Comments are now closed. If we’ve not yet answered your question, we’ll get to it soon! Join us again on October 10.
Welcome to Lost Art Press Open Wire, where until 5 p.m. Eastern, you can ask any and all woodworking questions and questions about Lost Art Press, our cats, Shakespeare (me), Late 19th/early 20th-century Russian literature (Chris), and we and your fellow readers will do our best to answer. Simply post your questions in the comments section below.
Note that there might be a lag between your questions and our answers. Chris is busy building a chair, and I am working on my kitchen renovation.
The remaining Open wire dates for 2026 are:
October 10
December 12
– Fitz
Hi Chris, do you consider overall weight of the chair when choosing woods? (For example, would you avoid making a chair from very heavy wood?). Thanks
Not really. The components are so thin that even a heavy wood (such as hickory, oak or maple) doesn’t create a chair that is difficult to live with. There are some super-dense woods, such as purpleheart, that I avoid for a lot of reasons. But mostly because they are so difficult or nasty to work with hand tools.
Hiya, I’m UK based, and wondering if this is a good match for the Grizzly carver’s vice you recommend? (Patternmaker’s vice from Dictum). Wanted to check as I read somewhere about the importance of the jaw lining material. If not – would love any leads you might have on a good match!
https://www.dictum.com/en/patternmaker-s-vice/705755
Thanks so much!
Yup. That will work just fine!
Brilliant thank you!
Thank you for hosting these! Do you have a list of favorite bandsaws to seek out? I remember Chris recommending a couple of dream bandsaws, along with the obtainable Rikon 10-310.
I tried to look this up myself in the openwire.ghia.club archive, but that appears to offline. Is there another spot to mine past nuggets of open wire wisdom?
He wrote about band saws and other vintage machinery on Substack: https://neversponsored.substack.com/p/the-anarchists-band-saw In short, old, iron and American-made is the way to go.
I don’t have a ready list I’m afraid. I’ll give it some thought. The little band saw I like is actually the Rikon 10-305, which is no longer made. The 10-310 is different, and not in a good way.
If I were looking for a vintage one that is easy to find, I’d look for a USA made 14″ Powermatic, such as the 141 or 143.
http://vintagemachinery.org/mfgindex/detail.aspx?id=655&tab=4&sort=6&th=true&fl=Band+Saw
These are similar to the General 14″ that I own. And much easier to find.
I like USA-made Delta 14″ band saws as long as they haven’t been ragged out. Plus, parts are very easy to get.
In general, I prefer the old cast iron band saws to the new welded steel ones. I use both. Just a preference for old iron.
Chris, stepping back and thinking about all your woodworking-related activities, they include furniture making (predominantly with hand tools), writing books at regular intervals, reading submitted manuscripts, teaching classes, giving guidance to apprenctices, designing new Crucible tools, fixing and maintaining power tools, writing for 3+ blogs (quasi daily) and very promptly responding to comment questions. And maybe there’s more that I’m missing… How do you manage it all and have you ever been subject to the temptation of procrastination?
I put off lots of things – pulling the weeds in the biergarten, fixing the coolant leak on the AC, applying another coat of soft wax to the countertops, etc.
I like to be busy. And I think of life as a bicycle. As soon as I stop pedaling, I’ll fall off.
Hi, thanks so much for doing this again. Here’s my query: what’s the best way to flatten a tabletop that has cupped?
This one is about 1″x22″x36″ and made from four ash boards which had been air dried for five years. It was good and flat when I glued it up a few weeks ago (PVA I’m afraid) but since then there’s been a heat wave and now it’s cupped across its width by almost a quarter inch. I’ve yet to make the rest of the table. Any thoughts?
It sounds like the boards needed to be dried some more. Warping is very common when air-dried stock comes indoors. First, I’d check the moisture to see if the wood has reached equilibrium. TIf it’s not, then wait until it is.
Then evaluate. If the top is still 1/4″ out, you might be able to pull that flat against the table’s/cabinet’s base when you install it. If not, saw through the joints and remake the top.
Removing 1/4″ from each side is probably not a good option.
Many thanks
Hi all, wondering if you have any advice on traveling with tools over seas? Anything one may be likely to over look? Types of cases or how to pack a joinery saw etc?
Funny, my spouse is pursuing education Wales. I went to St. Fagens a few times and got into vernacular furniture and then came across Lost art press books and blog posts. I am sitting in Cardiff now. From Indiana. Going a little crazy without my tools.
Chris has a Pelican case, I have a Nanuk, both are carry-on size (though of course we can’t carry them on – but that keeps the weight down because you can’t pack too much!). We both pack our tools tightly in the clothes we’ll be wearing…and the fact that they’re dirty on the way back doesn’t seem to bother TSA. Mine always gets opened. Chris recently bought some traveling saws that cost less than his good joinery saws…I have yet to do that, so I worry about my dovetail saw the whole way there and back.
Good morning, I wanted to get some clarification about making glue as I’ve had a lot of difficulty.
I started with the original recipe posted on Substack(the 4:4:1 recipe). I did 1/2 cup as my “part” with Knox and sea salt, because it’s what I had, and tried to use a quart mason jar. I couldn’t fit it all in and definitely couldn’t mix it all. It turned into a very thick paste and I ended up trying to then split it into 2 jars.
When I heated it, it never fully liquified. I ended up heating it all day and only when I added more water did I get it to mostly liquify. The glue was garbage and never hardened.
I tried a second batch with 250 bloom
Beef gelatin and on iodized salt. Same result. Never liquified and I had to add water to get it to finish. That batch I tried on the stove, but couldn’t regulate the temperature well and it kept going over 150 and sometimes over 160. This glue also didn’t set.
That’s when I found the 2024 post with new ratios with a higher amount of sodium and less gelatine. I switched back to Knox and it liquified as expected in 2 hours in a slow cooker, which on low with the lid off was hitting 138 or so and with the lid on would creep up and above 150 if I let it. This batch also didn’t set at all and never held. What confused me here is in the comments of that post, Megan posted a link to the “latest” recipe, which was very different and more akin to the original one I tried that didn’t liquify.
I’ve been racking my brain to try to figure out what I did wrong for the batches that never liquified. I measured by weight for everything, so maybe that? Or did I mix too much/too little? Or is it because my relative humidity in Nevada is so low that I needed more water in my version? Or does beef gelatine not work?
The recipe seems so simple, but kicked my butt.
The other question I have is related to both the piggly no wiggly (that I purchased) and hide glue gelling too quickly when I use it. From digging online some, it seems to be because it’s too thick, rather than too cool. It seems to be better it I make it a little more runny, but I’m not sure if that’s right any advice?
Hi, Matthew,
I’m not sure if i can help but I used Knox gelatin to make a half batch of “grocery store” glue and it worked. I used the American Peasant recipe. Here are a couple of things I did:
I used a lab-quality probe thermocouple to monitor the temperature and was able to keep the mixture inside the 140 to 145 recommended range. A newer digital kitchen probe that you would use for checking steak or chicken would work as well as mine.
My water bath was a $20 cosmetic wax melting pot ordered online. It’s a piece of junk but it did hold the temperature steady, even though the temp readout on it was off by 20 degrees. I relied on my probe thermometer and monitored the glue temp, not so much the water bath. I ignored the pot’s temperature indicator.
I stirred frequently with a teaspoon.
I had some clumps that didn’t go away until I reheated the next day (per instructions) but I did get a good even product at that point. I had very little foam.
Clumping was my biggest issue but it seemed to work itself out. Many jello recipes suggest mixing the dry gelatin grains with a little cold water first which I might try this next time.
Hope this helps.
I need time to more fully think about the problems you experienced with making your own, because I didn’t have those issues. I’ve made it in lots of different ratios, and with rare exception, more water or less water didn’t make a huge different in the efficacy in use. Less water, and it set up more quickly (so add a little water to thin it or a little more non-iodized salt to slow it down). More water, and it took a bit longer to set up. But eventually, most batches of gelatin, non-iodized salt and water, cooked twice at 2 hours (refrigerate in between cooking until it is fully cold) in a 60°C/140°F water bath, worked. Sea salt and iodized salt don’t seem to work. And if you overheat it, the proteins break down. Underheat it, and things don’t fully dissolve. So the temp and keeping it constant is key, in my experience, while making it.
And in use, heat it to about 140F, and it should be liquid enough to easily spread; if not, add a little water (as you did), and it should work fine.
Yeah I’m wondering if the temperature inconsistencies are the issue. I bought a Sous vide that should eliminate that factor.
When you do the initial mixture, what’s the consistency like? Mines almost a paste. Is that normal?
It’s not at all paste like in my batches…I’d say the consistency on mine is closer to a roux. A really salty roux. You can see it sloshing around in the carboy here, and see it being poured. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gjks6Ph7MwU
Hmm well then it sounds my ratios are wrong, but I’m not sure how… haha
Unless it has something to do with how dry it is in Nevada. Could the gelatin require more water here?
The last batch I tried I did 1/4 the recipe on the blog, so 2 oz gelatine, 2.5 oz water, and .25 salt. The temperature was still variable, stuck in the 130s for a while, then jumped into 140’s. After 2 hours it was still not liquid, looked like a roux, so I added 40ml water (little bit at a time) from the water bath until it liquified. I’m waiting for the Sous vide to warm it up from the fridge to see if it worked.
The other thought I had was maybe it was something to do with there being air in the sealed mason jar? It was only 1/2 full so I had enough space to stir it, so maybe that affected the temperature?
I’m not sure how else to help…I know the recipe in American Peasant works in the Ohio River Valley. Maybe in a drier climate it needs a bit more water…but I have no way of knowing.
8 ou/226 grams gelatin (by weight)
24 ou/71 0ml (by volume) hot water (as hot as I can get it from the tap)
6.5 ou/184 grams (by weight) on noniodized salt.
Mix together slowly, adding the gelatin to the water gradually and mixing well after each addition (if possible, mix while adding it so it incorporates immediately and doesn’t clump. )
Cook at 140F for 2 hours. Cool overnight. Cook again at160F for two hours. Skim off any foam before pouring into dispenser bottles.
Heat to 140F for use, as needed.
160? I thought Chris was explicit in the other recipes to not go above 150 or else risk degrading the proteins.
Sorry– mistype. 60C / 140F
Ah ok!
Could it have something to do with how I’m mixing the gelatin in? Too much or too little?
Maybe here’s another note to diagnose things. With the original recipe that never fully liquifies, when I add more water, it more fully liquifies, but still leaves a 1/2” or more layer of foam.
If I add even more water, the amount of foam goes down.
I mean…it could? But I don’t know. I add it slowly, like adding dry to wet ingredients when making a cake, and mix thoroughly before adding more.
I had problems with beef gelatin refusing to set. Trying Knox is on my to do list.
I’ve used only Knox from the grocery, and the 50-lb bags of pork gelatin that goes into the PnW glue. So I have no experience w/the beef, I’m afraid.
