I may have chopped off one of my favorite fingers on Monday, but not even that could keep me away from Woodworking in America 2015. Chris’s three classes on staked furniture, workbenches and back irons are, respectively, just the tip of the Lost Art Press iceberg at this year’s festivities, which also feature courses by LAP contributors Roy Underhill, Megan Fitzpatrick, Don Williams, and Mike Siemsen.
Over in the WIA Marketplace, the Lost Art Press booth is hosting two special “meet the author” book signing events that I just learned about. At 2 p.m. on Friday, St. Roy will be in the booth to sign babies, chests and books. In addition to Calvin Cobb: Radio Woodworker!, we welcome you to bring any of Roy’s other eight inimitable titles for signing.
On Saturday afternoon, also starting at 2 p.m., Don Williams and Narayan Nayar will be at the booth to sign copies of their works, including Virtuoso: The Tool Cabinet and Workbench of Henry O. Studley.
And most importantly of all, I your fearless forum moderator will be at the booth all day Friday and Saturday. In addition to showing you my “accidental amputation” (as they labeled it in the emergency room), I am particularly looking forward to hearing your thoughts and suggestions on the forthcoming Lost Art Press forum.
Part of our delay in launching the full forum has been due to our internal deliberations over how deeply to plunge into the universe of hand tool woodworking. We originally envisioned the forum as a space to discuss LAP books and the projects contained therein. But one thing we learned almost immediately from the beta forum is that many of you have questions and interests which delve more deeply into the marrow of the hand tool world. To hear more about the options we’re considering, and to weigh in, please stop by the booth.
Your nine-and-a-wee-bit-fingered moderator,
Have a stellar time!
What did you do to your finger??
My favorite pairing chisel and I had a bit of a miscommunication…
Single worst shop accident I’ve ever had by a long shot was paring with a chisel, which ended up causing a geyser (really) from my palm. Got really lucky, and I wish I could say it wasn’t stupidity that caused the accident. On the bright side, though, it irrevocably altered how I think about handling edge tools. Haven’t had anything worse than the constant stream of abrasions and nicks since…
Hope your finger is still functional and can find a way to forgive you – I’m sure sleep deprivation had nothing to do with it…
Yesterday was one year since I hit the bone on my palm with a paring chisel—much the same story as raney’s, actually. Sending good thoughts your way that it heals well.
Yikes! Hope your fingers are still functional, Brian. Sorry that I must miss WIA, but there’s always next year, right?
You bet Joe!
One of these days I have to come out of hibernation and join the fun. Maybe when I am not too busy, can afford the trip and the sunlight doesn’t make my skin burn!
Sorry to hear about your finger
Is it possible to have to have the byline on the posts match the author as indicated in the signatures, is this because of using shared logins
Thank you.
It usually does. But Brian was using my computer yesterday. Fixed.
Wait, did you really lose the finger?
I hacked off most of my left pinky. They sewed it back on but I won’t know for a few weeks whether the bone and nerves will take…
Genzyme can probably grow you a new one next time you come to Boston. Seriously, hope your finger Is OK!
What!?? No pix from the ER? No matter, whatever happened glad to know you’re still with us. BTW… I’m hoping to grab (buy) one of those posters from the web store when you get back from WIA. Hope to see more of those types of things.
Only one finger? My dad cut the same one off twice. Amateur.
Sorry to hear about your finger, il be praying for you. Definitely not the prefered method for testing sharpness.
Alright, what did you lop off and with what power assisted implement? One of my neighbors took off an index finger a couple of years ago with a table saw.His wife, who heard the accident,said that bone sounds completely different to wood going through yuk!!
Just a chisel and hand pressure. And yes, the bone sounded distinct…
Now that — is a sharp chisel! What kind of stones do you use?
Water stones. But this was an 18″ long 2″ wide antique bevelled at 15•
Did you clean off your chisel before or after the trip to the ER? Or are you keeping it as-is for a souvenir?
Oh man, wishing you well in recovery. Hopefully I can make it to WIA, its only 4 hours away
Welcome to the club. Business end of chisel points AWAY from the hands. Good to remember.
When still a rookie making dumb rookie mistakes, I sawed halfway through the tip of my left middle finger. Now it feels like there’s a piece of dried hide glue on it at all times. I’ve since graduated to making dumb mistakes on a more professional level and, thankfully, few of them involve loss of blood (maybe composure, but not blood). Best of luck to you getting your feeling back.
My dad cut into his finger twice (20 years apart) with the same crap table saw. The second time he mangled it enough that he decided to quit eye surgery. I hope that table saw is deep in a landfill somewhere.
Sorry to hear about your mishap. Were you working late/tired/in a hurry/up against a deadline? Most people i know that have had tool accidents fall into one of those categories.
WRT the new forum, I wouldn’t sweat the focus too much: that is determined by its users. Don’t over-think things. Start simple, pay attention to what’s happening and be willing to grow it…probably in unanticipated directions. Be leery of things that fail to foster community and inclusiveness. Politics, religion and similar topics come immediately to mind.
Don’t worry, Brian. Keep it dressed for a couple of weeks and granulation will do the rest. Been there, done that, no sign.