Lost Art Press

Author: fitz

Woodworker, writer, editor, teacher, ailurophile, Shakespearean. Will write for air-dried walnut.

LAP Classes for July-Dec. 2019

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follansbee

We’ve a plethora of woodworking classes on offer for the second half of 2019 – most of them from visiting instructors (some from far, far away).

In most cases, classes are limited to six students (the number of benches we have available, plus one for the instructor) – so the instructor has plenty of time to pay attention to you…whether you want that or not!

The storefront (837 Willard St., Covington, Ky., 41011) is located just south of the Covington, Ky., MainStrasse entertainment district, in a safe neighborhood with lots of food and drink options, as well as accommodations at various price points, from inexpensive Air BnBs to an awfully nice hotel (that honestly isn’t pricey by most big-city standards), all within walking distance.

Registration opens at 10 a.m. Eastern on January 21 for the classes below (click through to each for a description). Registration is free on Eventbrite (and I strongly recommend signing up for the waitlist if you don’t get into the class you want – cancellations do happen). About three weeks after registration opens, I send each instructor his or her class list, and you are billed by the instructor (not by Lost Art Press or me – unless it’s my class, of course).

And as I’ve written before, this is not a woodworking school; it’s a woodworking shop in which some classes are taught. Christopher Schwarz runs not only the editorial side of Lost Art Press out of the space, but also his own furniture business, and he kindly allows both Brendan Gaffney and me to use the space for furniture work as well. The classes are a lot of fun…but they are also a lot of work – amidst the other work – which is to say that while we’ll still have some in 2020, we will not be able to have as many. So if there’s one you’re eyeing below, be ready at your computer on Jan. 21 at 10 a.m., and type quickly (they do tend to fill quickly).

If you’ve any questions, shoot me an email at covingtonmechanicals@gmail.com (please do not send questions about classes to the LAP help desk).

French Polishing with Derek Jones (July 11-12)

Build a Sawbench with Megan Fitzpatrick (July 27-28)

Make a Carved Oak Box with Peter Follansbee (July 29-Aug. 2)

Build a Sack-Back Chair with Greg Pennington (Aug. 5-9)

Build an Etau, Benchcrafted’s Hi Vise, with Jameel Abraham (Sept. 6-7)

Build a Shaker Candle Stand with Will Myers (Oct. 5-6)

Build a Hanging Wall Cabinet with Anne “of all Trades” Briggs (Oct. 7-11)

Chip Carving with Daniel Clay (Oct. 19-20)

All About Moulding Planes with Matt Bickford (Oct. 26-27)

Greenwood Post-and-Rung Stool with Andy Glenn (Nov. 2-3)

Build a Jennie Alexander Chair with Ray Schwanenbeger (Nov. 4-8)

Build a Sawbench with Megan Fitzpatrick (Nov. 16-17)

Make a Carved Oak Box with Peter Follansbee (Dec. 9-13)

— Fitz

pennington copy

p.s. We might have a couple more 2019 classes to announce in the coming weeks…just waiting on a few details.

Book Reportlet: Shaker Inspiration

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frontispiece

When Megan Fitzpatrick posted the frontispiece of Christian Becksvoort’s latest book, Shaker Inspiration, on Instagram a few months back, I knew I would be placing an order. Not only have I admired Becksvoort’s work for decades; the frontispiece was utterly lovely, promising yet another beautiful and informative book from Lost Art Press.

What I did not expect was a book that offers as much to the professional or would-be professional woodworker as to the ardent Shaker furniture fan. In addition to a sizable section devoted to Shaker furniture, with measured drawings of Becksvoort’s own designs and reproduction pieces along with a portfolio of drool-worthy classics, the eminently readable book encompasses wood technology (informed by the author’s academic background in forestry), no-nonsense discussion of training possibilities, tips and techniques (several of them new to me) and invaluable advice on what’s involved in setting up a business and running it successfully.