Hi Chris, you had recently posted a preview showing Eric O’Grey’s plane sole tune up and I’m not able to find it again. Could you point me in the right direction please? Thanks.
https://neversponsored.substack.com/p/a-new-and-better-way-to-flatten-a
On the Irish American stick chair, you shave the legs with a double taper. Where the tapers meet though in your pictures is so smooth you can barely
tell, how do you accomplish that? I had to blend it with sand paper.
It’s just handplane work. There is a transition. I think the camera isn’t picking it up.
When selecting for straight grain or even rough cutting parts, it’s pretty easy to see the grain direction on the rift and quarter sawn sections. Is there a trick for telling direction on the dead flat sawn portions? Is it safe to continue onward cutting from the rift/quarter sawn sections ?
Yup. THis is covered is detail in “The Stick Chair Book” (a free download). The pattern on the face of the board can help tell you if the grain is running striaght through the plank.
When you have the pattern (basically islands instead of cathedrals) and the grain lines are straight on the edge, the whole board is likely a winner for sawing straight material.
As always, riving a chunk off an edge will settle the matter.
Is there anything you can add to a natural finish to make it UV resistant? We make the finish from the American Peasant, but black walnut fades so easily.
Hi, Peter,
I looked into this myself but came to dead ends. If someone else has ideas I’d like to hear them also.
There are some commercial products with free radical scavengers like 4-Hydroxy-TEMPO. These might work but I hesitated because free radical reactions are what make linseed oil dry, it didn’t seem like a good place to spend money experimenting. It might work with shellac but it didn’t seem worth it to try. Besides, if you put a bunch of unpronounceables in do you really have a “natural” finish any longer?
The other option is pigments, which are basically a thin coat of paint. This seemed self defeating since my goal was to preserve the original look of my walnut cabinet.
There is probably a way to do this but in the end I decided to place the thing away from windows and to let it age gracefully. Trying something “new” seemed like a bigger risk.
I haven’t tried this, but I trust the company:
https://heritagenaturalfinishes.com/products/uva
What is the first project a father should teach a son or daughter out in the shop?
I don’t think there’s an easy answer to that one…depends on the child’ age and interests. But I do think Nick Offerman’s latest book, “Little Woodchucks” with toys that kids can build then play with, is a good starting point. Or a simple project they get to use every day – a stepstool for reaching the sink, or a 6-board toy chest.
I’ll second the Nick Offerman Little Woodchucks book. I’m starting to work through some of those projects with my son an it’s great fun and good learning.
After reading about your article on vintage chests, I found a nice one on marketplace for $200. How would you recommend fixing up the missing feet/casters? There seems to be some kind of metal sheet on the bottom, and I can’t tell if it’s original or not.
Pictures of the chest below
https://imgur.com/a/ZBN0hy7
I wouldn’t remove a thing. It’s a nice working example. Buy some vintage casters off ebay. Or get some modern rubber ones.
I put my FB marketplace chest on the large-size Harbor Freight furniture dolly
What are your thoughts on sharpening spokeshave blades – micro-bevel or no? My Lie-Neilson flat spokeshave came with no micro-bevel, but my Veritas round spokeshave came with a micro-bevel. Is this a matter of performance or simply speed in honing to get back to woodworking?
Chris will surely answer, however he has a blog entry on this. Veritas spokeshave blade typicall come (or used to (with a 35 degree primary bevel only. Chris regrinds them to 25 degrees and adds a 35 degree micro bevel. https://neversponsored.substack.com/p/the-spokeshaves-i-use-and-recommend
Philippe is right. The microbevel speeds sharpening.
Chris, in the stick chair book and various blogs you outline making a wedged tenon, ie. a kerf + a specifically sized wedge. I’ve seen comments where people drill a “relief hole” to avoid the tenon splitting. Is this helpful in any way? I don’t think I’ve ever heard of your tenons splitting when you hammer in a wedge though (correct me if I’m wrong).
You can drill a relief hole and it will help keep the tenon from splitting below the arm/seat/whatever. I don’t bother. Usually the arm/seat/whatever itself prevents the split from running below it. If it doesn’t, then the tenons was probably too loose anyway.
Thanks for this service! What’s your advice for a very small (8×14) hybrid workshop space? I only have a sliding compound miter saw, band saw, skil saw and 5 gallon shop vac duct-taped to the port. I’ve seen a Ridgid shop vac in your photos and am considering a larger shop vac with a small cyclone bucket. Any thoughts are appreciated.
I don’t think a cyclone will help you much. It becomes an asset when you have a planer (so you don’t have to empty the vac as much). A larger shop vacuum is probably the better investment.
At work we have a Festool dust extractor connected to our miter saw, and between the saw and the extractor a 5 gal bucket with a Dustopper on it. I’m amazed at how much collects in the bucket.
Thanks for taking the time to host this Q&A, and the recent post about smoothing planes. I have a No. 4 and have struggled when trying to use it for smoothing. Maybe I just don’t have everything dialed in with the blade, mouth, chipbreaker..,, or it’s bad technique, but it also is a pretty hefty plane. So I end up sanding instead. Would the L-N 164 be a better option, or the No. 3?
Never mind, I just found Megan’s post about using a number 3: https://neversponsored.substack.com/p/a-no-3-is-the-smooth-choice
Thank you both for hosting this open wire, this is very cool!!
I’m planning to build an electric guitar and I want to paint it myself (color: mint green). I’m planning to buy a pre-made, unfinished, mahogany body, maybe with a fun laminate top in some other species. I looked up people using milk paint to paint guitars, but the results usually ended up looking like pieces of rustic furniture, which isn’t quite the look I’m going for. Ideally, it would look sleek and smooth, with a flat finish – not like it’s covered in a thick plastic shell. (Think: vintage Fender telecaster.) If it wears over time, all the better. Any ideas? (Ideally, non-toxic…)
Hmmm…if I were committed to a non-toxic flat finish that looks amazing, I’d follow Pete Galbert’s instructions for milk paint application. He is far less rustic in his approach than am I!
