean is the “poster cat” for Soft Wax 2.0.

Katherie has just posted 30 jars of Soft Wax 2.0 in her store. This batch was made in the nacho cheese machine – we are still struggling to get her lipstick machine back on line. She’ll be done with college in two weeks, and then she will have some more time available to work on this problem.

We love this finish, and I use on my chairs and casework. Katherine cooks it up here in the machine room using the raw ingredients of yellow beeswax, raw linseed oil and a little bit of citrus solvent. She then packages it in a tough glass jar with a metal screw-top lid. She applies her hand-designed label to each lid, boxes up the jars and ships them in a durable cardboard mailer. The money she makes from wax helps her make ends meet. Instructions for the wax are below. You can watch a video of how to use the wax here.

Instructions for Soft Wax 2.0
Soft Wax 2.0 is a safe finish for bare wood that is incredibly easy to apply and imparts a beautiful low luster to the wood.

The finish is made by cooking raw linseed oil (from the flax plant) and combining it with cosmetics-grade beeswax and a small amount of a citrus-based solvent. The result is that this finish can be applied without special safety equipment, such as a respirator. The only safety caution is to dry the rags out flat you used to apply before throwing them away. (All linseed oil generates heat as it cures, and there is a small but real chance of the rags catching fire if they are bunched up while wet.)

Soft Wax 2.0 is an ideal finish for pieces that will be touched a lot, such as chairs, turned objects and spoons. The finish does not build a film, so the wood feels like wood – not plastic. Because of this, the wax does not provide a strong barrier against water or alcohol. If you use it on countertops or a kitchen table, you will need to touch it up every once in a while. (I have it on our kitchen countertops and love it.) Simply add a little more Soft Wax to a deteriorated finish and the repair is done – no stripping or additional chemicals needed.

Soft Wax 2.0 is not intended to be used over a film finish (such as lacquer, shellac or varnish). It is best used on bare wood. However, you can apply it over a porous finish, such as milk paint.

APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS (VERY IMPORTANT): Applying Soft Wax 2.0 is easy if you follow the simple instructions. On bare wood, apply a thin coat of soft wax using a rag, applicator pad, 3M gray pad or steel wool. Allow the finish to soak in about 15 minutes. Then, with a clean rag or towel, wipe the entire surface until it feels dry. Do not leave any excess finish on the surface. If you do leave some behind, the wood will get gummy and sticky.

The finish will be dry enough to use in a couple hours. After a couple weeks, the oil will be fully cured. After that, you can add a second coat (or not). A second coat will add more sheen and a little more protection to the wood.

Soft Wax 2.0 is made in small batches in Covington, Kentucky. Each glass jar contains 8 oz. of soft wax, enough for about five chairs.

LAP Open Wire with George Walker, June 3, 2023

Posted on by Lost Art Press

I am so pleased to have George Walker as our first guest host of the Lost Art Press Open Wire. George is a traditional woodworker who (with his friend Jim Tolpin) has spent nearly 20 years exploring and explaining “artisan geometry.”

Artisan geometry is the clever and simple system behind all the good designs and simple layout methods that flow from the bench. It is the footers and foundations of our craft – and that of architecture. And once learned, it will open your mind (and hands) to a simpler and more direct way to design and work.

George and Jim have already written four books about it for us, and they are working on a fifth.

If you have questions about this unseen world, George is here to help answer them today.

Here’s how it works: Type your question in the comment field. George will post his answer. It is that easy.

Before you ask a question, please read this.

  1. If you could limit the number of questions you ask to one or two, that would be appreciated. 
  2. If your question is your first comment here, it will automatically be flagged for moderation. Your question will appear after I approve it.

So here we go…. Note that comments for this entry will close about 5 p.m. Eastern. 

— Christopher Schwarz

Anthe Machine Works in Photos

Posted on by Kara Uhl

A couple weeks ago, we received a call from Kathy Porter, daughter of Frank Joseph Anthe. Turns out Kathy is local, and she said she had a picture or two of her father. “Would we like to stop by to see them?” she asked.

Someday I’d love to share my day with Kathy, which was unexpected and so fun. But for now, I want to share these incredible photos, which were over and beyond what I expected.

Above is Kathy’s father, Frank Joseph Anthe, who was born 1901. Everyone in the family and various newspaper clippings say Frank Joseph Anthe took over Anthe Machine Works when was 15-years-old, when his father, Frank D. Anthe, died.

Frank D. Anthe died in 1919, so we assumed his son, Frank Joseph Anthe, took over, perhaps, a few years prior to his father’s death. According to a genealogist Kathy hired in the 1990s, Frank D. Anthe died “of a form of Bright’s Disease, caused by working with iron or lead”. Historically, “Bright’s disease” was used to classify a type of kidney disease, what we now call nephritis.

