Brush Technique & First Coat of Paint
I’ve spent the last two weeks traveling. First, I spent a week up in Jonesborough, TN with my mentor Curtis Buchanan, working on a birdcage barstool and refining our techniques for reaming bent posts. Or more importantly, eating Marilyn’s good food and getting a gardening lesson from Curtis.
This week I’ve been in Asheville helping Warren-Wilson College’s woodshop students assemble some Fan Backs. On Tuesday I got to eat dinner with Claire Minahan (maker of the world’s prettiest travishers) and talk about dancing, snow-boarding and heat-treating. What fun!
Ok, back to milk paint:
The first coat of paint has Extra-Bond in it to increase adhesion (mix according to the label). I use a good quality 1 1/2“ sash brush with synthetic bristles. A good quality brush has tapered bristles, the ends of which have been frayed to hold more paint.
Chair Stories: The Workbench (plus new classes & chest update)
Last week I delivered a set of two Birdcage Side Chairs and two Birdcage Arm Chairs to Cara in Chapel Hill, NC. Here’s a story about her chairs:
I wiped a spot of spilled hide glue off the workbench as I glued up the last in a set of four birdcage chairs. Reveling in the deep patina of my bench’s oak top, I remembered when I had made it. A simple calculation suddenly flashed into my head. My bench, I discovered, is nearly half my age. read more…
Craft Films: Greenwood Chests in 1955 Hungary
My friend Bill Anderson just found this incredible film.
A fellow and his wife are working outdoors making a chest using an axe, drawkife, hook knife and a few nifty brakes. They split a log into planks and work them down on the shaving horse – I wonder what’s the advantage of driving the axe into the log’s side rather than it’s end-grain…. Then he cuts grooves with some sort of nifty double-ended hook knife (this looks like an incredibly skilled task, but what do I know – I’ve never even seen such a tool).
Windsor Chair Classes & Lathe for Sale
Classes in My Shop
I have created a survey for you to help pick next year’s classes in my North Carolina shop. There are four chair options (Fan Back, Loop Back, Continuous Arm and Comb Back) and seven different potential dates. In a couple weeks, I’ll pick next years classes based on your feedback. read more…
Mixing Milk Paint
This is the second installment on finishing the Continuous Arm Rocker from my DVD:
Mix 2 parts water to 1 part paint. This is a good starting place for black and red, but some colors require less water. You can always add more water later. 8 Tbs of red paint will cover a Continuous Arm with 2.5 coats of paint. 4 tbs will do both black wash coats. I use Old Fashioned Milk Paint; other brands may require different ratios, I don’t know.
I mix with a stick first… read more…
Craft Films: Umbrellas
Rain: A Natural and Cultural History – I’m on chapter two about Charles Macintosh, windshield wipers and umbrellas. In Japan, the book says, umbrellas were status symbols in ancient times. In the 19th century they became a popular accessory for the masses and umbrella-making districts thrived. As many as sixteen craftsmen had their hand in making each one: the handmade paper and dyes, the bamboo ribs and handle, and the intricate painting. Plus woodturning, for the central hub is turned from solid wood.
Youtube has some videos. All the ones I found are from modern times, yet most feature the use of a spring-pole lathe. Sitting and turning was awkward the one time I tried it (on a 19th C. Barnes lathe I borrowed for Roy Underhill’s TV show), but several of these turners like sitting down on the job.
read more…
Chairmaking DVD
I am excited to announce my first how-to video, an 8 hour long DVD on building Curtis Buchanan’s Continuous Arm Rocker. Published by Popular Woodworking, this two-disc set was filmed in beautiful high definition film by Joshua Farnsworth. I have them for sale on my website, along with Curtis Buchanan’s plans for the rocking chair.
Dents, Gaps and Tears
Joshua Farnsworth recently filmed a video of me building a Continuous Arm Rocker. It should be published by Popular Woodworking in the next month or so. Today I started cleaning up the chair in preparation for painting and plenty of minor things needed fixing. I thought it might make a useful photo essay on finishing. Here’s the first installment:
The concave side of the arm tends to get bumpy due to compression during bending. The only way I know to completely fix this is to rasp at a diagonal to the bumps, then scrape, then sand. read more…
17th Century Joinery Anyone?
I have a beautiful White Oak log, straight, clear, tight grain and no twist. It is probably ideal for Peter Follansbee-type joinery. I should be able to get some 8″ panels out of it and maybe even wider. Contact me for more info or to place an order. read more…
Chair Stories: The Bluesman
Marshall and Jeffrey picked up a pair of loop back side chairs today. Here’s a story about their chairs:
John Dee Holman says he can sing the blues to make you cry, and I believe him. His half-brother is my farming neighbor Mr. Dixon. Both were born in Hillsborough, North Carolina nearly a century ago. John Dee has been singing the blues for the last seventy years.
Mr Dixon brought John Dee to visit a few months ago. I pulled two unfinished loop back chairs off the wall for them to sit in.