A flat acrylic would also work. Non-toxic. But plastic.
Hi Chris, I’m starting on an interesting project, a music stand, but with chair making joinery(i.e. instead of the back panel being a plank of wood, it would look somewhat like a chair back, with a horizontal rail on the top and bottom and vertical sticks every couple inches). However I can’t figure out how to attach the music rest to the central post of the music stand. It needs to be a joint that can be taken apart and put together quickly so that the center post can be swapped out with one taller or shorter(for playing when standing or seated). How should I do that? Any advice or comments on the project as a whole?
If you want to be classy, consider a threaded wooden joint. There are taps and screwboxes (new and vintage) that can do the job. The more modern way would be with a threaded insert and a two-sided screw/bolt.
It sounds like a fun project!
I’m looking for guidance on purchasing a smoothing plane—not necessarily brand specific, although that may come up. I have a vintage Miller Falls 4-1/2 that does pretty well, or so I thought until I used Megan’s Lie Nielsen No. 3 at a class she was teaching. It did the job so much more easily and with better results (I thought of it as a “soothing plane” TM?). This might be (probably was) attributed to better tuning, but I still loved the lighter weight and smaller footprint. Add Christopher’s indictment of 4-1/2 smoothers, and it was shopping time. Cognitive dissonance ensued.
I definitely am looking for something smaller than my 4-1/2, but do I want bevel down (Bailey) or bevel up (Norris)? The former is tried and true at considerable expense, whereas the latter takes me into unknown territory for less money. The Norris style starts with a lower-angle (12 degree) frog, with blade choices to increase effective angle to 37 degrees (standard 25 degree) or more (scraper, too?). The Norris I favor is a pound and a half lighter than my favorite Baily choice, unless I was willing to wait indefinitely for a silicon bronze version that costs a bunch more.
I don’t know if this will help, but you might try a “hard reset” on your current plane before buying a new one: https://blog.lostartpress.com/2019/01/05/the-hard-reset-for-handplanes/
Mine’s not magic; it’s just tuned well and I keep it sharp. But If had to buy a new one, I’d get a Bailey style…because that’s what I’m most familiar with. I never know where to put my pointer finger on a bevel up tote, ’cause I’m so used to resting it against the blade on my planes. The adjuster doesn’t matter to me, since I use it only when replacing the blade after sharpening, to try to get it centered in the mouth; Instead, I tap the side of the blade to get it where I want it. That’s more accurate than the adjusters, as Chris taught me circa 2005, and as I can now confirm with some years of practice.
Im curious what wood you’d recommend for my bench build….?
Jk Jk
I’m most of the way through a build of the Anarchist’s Workbench. I’m approaching the stage where I’ll be attaching the legs. I’m going to have to relocate it in a significant way in a couple years. Lost of stairs to and from a truck, etc.). Would I be better just sticking with hide glue and some aggressive clamping initially and do the draw bore for the more permanent assembly, or draw bore it now, drill that out to disassemble and do the glue and a slightly looser draw bore the second more permanent time?
I’d dry-fit the top first and see if that is enough to do the job. Many workbenches rely on even less attachment than a tenon.
If the bench wobbles, you could temporarily attach L brackets to the underside (between the top and legs) and then glue/drawbore when you are at your final destination.
Two questions:
First, ss the six/seven stick comb chair a reasonable project for a first chair, or should it be a “make a chair from BS”, or ?
Second, I have the Veritas tenon cutters, but am frustrated with selection of tool choice for dowel making. I have a Stanley 77 dowel cutter, but only one cutter in a small diameter of little use…as Chris points out the other cutters are hard to find and expensive. (Thinking about selling it.) Veritas Dowel Maker is a choice that covers a wide range of diameters. Ray Iles rounding planes are also tempting. I feel drawn to the latter, but also hard to find (in USA) and limited sizes. I struck out with the Stanley 77, and would like to make a better choice on an alternative. Hard to judge when I have never used any of them to judge performance, ease of use, sharpening/adjusting, etc. Help!
Thank you for any responses
Read “The Stick Chair Book: 2nd Revised Edition.” (A free download). The chapter on sticks illustrates how to make sticks with the tenon cutters and a plane only. That’s how we do it here.
Saves you money and tools.
I made a 6-stick chair as my second chair, but I think it’s fine for your first one. My first was the staked backstool from the Anarchist’s Design Book. It probably helped to do that one first (fewer parts, fewer joints), but I don’t think it was necessary to do that first. And I can confirm the method in the Stick Chair Book for making sticks with just planes (jack and block) works great.
Thanks for the reply. BTW, the question of which chair to start with also was asked in a post at 11:56 MDT by McQueen and LAP replied suggesting starting with the Irish chairs or stool in the Stick Chair Book, which matches up well with your suggestion. Re making the sticks, part of the chapter in the Stick Chair Book speaks of using a modified tapered tenon cutter to cut round dowels/sticks, but later describes using solely planes. I had been focusing on the former. But the planes only approach makes sense but will take some practice to get the size right at the right location to be a good fit in the arm bow. I appreciate your reply.
Hi, in your experiments with home center chair parts, have you tried commercial hardwood balusters for sticks?
I have not. Sorry.
Hello! Thanks as always for doing this. Building a low bench, no SYP available hereabouts, and the SPF is usually quite knotty. Local hardwood dealer has decent 8/4 basswood and poplar options, so leaning toward face laminating a board in one of those two species for the top.
