I haven’t had a public email address for many years, and that has been good for my productivity and sanity. But readers do have legitimate questions about my work, and so they usually try to get to me through Megan or our customer service account.
And so Megan and everyone else has to answer questions or ask me for help answering oddball questions.
I’ve never been happy about this arrangement, either.
So starting this Saturday (tomorrow!), I am going to try an experiment. I’ll post a blog entry in the morning calling for questions. You can post your questions in the comments. I’ll answer them. Then I’ll close the comments about 5 p.m.
Then I’ll do the same thing every Saturday until you run out of questions or I get sick of the process.
You can ask anything. But I reserve the right to ignore questions that are rude, insane or too personal. (No, I’m not wearing Lucy’s underwear….)
— Christopher Schwarz
I don’t think anyone thought you were wearing Lucy’s underwear. That would involve you actually ‘wearing’ underwear.
That is awesome…sucks people have to ask rude questions..but I think it is a great idea.
Well, that ruins it for me. You answered the only question that had occurred to me.
The rose goes in the front, big guy.
“ No, I’m not wearing Lucy’s underwear….”
Dammit, there goes my first question.
I’ll answer the first question. It’s dangerous to wear neckties at the drill press. And I know a thing or two about drill press dangers.
Agreed, But what caught my eye was the quality of that black and white photo. The good days of silver prints.
A great idea, but maybe the time open for comments should be a bit longer to allow those in other parts of the world to have a fair chance to ask a question. I suggest 24 hours – although that increases the risk of getting late night queries that even the poster regrets next morning !
I’m doing it every week.
I’ll answer the first question. Yes, wearing a necktie at the drill press is risky. -Drill press risk management expert.
Okay people- this is a generous thing- let’s not be a bunch of squirrel’s arses by asking questions that he has already answered a couple of times.
Want to know how to make a tenon? Use a travisher? Saddle a seat? Select lumber?
Google search
Lost Art Press tenon
Lost Art Press Travisher
Lost Art Press Saddle
Lost Art Press Select lumber
Several entries for each.
I say again this is generous- I hope it lasts.
He didn’t answer the question about wearing his wife’s underwear, but once.
Great search terms. Thank you so much
Cool!
Sounds like an interesting plan. Please note that the gentleman in the Weegee-style 4×5 press-camera photo is violating basic shop safety guidelines. One should never wear a neck tie when operating power tools.
Fascinating that that answer wasn’t considered ‘too personal.’
What advice do you have for someone with anxiety about material cost and project starting? I tend to be too precious when working with more expensive wood. This feeds into the issue about starting a project. Once I’ve started it’s easy to keep going and finish, but starting a project always feels like the most challenging step even if the material was low cost or gratis.
Thanks for making time and space for this.
Can’t speak for Chris. But…
So many woodworkers I’ve met have fallen into this trap. Fancy boards are so fancy, and it’s easy to get into an head spin. And it’s one of those tales as old as time. But for all of the pitch sniffers, you’d get other folks like Sam Maloof, who was very clear, that he didn’t consider wood to be a precious thing. No board was sacred, and there would always be another on that he would end up working with some day.
On the one hand, wood literally does grow on trees. So it shouldn’t be such a big deal, right? And if you’re Peter Follansbee, riving boards from purchased logs, it’s probably not as pricey as a lumberyard. On the other hand, that’s not the same as free.
We had a joke when I was at North Bennet Street. ‘Save a tree: use all the paper you need.’
My best suggestion is to draw out as much as you can. Plan every detail. If you’re still at the point where you’re not convinced that everything Will go to plan, just build the thing, and learn as much as you can from the experience. That experience is worth much more than the finished product.
And one more thing: That finished project will rarely measure up to the glorious thing you have in your head.
And that’s ok.
Just build it. Enjoy the work. Learn as much as you can. Perfection is a fleeting dream, and the reality of whatever you make will likely be just fine.
I once read “anything worth doing is worth doing it badly” (or along those lines. The idea is that not starting and finishing the project is worse than a suboptimal result. Your kid / spouse / aunt will love it, you will be proud after all. Having a slightly crooked bed is better than sleeping on the floor.