Those who have read my book Making Things Work will be aware of the importance I attach to being honest about the sometimes-brutal realities of basing your livelihood on furniture making. Ever since I read Becksvoort’s no-holds-barred reply in Fine Woodworking to a reader’s letter asking how to make a living as a furniture maker, I have wanted to shake his hand.

After weeks of looking forward to that handshake, I relinquished the opportunity to meet Mr. Becksvoort at yesterday’s Lost Art Press event due to the forecast for several inches of snow combined intermittently with the dreaded “wintry mix.” But I’m looking forward to seeing him in April at Fine Woodworking Live.

snow in january 2019 2
Seriously diminished in volume after 24 hours of temps hovering around freezing, the snow is still lovely to look at.

Let’s Talk Trash

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The contents of our trash receptacles say a lot about us. I drink Twining’s English breakfast tea, have a AAA membership, and eat the occasional Boca Burger.

No matter how many years of experience you have at your craft, you can’t afford to stop learning.

Kitchen cabinet making is viewed as an inferior form of woodworking by many of those who reproduce 18th-century Philadelphia highboys. Well, let them feel superior. The fact is, building kitchen cabinets requires endless learning–not least because hardware manufacturers are constantly inventing new products to make life “better.”

Sometimes I feel like cabinetmakers have become the doctors of the cutting-edge hardware world. We’re visited by hardware company salespersons and bombarded with literature about new products that will open doors, close drawers, lift lids, hide appliances, and make exhaust vents invisible. Our clients see these wonders in their neighbors’ kitchens or advertised in magazines and want them (just as yours truly asked her doctor about Cologuard as an alternative to colonoscopy, thanks to the manufacturer’s underwriting announcements on NPR).*

My basic attitude toward such gizmos is the equivalent of the sign on my doctor’s office door: Pharmaceutical Representatives Not Welcome. In my kitchen, the cabinet doors hang on surface-mounted butterfly hinges and we toss our trash into a freestanding can beneath the sink. I like simple.

Things are different when I’m discussing hardware with clients. It is, after all, their kitchen. Consider trash. There’s a spectrum of ways to store it until you’re ready to take it outside. As with most cabinet detail decisions, I go through all the relevant options. We start with a fork in the road: Would you like a freestanding trash can (or unassuming bin beneath the sink), or would you prefer a dedicated trash cabinet?

vipp-14-pedal-bin-white-1_0
One of the dreamy offerings from Vipp

trash
Quite a bit less dreamy: a plain bin stashed under the sink.
(This one’s ours.)

If the former, congratulations! You’re done. Just put the thing in your kitchen and get cooking. Choose the latter and you’ve launched the cabinetmaker’s equivalent of an automated answering system—Enter your account number followed by the pound sign. Press 1 for customer service. Now press 2 for residential or 3 for commercial. Etc.

  1. How will the cabinet open? Will it have a door on hinges or be made like a drawer? Will tossing that tea bag wrapper mean reaching into the cabinet, or will the trash receptacle slide out to meet you?

Made that decision? Good. However, you’re still not done.

  1. You can either buy a pull-out unit or make one. If you’re going to make it, will the design allow for bottom-mounted runners (such as Blum Tandem slides) or will it need to be side-mounted higher up to counteract the stress on the door if the pull is at the top?
  2. Are you willing to use a knob or drawer pull, or do you want the unit to open hands-free? If the former, great; just install it. If the latter, there are several further options, from a foot-operated pedal that pushes the unit open to an electric servo drive.

(Servo drives? Are we still talking about trash?)