This genealogy report also included a copy of Frank D. Anthe’s will, written in 1918. In it, he wrote that he wished to give his business, located at 407 Madison Ave., Covington, Kentucky, to his children, and that he wished for his son to continue to operate it as the same. However, he also acknowledged that while he trusted his son to be “thoroughly competent” as he grew older, until his son was 21, he wished for the finances to be handled by executors and trustees, who were instructed, in the meantime, to compensate Frank Joseph Anthe for his work.

So in this picture (which we colorized), we have a teenager or possible early 20-something, whose father had died in 1919, and whose mother had died in 1914, tasked with keeping Anthe Machine Works up and running, the employees who worked there employed and his father’s legacy alive. And he did. Kathy says she remembers her father saying how kind and helpful many locals in the business community were as he transitioned from not just keeping the machines up and running, but also keeping the financials on track, too.

Here are two more early looks at the interior of Anthe Machine Works and its employees. These photos are undated, but Kathy’s dad is the one in the three-piece suit. She said he wore a three-piece to work every day.

Here’s a great shot of the front of Anthe Machine Works, which we also colorized. Again, undated.

Here we have two professionally taken photos that Kathy found tucked in an Anthe Machine Works catalog. One is a sampling of wood cutters made by Anthe and the other is a shot of longtime employee Vic, Kathy said.

“What’s Vic’s last name?” I asked, thinking about past research I had done.

“Schraivogel,” she said pronouncing the name emphatically. I gathered he was a longtime, loved employee.

And then I remembered – the 1975 obituary I found for Victor J. Schraivogel, 69, “a retired machinist for the Anthe Machine Works, Covington, where he was employed for 44 years,” the one I mentioned here. And now, we have this beautiful photo of him!

Kathy says many of her father’s employees worked at Anthe for years. He was a good dad, she said, so he probably was a good boss.

(And again, for more views of Anthe cutters and catalogs, check out this video, by Jason French, curator at Behringer-Crawford Museum.)

I’m throwing this photo in just because it’s fun. In a 1980 brochure called “Take a Tankquilizer,” there is an article titled, “CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! Went The Street Car OOGA! OOGA! OOGA! Went The Horn.” The article says, “The operator of this #1 street car and some of the spectators on the side walk seem concerned. All but the driver of the car. He seems to have a good grip on the wheel and his sights set straight ahead. Any ideas of the place, time, and people involved? Submit information to TANK Marketing Department and receive your next ride on #1 or any other TANK route of your choice, ‘FREE.’”

I have no additional information to share except that’s the Anthe building in the background and the scene gives a wonderful sense of time and place, decades ago.

Speaking of the 1980s, here we have Donald Anthe posing in the same spot as his father did all those years ago.

And here’s what the interior of Anthe Machine Works looked like in 1987.

— Kara Gebhart Uhl

This Saturday’s Open Wire with George Walker

Posted on by Lost Art Press
Nice hat, George!

Author George Walker is hosting this Saturday’s Open Wire here on the Lost Art Press blog. You’ll get to ask George about the new book he’s working on with Jim Tolpin, plus ask questions about design, artisan geometry and traditional woodworking – all the good stuff.

George and Jim are the authors of four Lost Art Press Books: “By Hand & Eye,” “By Hound & Eye,” “Truths to Tools” and “Euclid’s Door.”

George and Jim also run the By Hand & Eye website, where they generously help other woodworkers (and school students) explore the world of artisan geometry.

The pair are hard at work on a new book for Lost Art Press. Here’s what George has to say about it:

Tentatively called “Good Eye, Skilled Hands,” it’s a dive into historic work to uncover timeless lessons about design. We deconstruct the geometry and proportions hidden beneath the surface, secrets that still offer insights for modern furniture builders. Proportions hidden in a medieval coffer or even the geometry built into the framing of a 400-year-old English threshing barn may inspire and guide designs for a contemporary coffee table or a writing desk. It will change the way you see historic work.

You can read a full profile of George here. And of Jim here.

You can also follow them on Instagram: @georgewalker.design and @jimtolpin.

I hope you will stop by this Saturday and ask George a few questions (Jim might chime in, too). We are opening up the Open Wire to our authors, and so you can look for more guest hosts in the coming weeks.

— Christopher Schwarz

Update to the Gibson Chair Video

Posted on by Lost Art Press
The new video includes another trick with a washer.

I’ve just uploaded a six-minute video for those who purchased the “Make a Gibson Chair Video.” The new video shows two tricks I came up with that make the chair easier to build and a little stronger. I also show how to scribe the shoulders of the legs’ tenons to the seat for a clean look.

If you purchased this video, you should have received a notification of the update via email. If you didn’t, first check your spam/junk folder. You also can log into your account with Lost Art Press and see all your video content there. The new video should be at the bottom.

Like all our videos, you can watch them streaming through our site, or you can download them to any device. We have no Digital Rights Management (DRM) junk on the video files.

One of the tricks – my favorite – uses a 1” washer and makes fitting the back sticks a heck of a lot easier. Also, I’m crushing your head.

— Christopher Schwarz

P.S. The Gibson chair video has an introductory price of $50 until June 19. After that, the price will be $75.