I’m teaching a class this week and will be spending Saturday in recovery (aka hanging out on the couch with my two cats), and Chris is teaching a Peasant Coffer class on Saturday and Sunday. So, we’ve asked our friend John Cashman – whom you might better know through Instagram as Pragmatic Anarchist – to host Open Wire on June 8 from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. And he has kindly agreed.
I asked John to introduce himself and share some pictures of himself and his work, so you could get to know a bit about him before Saturday. Typically, we rewrite these short profiles … but John is far funnier than am I, so I thought he should say hello in his own words.
– Fitz
I’m John Cashman. I live in eastern Massachusetts, and have been woodworking since about 1980. Hand-tool manufacturing was in its last gasp at the time. Stanley had stopped making pretty much everything, though Record still carried a decent variety – but not for long. The one Woodcraft in the country was about a 45-minute drive, so that was great. But there were no Rocklers, Lee Valleys or Lie-Nielsen. No internet. So when I first started working wood, most of my tools came from Sears. Now they’re gone too. Maybe it’s me?
My only stationary machines were a Craftsman radial arm saw and monotube lathe. But I made a lot of furniture. All sorts of styles. Sometimes there would be three or four styles in one piece! But over time I was drawn to Queen Anne and Shaker more than anything else. You can see a few samples from the pictures. I’ve given away much more than I’ve kept.
Over the years I’ve acquired much better power tools. I do miles and miles of resawing. I’ve collected lots and lots of hand tools, both vintage and new, and prefer to use them whenever I can. I’ve done a fair amount of period carving. I’m still a really crappy turner. I’d like to blame the lathe, but if I’m being honest, I cannot.
The last few years I’ve been making mountains of Shaker boxes, most of which go to the wonderful Enfield Shaker Village in New Hampshire. Anyone who has an opportunity to go, should visit. They’ve made the original stone dwelling into a very nice hotel.
If anyone has questions on Shaker boxes, now is your chance. Likewise, questions on Queen Anne and Chippendale pieces, which Chris doesn’t write about. I have a million or so woodworking books, from building birdhouses to 17th- and 18th-century Spanish furniture in colonial Peru. I’m always happy to talk books. I was a historian back in the day. If you have questions on the U.S. Guano Islands, this is your moment.
I am no chair expert. Not remotely. I’ve made a half-dozen or so, and half of those were of the Queen Anne and Chippendale variety. Aside from being seating, they bear no resemblance in construction to stick chairs. You can still ask, but if I’m not sure of the answer, I’ll say so.
Thank you, John, for taking the time to do this open wire. Your small sampling of work is inspiring. Do you do woodworking as a profession? Amateur? Thank you.
Thanks John! I always look for your comments and answers on the LAP posts and Open Wires!
A little warning please! I went onto the blog to see what’s new, and found myself staring back. It’s a little jarring.
Thanks for the opportunity, and I look forward to answering some questions.
Now that’s an excellent cat naming theme.
First things first: those are truly beautiful pieces, John, so my hat goes up and my head bows down in utter admiration!
On a completely different note, it is weird how, in spite of oneself and that one should know better from experience, one forms images of other people just from their written words. I have no real idea why, but I had it in my head from reading your comments on the blog here over the years that you were in maybe your late forties or so, and that surely you had a full beard somewhere on the Schwarz–Follansbee scale.
(I’ve obviously no idea how the ding-dong Dickens that came about. Just that it did.)
Please rest assured, though, that the crumbling of said image when confronted with an actual image was neither jarring nor in the least disagreeable. As the saying goes, it’s always nice to be able to put a face to a voice.
I thus look forward indeed to a much larger dose of your written word this Saturday; words that I will read with no further forming of false images, just facing the clean-shaven truth!
Cheers and all best,
Mattias
I had a beard until just recently, so you weren’t completely off.
Funny and true story: I was once married, and always had a beard and mustache. After about ten years, I shaved off the beard and kept the mustache. She didn’t seem to notice. After about a week, she looked at me in an odd way, and asked “When did you grow a mustache?”
I’ve never even thought about woodworking for a living. I may not be the worst businessman in the world, but I must be in the bottom ten.
I have a similar low boy almost done. I used the plans from Norman Vandal’s book. Most challenging piece I’ve ever attempted. Coming out fairly well, except maybe the shell carving!