***

My most recent kitchen job called for a cabinet dedicated to trash and recyclables that would open hands-free. At first I planned to fabricate a pedal—not just any pedal, but one with sufficient oomph to break the grip of the little man who hides at the back of every Blum Tandem with Blumotion drawer slide (or the Blum Movento slides that came with the Rev-A-Shelf waste and recyclables unit I had purchased). I wasn’t thrilled about installing a pedal, because the sink area is the first thing you see on entering the dining room; a pedal dangling beneath such an exposed cabinet just seemed too reminiscent of a tampon string. The kinds of objects that might logically be hanging down from a trash cabinet (a nicely printed sardine or spice can could be epoxied to the bare metal bar I imagined using in place of a pedal; my second suggestion was to carve a cute wooden mouse and stick it to the metal bar) are not likely to appeal to most people commissioning cabinetry. Trash falling out of the waste receptacle? A mouse trying to climb in? These were bound to reflect badly on the cabinetmaker or the clients, respectively.

Fully exposed. The trash cabinet in my most recent kitchen is prominently in view from the dining room.

I called my hardware company and asked about the trash container equivalent of a touch latch. Of course such hardware exists; in my supplier’s case, it’s the Blum Tip-On with Blumotion unit, a nice middle ground between the pedal and the servo drive. With a bit of help from Sarah Gates of Blum’s customer service team, I got the thing installed. It works like a charm.

*Note: The clients in this example did not suggest the hardware I used for their trash pullout. I did.

trash can
This door in my most recent kitchen build conceals a Rev-a-Shelf waste and recyclables unit on Blum Movento slides with hands-free action. See it in action here. For some hard-won tips on retrofitting this unit with the Tip-On system, see my post at Popular Woodworking.

–Nancy Hiller, author of Making Things Work

‘The Shaker Guy,’ in the Portland Newspaper

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screen shot 2019-01-06 at 10.35.37 amChristian Becksvoort is featured in the Portland Press Herald today, in a Bob Keyes article in the Books section:

“Christian Becksvoort doesn’t want to be the ornery old guy who complains about how things are and wishes for the way they were.

“He’s generally pretty well disposed, balanced and grateful, and at age 69, shows hardly a hint of slowing down. But he can’t help himself when it comes to talking about how it used to be, back in the day when kids were taught in school how to make things out of wood with their hands. They had to know how to measure, cut and hammer and were supposed to be endowed with enough functional woodworking skills to navigate the basics of home ownership and life.”

While the article focuses on Christian’s latest book “Shaker Inspiration,” it’s also a glimpse into his history, life and woodworking aesthetic.

“He also makes reproductions of traditional Shaker pieces and enjoys taking furniture apart to see how it was made. He’s always learning by understanding how other people have solved problems before him. ‘You can tell two or three people worked on a piece. Some dovetails are real crisp. Parts of others might be real sloppy,’ he said. ‘You can learn a lot by taking it apart.’ There’s a humility to Shaker simplicity that Becksvoort treats with reverence. For him, it always comes back to the opposite of what he calls “maximalism, or how much crap can we put on a piece of furniture?”

Click here to read “Practicality, in life, craft, drives Maine’s most famous furniture maker.”

A reminder that Christian will be at Lost Art Press (837 Willard Street, Covington, Ky., 41011) for a book release party on Jan. 12, from 7-10 p.m. (plus he’ll be in and out during the 10 a.m.-5 p.m. open house). Please shoot me an email (if you’ve not already) if you’re attending the evening shindig.

— Fitz

Becksvoort Book Release Bash

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Christian Becksvoort, at the 2014 Lie-Nielsen Toolworks open house.

Just a reminder that you’re invited to Christian Becksvoort’s “Shaker Inspiration” book release party on Jan. 12, from 7-10 p.m. – plus he’ll be in and out during the Lost Art Press open house that day (10 a.m-5 p.m.).

Christian will give a presentation on his work and a short reading from his new book (and sign copies of it and his other books if you like); we’ll have snacks, beer and wine, and non-alcoholic beverage choices).

If you plan to attend the evening shindig, please send me an email at covingtonmechanicals@gmail.com to let me know how many are in your party (so we don’t run out of provisions).

— Fitz