For chairmaking and smaller operations, would a 4 ft bench work? (I have a full-size Nicholson for casework.) Is there a minimum width to shoot for, given the 8/4 stock is in assorted widths? Thanks again, happy Saturday!
I’d go for poplar over basswood. It weight slightly more, and weight is good when it comes to a bench. I have a white pine one at home, and have it weighed down with heavy tools to help it stay immobile. It’s annoying…so go for heavy! On the chairmaking, I think a 4′ bench would work – but I’d make it at least 22″ wide – of the chairs currently in our shop, the front-to-back measurement of the feet is 21″ – you want it to fit on top! (Or make it the same height as your Nicholson, and you can make it narrower, instead bumping it against the nicholson to use that bench’s top as needed for support on wider-stanced chairs)
Hi Lucas, I built a bench about 2′ x7′ out of SPF with 4×6 fir legs and stretchers. I laminated the top out of SPF 2×6 material. The lumber yard allowed me to pick over their pile for more or less clear stuff. I hand planed the top to laminate it together so it’s 5 1/2″ thick. LOTS of work. In retrospect, buying a commercially-made glue-lam of the requisite thickness and length would have been easier and probably cheaper in terms of my time but not nearly as fun in terms of experience. The bench is hell for stout. NO wobble whatsoever. It is so heavy I ended up putting it on casters that can be clicked into a down position for when I do need to move it. You work with what you have available in your area. Regarding length, if you have room, longer would be better. If you build it 4′ long and then want to build something that needs more length, you’ll wish it was longer. The only gripe I have with my 7-footer is that it’s right against the wall. I need to build some shelf space over it because the back side of the bench accumulates all sorts of stuff that sometimes gets in the way of what I’m working on.
Dutch Tool Chest question. I built the chest and mobile base. Chest is mostly radiata pine and has ash skids. Base is mostly white pine. I screwed some ash strips to the top of the base to align with the chest skids, thinking the base needed reinforcement from crushing from the chest skids. Was this nonsense?
That is likely overkill as far as the need for additional strength (but I, too, like to overbuild). However, the skids on the top probably help to you quickly and properly locate the position of the chest on top – and that’s useful!
I started using your Piggly No Wiggly glue recently and love it. With OBG, I used to freeze the extra bottles until I needed them. I saw no difference in usage after freezing. Yours says to not freeze though. Is that just a precaution or does it definitely affect your glue?
I can’t say for sure, but we had a couple of problems in the winter and our thought was that it was a result of freezing during shipping. I’ll put one of my bottles at home in the freezer and see what happens though…ask again at the bext Open Wire and I’ll have a definitive answer.
Thanks!
Hi, I’m building the Anarchist’s Tool Chest. I’m stuck on the 1/4″ oak for tray bottoms. I can’t find 1/4″ oak in 7″ width. I’m hand tool only and don’t want to re-saw or plane down thicker stock. Options I’m considering: gluing two thinner boards together, making bottom of tray like the bottom of the chest, or using the same material as the sides of the trays.
What is your advice?
It doesn’t have to be a single board; my chest has two shiplapped 1/4″ pieces of hard maple for the till bottoms. So if you can find the 1/4″ oak in 4″-wide boards, that’s a easy solution. Or, you can glue up the narrower pieces.
You can buy 1/2 presawn oak boards up to 7″ width (and larger widths glued up) from WoodNShop. Here’s a link to that specific item: https://woodnshop.net/products/ash-1-2-x-x-12-click-here.html?searchid=0&search_query=White+oak+1%2F2%22 I’ve bought from them and been happy with the results. Their woods are accurately dimensioned, well dried, free of defects, and “as advertised.”
They also have 1/4″ and all other standard thicknesses. Basically, they mill to your spec if they can.
It looks as though I may have access to some woodland on a friend’s farm in northern Wisconsin… he tells me it is mixed hardwoods and pine. I’m interested in harvesting some curved wood as well as straight. What should I be looking for? Do you nhave any advice? Tips?
Try reading Sam Sherrill’s book on harvesting urban timber.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/0941936716
It’s a good intro to everything ahead….
Sorry to ask a workbench question although this is more of a wood drying question. Planning on building a new bench likely in the Roubo/Anarchist style. I have access to large timbers of white oak (4×6” for legs and solid 5-6” thick for top) for pretty cheap. The problem is these would be about as green as possible….right off the blade.
You’ve mentioned in the past building the bench as quickly as possible and being prepared to flatten the top a few times. My question is how long would you let the wood sit? I don’t think I want to wait around for 15 years to start but I’m not sure if there’s an upper limit for too wet?
Thanks for doing this and sorry again for another bench question.
The prudent way forward is to let the stuff air dry for a while and then hire a kiln to finish the job for you. Usually it’s a fairly reasonable price to do.
Building with wet can work, but white oak is particularly tough to dry (unlike red). So some guidance and help from a kiln would be a good idea.
First chair; beyond the advice of “just build it”, what is a good option for a first chair without the benefit of attending a class or having a mentor? The Gibson chair has a video, the Irish-ish chair is detailed in The Stick Chair Book and patterns available in the LAP store, Alexander Brothers has wood pre-selected for 6-7 stick comb-back and the Gibson. The 6-7 stick comb-back has stretchers, the Gibson and Irish-ish chair do not. I could analyze this to death, but really just want to increase my odds for success.
The two Irish chairs in “The Stick Chair Book” are an excellent place to start. You might even consider starting with the stool in the revised edition (a free download). From there, building up to a comb-back is reasonable.
