2025 Open Wire Dates, 'Sandwich Drilling,' Irish Lounge Chair & More!

View this email in your browser Open Wire Dates, 'Sandwich Drilling,' Plans for the BS Chair & More A quick look at all the stuff Lost Art Press published during the last seven days. We're starting off the new year with…snow, and lots of it, at least by Greater Cincinnati standards (plus a soupçon of ice for added fun). I'm writing this from home, fretting about all the work that is sitting on my bench 7 miles away – which I need to get done for the "Working Wood in the 18th Century" conference later this month at Colonial Williamsburg. I'd claim it's is a good lesson that will teach me to stop procrastinating. But it won't. At least the internet is still working, and I can do research. (Here's hoping that lasts!) And, I can write this roundup of everything we've published in the last seven days on the blog and on our substacks. – Fitz Lost Art Press Blog 2025 Open Wire Dates If you have woodworking questions, here are the dates for 2025 that you can ask us. For Sale: Irish Lounge Chair The Irish lounge chair shown above was, I think, Chris' last chair of 2024. The striking finish was achieved with wood bleach and white wax. This comfy elm chair could be yours – he's offering it via a random drawing (if you're interested, see the details on the blog – you have until 3 p.m. Eastern on Friday, Jan. 10.) The Archivist's Tool Chest: Thinking Inside the Box Our friend Mattias Hallin (who is an archivist, hence the title) put a great deal of planning into making the perfect interior for his English tool chest – and he put a great deal of effort into sharing his thinking with us. You can read about it – and see the gorgeous results – on the blog. 'A New Year Spirit' "It always gives one a little sense of shock, I think, to come up against fresh evidence of what a very ancient craft woodwork is, and how very slow to change," writes Charles Hayward in this excerpt from "Honest Labour." The American Peasant Substack 'Sandwich Drilling' is the Future & the Past "…Let me back up a bit here on the topic of sandwich drilling and introduce it this way. This technique is not new. Chairmaker Rudy Everts and I have been exploring this technique for three or four years after examining hundreds of old folk chairs and asking ourselves: "How did the maker of this chair do this?" The answer led us to "sandwich drilling." (For paid subscribers, with a free preview) Earlywood: Taking Credit, Giving Credit and Stealing It "For me, the reward isn't that someone praises my design. The reward is that they were inspired enough to pick up the tools and build something. Building something from nothing – that's as rare as squirrel disco." (Free for everyone) Explaining 'Straight Grain' for Bulls%$t Chairs "When it comes to getting straight grain for the "sticky" parts of the chair, here's what's important." (For paid subscribers, with a free preview) 'Build a Chair from Bulls%$t' – Plans & Complete Instructions "It might seem like this book came out of nowhere – like shit from a goose. And that it just plopped into your email inbox like an unwanted U2 album. Will you be scraping it off your shoe in short order?" (For paid subscribers, with a free preview) The Anarchist's Apprentice Substack The Third Apprenticeship Chair "Kale is about to start their third apprenticeship chair. So we sat down to talk a bit about it and what Kale hoped to accomplish." (Free for everyone) Reflections from Charles Hayward, Part 2 "In the shops around the district you could buy anything needed in furniture making. Veneers were available in consecutive leaves both knife – and saw – cut, in mahogany, walnut, oak, and many of the decorative hardwoods. There were also bundles of off-cuts, and sheets of marquetry in both 18th century patterns and (then) modern designs; ready-made turnings and legs of all kinds were commonplace." (Free for everyone) Never Sponsored Substack The Spokeshaves I Use & Recommend "Like a lot of chairmakers, I have strong opinions about spokeshaves. I've tried a lot of them, and I've found the one that suits my work. This review isn't a condemnation of other brands or types of shaves. Just like my marriage to Lucy isn't an insistence that everyone else should marry her boy this simile isn't working I'd better stop here." (For paid subscribers, with a free preview) On Instagram This Week Chris is working on a (GASP!) case piece – a long-promised fireplace surround in white oak. Visit Lost Art Press Copyright (C) 2025 Lost Art Press. All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you subscribed to the Lost Art Press blog. Welcome! We try our best to make this a good experience for both of us... Our mailing address is: Lost Art Press 407 Madison Ave Covington, KY 41011-1519 USA Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe