André Roubo: Elbow Grease, Tallow and Books

Reblogged from Lost Art Press:

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Editor's note: The below entry is part of a series of articles we have commissioned Brian Anderson to write about André Roubo in preparationd for the publication of "To Make as Perfectly as Possible: Roubo on Marquetry." Brian, the translator for "Grandpa's Workshop," also wrote this entry on Roubo's famous dome.

It must have been a popular topic for the local gossips – the apprentice joiner André Roubo begging, here and there, a cup of lard or tallow from the taverns and housewives in the Paris neighborhood.

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Roubo’s dome for Paris’s Halles aux Blés

Reblogged from Lost Art Press:

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“In the past, the carpenter’s guild enjoyed great prestige. To be a house carpenter was to know how to lay out and join, with precision, the often huge systems of trusses needed to support the enormous weight of a roof in stone or tile. At the time it was very learned work, and lent to those who practiced the art an uncontested predominance.”

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The Mad Chef Abuses Fine Belgian Beer

Reblogged from Lost Art Press:

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Editor's note: Normally, we would not post a blog entry such as this, where a writer abuses a fine Belgian ale. But because this is Brian Anderson, who happily translated "Grandpa's Workshop" for all of us, I am willing to cut him some slack. This time. If he abuses anything more than a saison in the future, however, we will have to come down hard upon him.

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The Mad Chef's Milk Paint gets a Shellacking

Reblogged from Lost Art Press:

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Despite word from Tibet from my milk paint supplier that Agnes the yak was busy assembling her hope chest and flirting shamelessly with a certain strapping young specimen of yakhood, I decided that I needed to take the bull by the horns and get on with painting my six-board chest.

I poured a liter (quart) of skim milk into the soup pan, let it warm on very low heat to the point where there were just the faintest hints of steam coming off it, and then added 4 cl (1.5 fluid ounces) of vinegar –stirring a few swipes, enough to mix, but no more.

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A Six-board Chest – a la Français

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Well, actually it was more like a 12-board chest, but they were 2-meter-long skinny tongue-and-groove floorboards that I glued together, so I guess it still counts. I have ended up using quite a bit of the tongue-and-groove pine, either 3/4" flooring or 3/8" wainscoting, for different things. The wood I get here in France is maritime pine from plantations down in the Landes region near Bordeaux.

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A Review of 'Grandpa's Workshop'

Reblogged from Lost Art Press:

Scott Stahl, aka The Pragmatic Woodworker, has posted a review of "Grandpa's Workshop" on his blog.

As Scott is a father with a 10-year-old daughter, I was particularly interested and pleased to see how his young one reacted to the story.

I know that this book isn't for every family. It possesses none of the Disney-era varnish that is comforting, bland and easily digested.

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Link to a film about folk furniture

Reblogged from Peter Follansbee, joiner's notes:

I got an email this morning with the following link in it. An absolutely charming film about furniture & people. Take 8 minutes & watch it. You'll be glad you did.

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