I live in Alaska and have some wide ~ 10″ x 2″ aspen that has been drying under my shop for several years. It seems to be slightly harder than white pine and I’m wondering if it would work well for stick chair seats. For the rest, do you think birch would work well for the legs and sticks? Fancy woods like you folks down south have–oak, maple, etc. are available in lumber yards but EXPENSIVE. Thanks for your help.
Aspen will make a nice seat. And birch is excellent for legs.
I am making a wooden musical instrument, a hammered dulcimer. It is a trapezoidal box, 44 inches wide at the bottom, 21 at the top, and 18 inches from top to bottom. Its 66 strings are stretched across the top. Think, roughly, of a weird shaped guitar with no neck,, or maybe a large autoharp. My question is finishing it.
Some sources say to finish with lacquer, as guitar makers use. Others say urethane varnish. Others say that lacquer and varnish will slightly dampen the resonance of the sounding board. I’m leaning toward using my “standard” finish, which is Trued and True Original (beeswax and linseed oil). The instrument is played sitting on a stand, so it is not handled as much a a guitar, and resistance to “fingerprints” is not an issue.
The sides (frame) are padauk. The top is African cedar. The bottom is Baltic birch plywood.
I’m afraid you are well beyond the limits of my knowledge. Luthiers have strong opinions, and these opinions can really frustrate beginners. If it were me, I’d probably use shellac, which is very traditional and easy to remove/repair.
My bottle of Piggly No Wiggly glue has hardened. Can the glue still be used? Thanks.
I’d warm it to 140F and if it liquifies, test it. https://www.instagram.com/p/C1sYMEYuDDN/
I love using the piggly no wiggly glue. The reversablility has saved my bacon time and again. This summer I have been using tightbond 3 because my non-climate controlled shop in Michigan hovers around 75 relative humidity but some weeks is in the upper 80s. The glue does bind, but doesn’t get totally harden like it does in the winter and spilled drops reconstitute to a gummy texture. Should I try out 100% gelatin or add urea instead of salt? Have any of you had similar experiences?
It should be fine, especially when you take the finished product inside. But those are pretty brutal conditions. I don’t know if substituting urea will help the situation. We have always used salt. Sorry I’m not much help.
Looking through the smalls book it strikes me that the wall shelves have the French cleat so exposed. Most of the modern work I’ve seen goes through great lengths to hide them. Are they traditionally exposed?
Traditionally they go both ways. Make yourself happy on that one.
I have a question about grain/fiber orientation for chair legs and spindles. The Windsor chair makers seem to really emphasize “following the fibers” when preparing stock and tend to use similar methods with kiln dried wood as they do with greenwood. The Chairmaker’s Notebook outlines this. However, it seems that for Welsh type chairs we try to minimize runout but don’t really obsess over following the fibers and the technique is to use a plane rather than a drawknife for shaping. Is this because the sticks and legs of Windsors are so slender? I have done a little of both and I am still very confused when to use either method.
I don’t see any significant conflict between the two tool perspectives. When you taper any piece of straight-grained wood, you are going to have to cut through the fiber line, whether with a drawknife or a plane. So you can’t always follow the fibers.
I think the “follow the fibers” mantra is when you have a split piece in your shavehorse and you need to find its fiberline. That then becomes your reference face to make a stick or whatever.
I create my reference face with a band saw. Then I work off that.
To me it’s the same thing.
I am replacing a vintage hammer handle. I need to make this from just the head of the hammer. Do you have a book or suggestions on making of a handle. I have made 3 so far and they are nowhere near balanced. I want to make it not buy one.
I don’t know of any book. When I need to make a handle, I find one that I like that is already hafted. Then I start there. Coming up with a hammer handle from scratch is difficult. So I stand on the shoulders of millions before me.
Hi I’m looking for some advice on finishing:
I’ve followed Peter Galberts paint approach on a red oak chair:
– 5 very thin coats of milk paint, with a thin layer of shellac between each… basically paint – shellac – sand, 5x
– I then applied India ink.
– I went over the chair and it was nice and smooth.
When I applied the finishing wax with an 800 mirka pad (using soft wax 2.0), I /think/ the solvent in the wax interacted with the shellac. The surface is now kind of pebbly, not smooth and silky. The wax has cured for a couple weeks, and the surface is not tacky, as though it hasn’t cured.
I didn’t have this issue on my small tester board.
The wax is from a batch that is a couple years old. I recall from a previous question that the wax doesn’t go “bad”.
Questions:
1 – is it likely the solvent in the wax that interacted with the shellac?
2 – if I applied another coat of wax, would that smooth it out?
3 – if I wanted to strip back the wax, would I use denatured alcohol (understanding that this would likely take the paint back with it)?
4 – if I wanted to smooth it out, should I just try sanding it with 400? Or will the wax that is applied just clog up the paper?
I’ve finished several chairs, but this is the first one I’ve done following this process. Just looking for advice to help with the learning process!
You have so much going on here that it is difficult to say.
I wouldn’t apply India ink over shellac. Usually the ink is alcohol based, which would soften the shellac and cause surface problems. And that would be my guess. The solvent in the soft wax is citrus solvent (limonene). It shouldn’t interact with other finishes.
BUT…. with the ink/shellac mixture below it, who can say? I have never had good luck with ink over a film finish because it can’t soak in well.
The wax will remove with mineral spirits. That’s a good place to start. Then test the surface below with a little alcohol to see if the shellac is still there. If the surface is not good, remove the shellac with alcohol. Then see what has happened (if anything) to the paint.
Multi-step finishes with lots of different solvents are hard to diagnose. Sorry.