I need to work on that as well. I have the half finished projects, and a plan for three more. My goal is autumn: finish the bed (yes… No , the poor wee thing is not sleeping on the floor) and the kitchen fronts. The third thing can wait.
Kind of a cool idea. I hope it works out well.
And the first of these events will take place on April Fools Day.
We call that day: amateur hour.
Is there a message in the image of a man wearing a tie operating a drill press? Is it a secret code?
Does the overdressed drill press operator even have a left arm?
Good observation re the left arm, just went back and looked at the image, and yes, he only has a right arm.
Haha…I have a feeling I’m one of the folk who’ve been asking questions that precipitated this.
Is this secretly an announcement of the new line of Crucible Clip-on Ties?
Question on the Trestle Tables, Chapter 12 of the Design Book, Expanded Edition.
I want to make a ‘thin’ top table in either cherry or maple. The book doesn’t include a picture of the table from the top with the battens nailed in place. How does it look? Do the clinch rosehead nail heads sit decoratively proud of the surface of the table in a line on either side?
How does nailing the batten in place across the grain allow for wood movement? Isn’t that the scenario in a breadboard table end that all but the center dowel pass through elongated holes to allow for movement?
Thanks. I love the book. This will be my third project from it. ? Will the next edition have the Boarded Settle Chair covered in engraved spells? That’s a lot of real estate to engrave.
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The nail heads are slightly proud. They look great and don’t really interfere with using the table.
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Nails bend with the seasonal changes to wood. So just nail, clinch and be done with it.
<<Thanks. I love the book. This will be my third project from it. ? Will the next edition have the Boarded Settle Chair covered in engraved spells? >>
After you carve a few spells, the temptation is to put them on everything? Now where’s that cat?
I know that you don’t usually endorse new products, but you should check this out. It’s awesome. What do you think?
https://www.sharpeningsupplies.com/Sharpening-Supplies-Bathtub-Bridge-W393.aspx?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=23H-APR
Needs an exploding workbench….
Chris, around the shop when building what ever do you find you use a folding ruler, or a 12′ tape more. If you use a folding ruler more why is there not a specific spot on your waist apron?
I grew up with a tape. I have tried to become a folding rule person, but it won’t take. Sorry.
Chris, My video downloads on LAP, sharpening, building a stick chair, is it legal for me to put them on an external hard drive? Ralph
Of course not. The only time you run afoul of copyright laws is when you try to pass off the work as your own. Or reproduce it and sell it as your own. We offer all our digital products without any DRM so you are free to put the videos and pdfs wherever you please.
Chris, is there a good reason NOT to drawbore the sliding dovetail + tenon joint joining the legs to the top of a Roubo bench? Thanks, Tim
Other than it being overkill, no. The only reason not to do it would be if you ever wanted to take the thing apart.
Actually, taking it apart was one of the reasons I’m considering doing it. My plan was to drawbore all MT joints and the sliding dovetails, NOT using glue. Then if I ever needed to knock it down, just drill out the drawbores and it all comes apart. Prior to re-assembly, bore out the oblong offset holes to a bigger circular hole, patch it through (with a maple plug and glue), then drawbore everything again.
Do you think that’s a bad plan? In all honesty, I don’t foresee needing to ever break it down…but I like having the option–I’m not 100% on my predicting skills. And everything I’ve heard about drawbores is that using them with glue is just belts and suspenders–the glue’s unnecessary. But if you tell me I’m giving up a measure of rigidity by not glueing, then I’d probably forego the drawbores (at least in the top) and glue everything. Thanks, Tim
Honestly, you are so far into overkill territory that you can do whatever you like and be happy with your reasonable amount of overkill.
Have met you a few times at different places. Been to your shop three times. Just want to tell you I have tremendous respect for what you have accomplished since PWW
Thanks Ron! This is the only thing I am qualified to do. So thank Jebus it’s working.
I’ve noticed, while trying to cut round tenons straight, that I’ve run quite low on swear words. I wondered if, in the course of translating so many international works, you may have picked up a few you could share. I really don’t like to be redundant, and 24 round tenons per chair has me repeating myself long before halftime
We switch languages.
Zut Alors
Merde
Miststück
Sacre Bleu
Tabernacle Chalice
And then we make up new ones….