Going Green

I decided to try a green chair this week. The culprit is a fan back you see below. After careful cleaning and scraping I mix a thinned up amount of "barn red" milk paint. About a 70/ 30 mix with warm water and let it sit for half hour or so. You can use the anti-foam agent to reduce the frothing while mixing.Filter the mix through cheese cloth to get a smooth finish.

I brush the chair while keeping a wet edge and trying to keep consistent surface quality. Brush with the grain. Remember the saying, if you aren't looking at it you might not be painting it. Milk paint dries really fast so try not to overlap over dry areas. The first coat will raise some grain so I usually sand very lightly with 220 to break those little fibers for the next coat of red. The second thin coat of red will give a good base for the green.

The "Lexington Green" milk paint is mixed the same way as before. While waiting for the paint to settle I buff out the red with 0000 steel wool. Don't go crazy here because too much buffing might cause some adhesion problems for the green. Carefully paint the coat of green and try to flow the paint on evenly. Try to resist over brushing the areas. Out of habit I paint every coat in this order:chair flipped, legs, stretchers, underside edge of seat, flip chair upright, comb, spindles, deck, then seat. I also allow a day between each coat. Don't rush it because I think it helps the paint to cure a little better to prevent reactivating soft paint with the next coat. I stopped with one coat of green because I liked the look of the red showing through. A thinner second coat would look good too. Seen below is after buffing with 0000 steel wool. This coat I buff really good. If your hands don't hurt then rub some more.

Now if you like what you have then you can put on a finish such as linseed oil, shellac, or a mix of varnish and oil. I decided to play around and use a one pound cut of shellac as a sealer. I just reduced a "new" can of premixed shellac with 50% denatured alcohol. The Zinser brand is dewaxed and works fine if it's fresh.

After 12-15 hours brush on a thin coat of "burnt umber" oil paint. It helps to thin this with some paint thinner to flow on better. This is a glaze technique which after about 15-20 minutes you wipe it all off leaving the oil paint in all the details of the chair. I use a clean rag and go slow to look at every place to make a consistent appearance. After wiping down, let this sit for several days to cure. The final step is 2 thin coats of shellac which is rubbed out with 0000 steel wool and paste wax. This knocks down the high gloss and gives that silky touch to the chair.

I think I could change the way I finish each chair everytime. I am always changing something in the process. You should never be afraid of change because that next new thing you try just might be that perfect finish you have been looking for. Good luck and happy painting.

Goodbye Tyvek

The continuing good weather has once again forced me to be outside working on the shop. As you can see the "Hardie plank" siding is going up. This stuff has concrete in it and is eating my carbide blades at a fast pace. The siding comes this color and I will paint to taste later. It's looking more like a house all the time but I am glad to finally cover the Tyvek wrap.

Well, thanks to 11 hard working students and the amazing direction of Peter Galbert there are 10 more windsor chairs in the world. One husband and wife team made a chair together. All the students worked well together and stayed on pace. Pete has a way of making things make since to non chairmakers. We all had a great time and Kelly Mehler seemed very pleased how the week went. I look forward to working with Pete in the future.

One Good Turn Deserves Another

I have been having much fun turning all the parts for the upcoming chair class at Kelly Mehler's school in Berea. For those who have not been to his school I can't tell you how much fun the experience can be. I highly incourage all who like working with there hands to attend. Peter Galbert will be instructing the c-arm class next week and I am thankful that they are letting me tag along to help.

I have had many visitors to the new shop lately and it has been messy and sometimes difficult to navigate in and out of the shop. This past weekend reached the mid 60's so naturally I had to work outside. So I started building the front porch. It is basically a deck that later on I will cover with a roof to protect the front of the shop from all that western sun. My front door is taking a beating and the paint is peeling off with great speed. When the weather actually improves for real I will put on the hardy plank siding along with a rear porch (not covered). Since the cold has returned I will focus on a new work bench geared toward chair making ( more on that later) and other indoor shop duties to make things flow better.

But for now I will get back to spinning out miles of maple ribbons from my lathe. Tommorow, arms, arms, and more arms!

Moving In

Below is pictures of sanding the shop floor with the industrial belt sander. 36 grit through 100 grit and it was ready for satin polyurethane. I hate using poly but it is a durable finish. Below is after the first coat. I had to leave a path to the wood stove to keep the shop warm while the floor was drying. The second coat turned out much better.