This gives me some good bits to consider and start from – the citrus solvent vs alcohol is good to know as is the ink over shellac.
I know it’s complicated – the color is really cool and rich, which is what I was after, now to just sort out where I went wrong so it also feels nice. These are great considerations to work through on this chair and apply to the next – thank you!
Is a “huck towel” the blue medical towels you linked to a couple years ago?
I was under impression that once you used one of these for finishing (ie wiping down a layer of wax) that they needed to be “cured” and discarded. However, one of your posts in the last week said something about taking huck towels to the laundromat. Was I wrong about disposing of these?
Totally mundane and kind of lame question, but it’s where my heads at in the process.
I’m afraid on your finishing question, I simply don’t know on most of your questions. But to strip the wax, use mineral spirits (we like the odorless variety). We do launder the huck towels (yes – medical towels)…to a point. Eventually, they get too stiff and we then dry and discard them.
“Huck” is a type of weave, FYI. Surgical towels use a huck weave. As do many towels in auto finishing and glass cleaning. They are available from a variety of sources. Ours come from ERC.
https://www.ercwipe.com/bulk-wholesale-towels/commercial-cleaning-towels/bulk-huck-towels/
After you use any drying oil, you need to let the oil cure in the rag before doing something else with it (fire hazard). After a day or so, we put our towels in a laundry bag. Then we launder them.
Other people burn or throw away their towels.
Awesome – this helps. Thank you for the link.
I’m just here to say thank you for how The Stick Chair Book has added to my skill set. This morning I needed a short piece of dowel just a little bit bigger than the 5/8″ I had. An octagon cutoff from a chair was still kicking around and with a block plane and a few minutes I had a perfect fit.
Awww. Thanks David.
Any updates on the gorilla go-drilla?
We have the parts. We just need the time to assemble them. Soon!
I make all hardwood rail and stile cabinets/bookcases and have integrated expansion joints into the back where I build in a hidden gap where wood can expand and shrink without causing trouble. Is there another name for this? I can’t imagine this approach is unique, but can’t find other designs doing this.
All hardwood backs need room for expansion and contraction. I don’t have a name for it except for “dealing with expansion and contraction.”
I am building a roubo style bench that will be no more than 6′ wide due to my space. I want to minimize the overhang outside of the legs to maximize the shelf space. Are there are disadvantages to keeping the overhang only 6″ or 8″? Thanks for all of the advice that you share.
Yes. There are times you want to sleeve an assembled drawer or carcase over the end of the bench and level the joints or plane its faces.
We recommend shifting the base to one side so you have 12″ to 15″ of cantilever on one end to do this.
ATC question
I wasn’t able to find thick enough white pine for thr chest, so sadly, im stuck with 3/4 material. Are there any particular precautions/extra things I should do when making the chest? Something i had in mind was adding a 3rd, central rail to the lid, but what about the rest of yhe chest? Thanks!
I’ve made them out of 3/4″ and as far as I know, they’re still together. Just don’t put your anvil collection on top of the lid, and I think you’ll be fine.
Hello everybody, i would like to know how were the Gibson chairs backrest made of ? Steam bent? Sawn? glued? , curved branchs? Thanks
Bandsawn out of solid, thick lumber.
I’m interested in understanding the difference between all the different stick chair books. I have the Anarchist Design Book and have built a couple of the stools. So how do I know what the other books cover? If this is a ridiculous question, you can ignore it.
All my books are free to download, so that might help.
“The Anarchist’s Design Book” spends a half its pages discussing staked furniture. Plus it has a few stick chairs you can build.
“The Stick Chair Book” (all versions) are dedicated to the techniques needed to build five stick chairs of increasing complexity.
“The Stick Chair Journals” are additional plans and articles that expand the world of stick chairs for those who are Chair Mad.
“Welsh Stick Chairs” by John Brown is the original text. Where this modern revival took place.
“Good Work” by Chris Williams is the account of him working with John Brown for 10 years, plus instructions for how he and JB built chairs at the end of John Brown’s life.
Hope this helps.
Sure does. Thanks so much. Looking forward to the next build.
First, thank you for doing these – their a tremendous gift of time and wisdom. 2 hopefully quick questions:
Looking at Rivierre diamond nails, is there a functional difference between the blued and black oxide finishes or is it purely aesthetic?
The recent #4.5 smoother unappreciation post got me wondering… Would you recommend one of the higher angle frogs to someone who already has a Stanley #4 and looking to add a LN #3?
No functional difference in the nail finishes that I am aware of.
High-angle frogs are one solution to tear-out. I use a stock No. 3 with the chipbreaker set fine to accomplish the same thing. Alternately, you can close up the mouth aperture to reduce tearing. Or add a 5° or 10° back bevel. All those solutions are free. Buying a frog is not.
The ADB gives plans for a really nice 3 legged back stool, but there are some picks of it being 4 legged.
I can’t for the life of me find the rake and splay for the back legs of the 4 legged version. Is it any of the books?
Page 284: 50° sightline and 25° resultant.
Dang I sure did miss it. Thanks!
The ADB has a very nice 3 legged back stool, and images of a 4 legged back stool, but I can’t for the life of me find the rake and splay stuff for the 4 legged version. Is it in any of the books?
Sorry double posted.
Good afternoon!
I’m working on cleaning up an old tool chest I purchased at a yard sale. I have a couple of questions related to this project.
I think it’s made of oak but I’m still new enough that I can’t tell. Any suggestions learning to identify different wood species?
It was coated in layers of grime and some kind of purple shellac, which I have almost entirely removed. Some diluted shellac has soaked into the wood after using alcohol to soften it for removal, and I can’t seem to get it out without aggressive sanding. Any ideas on how to get the trouble spots out? I want to finish it without paint so the character of the wear and tear is still visible, but I may end up using milk or linseed paint if I can’t get these splotches out because they resemble the bloody towels underneath meat sold in the supermarket, which isn’t quite the look I’m after.
Thanks so much for your time!
Alex
There are lots of books on identifying wood. Bruce Hoadley’s book on the topic is the one to get. But you can start here:
https://www.wood-database.com/wood-articles/wood-identification-guide/
Removing stains in wood is not a simple thing. You can try a variety of solvents to see if they remove the color (mineral spirits, alcohol, acetone, NAPTHA, lacquer thinner). Others will use wood bleach.
Most tool chests were painted. And that’s what I recommend for chests. Don’t fuss with the finish on a tool chest. Paint it and get to building.
That I can do! I’ll need to clean up a few last spots to get rid of some residual grime on the surface but I can get to painting after that.
Thoughts on cleaning the inside? I’m not concerned about appearance so much as I am about ensuring there’s nothing clinging to the inside surfaces that could lead to rust or other damage to the tools. I’ve considered a mineral spirits wipe down and maybe some water with a smidge of Dawn soap but haven’t taken the leap yet.
A Dawn solution will remove oils. And the solvents I mentioned will remove some stuff.
When finishing the inside of a case where I am concerned about sap/oils/etc, I’ll apply a single coat of shellac to the interior to seal the wood. Shellac is the best sealer out there.
Sounds like a plan. Thanks so much, Chris.
I just read the post on the hammer handle and I am having the same issues. I am coping a nice ballpeen hammer I have on a working hammer. I roughed it out using a Boggs spokeshave curved handle. the eye is quite a bit smaller so I have made adjustments. This has been a challenge. holding it in the vise is very difficult and just shaping it. The feel is good just looks very off. is this a common promplem?
Making good handles is no joke. We use the carver’s/patternmaker’s vises to hold handles when we shape them. Getting something that looks good and feels good is basically sculpture. Don’t expect to get it right the first time.
Hi. I am using White Oak quarter swan. I took my time and got it to the inside measurements. I put the slot in like in the substack apprentice post. As I was hamming the head on to the handle the tenon broke at the wide spot of the handle. End grain may not be the best wood to use. What grade of lumber do you use? I am learning!
Question for Megan:
I saw on your previous post you are making shelves for your kitchen. I’m currently thinking about adding shelves to my kitchen and was wondering if you are making floating shelves or braced shelves and if floating what hardware have you decided to use?
Thanks in advance.
They are shelves that go inside cabinets, so I’m afraid they sit on bog-standard movable 1/4″ shelf supports.
Are some species more difficult to card scrape? I’ve improved my scraper sharpening and am able to get good surfaces on oak, ash, and maple so far, but cherry always feels a little fuzzy. I can get shavings with a card scraper on cherry and remove tear out pretty well, but the card scraper doesn’t leave as nice of a surface. I sometimes end up sanding anyway to unify scraped and planed surfaces, but just curious if it’s me or if it’s something about the wood that wants me to die. Or both!
Harder woods are easier to scrape than softer ones.
When scraping softer woods, a light touch seems to help a lot. Excessive downward pressure mostly makes the surface dented and fuzzy. With the right touch and a sharp scraper you can plane white pine.
Is there a release date for the updated stick chair video series ?
End of the month I suspect. Kale is just polishing and adding music.
Afternoon y’all,
I have trouble planing end grain, especially the end grain grooves on the peasant coffer. Staying sharp and a spelching block help, but it feels like I need to force it even with the shallowest possible cuts. This is one of those operations for me that feels much harder to learn through reading/feeling. Any advice is appreciated, though maybe it’s a task that is just challenging by nature. If it helps to know, I have the LN 48 and 49.
As an aside, every once in a while I have someone over to my place and they’ll point something out they like w/o knowing I made it. They’ll ask what else there is and that takes us to each room in my small house, outside, and into a finished outbuilding. Chairs, tables, racks, nightstands, spoons, carved planks, you get the idea. Thanks for the unpretentious approach and introduction to the work of others like Underhill, Galbert, Hiller, Follansbee, Hayward, Myers, etc (Dr. Hill’s work not the least among them). It has been a catalyst to creating things I never thought I could.
Have you tried spraying the wood with a 50/50 mix of water and alcohol before planing it? That always helps.
Sharpness counts, lubricating the plane’s sole and fence, and good body mechanics, too. It’s never easy, but these thigs can make it easier.
And thanks for the kind words!
On the topic of peasant furniture from England and the Celtic countries: do you think most pieces were made by trained local woodwrights? Or were they made by peasants with minimal skill, time, resources and tools?
Also, I’ve observed a good amount of mostly wooden pins/drawbores (always square at the top) in Scotland, but little hide glue…based of a quick blacklight check. Have your investigations shown hide glue in Wales and Ireland pieces especially?
Trying to determine if glue might be evidence of a wright vs a layman.
Thanks!
Hey Alex,
We don’t get to do that sort of analysis in the field. You might try to chat with Emery Davies at St Fagans, who is an expert on these pieces.
As to who built the pieces… I usually sort them out in my head based on the tools used. If there were moulding planes or evidence of other specialty tools used, then I lean toward “country carpenter/joiner.” If the piece is just straight up farm tools (saws, jack plane, augers) then I think: farmer.
But as Follansbee says: Everyone who knows is dead.
For Megan: As a Shakespeare lover, have you ever made the Shakespeare chair from Roy Underhill’s wonderful show? Or do you bite your thumb at that design?