I have not posted in some time. It has been very busy with finishing the floor of the shop and now slowly moving equipment, tools, cabinets, and building new cabinets for a sharpening station. As well as my own shop floor I refinished all the hardwood floors in my grandmother's house in Nashville. She passed away over Thanksgiving and we are getting her house ready to sell. It's sad to see her home so empty that was so full of life for over 4 decades. Her house seems so small now. You can see the finished floor in her dining room below.

I got a visit from Curtis Buchanan and his wife the other day. He dropped off some things for the class I'll be helping Peter Galbert with in Berea next month. We talked about a table I'll be building for him and his family. He also brought some walnut boards to make the trestle table. I'll post some pictures as I get started on this later this spring. It was good to talk to Curtis. It was cool to show him the shop that he inspired me to build. Here is the shop as it looks right now. This will no doubt be the cleanest this shop will ever be. My first job for the new shop will be turning all the legs, arms, and stretchers for the chair class at Kelly Mehler's. Pete asked me if I could do this to help free up some of his time. I hope I can meet his level of craftmanship. I look forward to getting all the practice. I'll post on the progress next time.

Comb Back

This week starts the completion of 3 Curtis Buchanan inspired comb backs for a customer here locally. He fell in love with this design at the chair show I did in Nashville last fall and wanted them finished naturally (not painted). I used cherry turnings with a butternut seat. The back is still white oak which shaving down to 5/16ths entering the comb cannot be compromised.

I love making these chairs but can't wait to embark on my own designs. Building this new shop has taken all my free time to play with new ideas. Soon I should have the floor finished so I can move in. It won't be long til the craft show at Centennial Park this spring and I have got to produce some nice chairs to show. This is where I can try some new designs and finishes. I'll be posting on these later this winter.

I picked up enough white oak to complete milling the hardwood flooring for the new shop. This is time consuming grunt work but I should have this complete by the end of the week. If all goes well I should be moving into the new shop later next week. Thanks to Anthony Watts for all the great 1/4 sawn white oak.

A Good Book

Wintertime in middle Tennessee can be brutal. This week we have dropped to single digits with snow chances in the forecast. I have ran out of white oak for the flooring and plan to get more later this week so not much work is getting done on the new shop. I did pour the footings for the front and rear porches.

I have been burning wood in the new stove and the shop is very comfortable. During the day when I can catch a break I love to read a good book rather than watch T.V. This reminds me of a poster in Kelly Mehler's school that is titled "How to Build Community" which the first line says to turn off the T.V. Check it out, it makes a lot of good sense. I will sit by the wood stove and read. Some of my favorite books have always dealt with people who get off the couch and do something amazing. I have always enjoyed the story of Richard Proenneke's "One Man's Wilderness". This is an amazing true story of a guy who gave up society and built a cabin in Alaska. Another favorite is the true story of Peter Jenkins' "A Walk Across America" who travels on foot to get to know the country. If you like fiction check out "Jayber Crow" by Wendell Berry. He brings to life a fictitious town of Port William. I like the way he writes and phrases things. It brings back to life a time I wish I knew. I also love to read Stephen Ambrose books on American history including "Nothing Like it in the World" about the building of the transcontinental railroad, and my favorite "Undaunted Courage" about the Lewis and Clarke expedition.

I am always looking for good books to read and I love when people refer a good book they have read to me. This is one reason I am telling you about some of my favorites. So go pick up a good book and turn off that T.V.

Bring On the Heat

No wood shop would be complete without a wood stove. There are always scraps to burn for heat in a wood shop. I decided to go with the "Harman Mark I" coal stove that also burns wood. It is the smallest stove they offer which heats up to 1400 sq ft. I fired it up yesterday for the first time and the temp last night fell into the teens. It did very well after the paint smell burned off the stove. I loaded it full with coal and it lasted all night and half of today. I didn't see any smoke and the shop is very comfortable. Coal burns hotter than wood but has more ash. I can mix wood and coal together. The coal also helps keep creosote out of the chimney.

The chimney for the 12/12 pitch roof was very tall and very scary to install (by myself). I am not afraid of heights, just widths. All went well and I look forward to finishing the hardwood flooring so I can get moved in.