Category: Open Wire

Update: Comments are now closed. Thanks for entertaining us on our drive!

Got a woodworking question? Then today is you’re lucky day: It’s time for Open Wire! You have until 5 p.m. Eastern to pose your question in the comments section below, and we’ll respond – hopefully with a informed and useful answer…but no promises. (And it’s possible your fellow readers will have answers, too – and perhaps you’ll have an answer for someone else).

Chris and I are driving to Northern Indiana to pick up a thing…so if you’re wondering why I’m answering many of the chair questions…I’m not. I’m the amanuensis on those. But I’ve you covered on many of the not-chair questions.

– Fitz

p.s. The remaining Open Wire dates for 2025 are August 9, October 25 and December 13.

Comments are now closed. We’ll get to any unanswered questions…soonish!

It’s time for our bi-montly Open Wire, where you can pose your woodworking questions in the comments section below and we’ll do our best to answer them. Comments will close at around 5 p.m.

Note that there may be a lag between your asking and our answering. Chris is probably working on a chair, and I’m working on…healing. And editing the revised edition of “The Anarchist’s Tool Chest” (photos for which are happening above).

– Fitz

Chris and I will be eagerly awaiting your woodworking questions this Saturday (April 19) from about 9 a.m.-5 p.m.

On Saturday morning, an “Open Wire” post will go live. If you have a question, all you have to do is type it into the comments and we’ll – eventually – answer (we fit in weekend computer time around bench time).

Readers with relevant info are also welcome to chime in. For example – we sometimes get asked things like, “Where near Flagstaff can I buy purpleheart?” We have no idea – so if you do, please do let the poor misguided* soul who wants to use purpleheart know where they can get it.

Get those questions ready. (And check out the “Open Wire” category in the meantime – there are lots of good questions and answers there already!)

The remaining Open Wire dates for 2025 are:
April 19
June 14
August 9
October 25
December 13

– Fitz

*In all fairness, purpleheart is an excellent choice for a deck and will quickly turn gray/brown, thereby making it tolerable.

“Open Wire” is your bi-monthly opportunity to pose to us any and all woodworking questions, and we’ll do our best to answer (if you ask on other days, we’ll tell you to please wait for Open Wire). It’s simple – we post a blog entry on the scheduled Saturday mornings (usually at around 7:30 a.m. Eastern) and readers can post questions in the comments for us (and other readers) to answer. Comments close at 5 p.m. Eastern.

The Open Wire Dates for 2025 are:

February 15
April 19
June 14
August 9
October 25
December 13

– Fitz

p.s. We sometimes answer with links to posts we’ve already written (e.g. What wood to use for a workbench. What’s the best angle for dovetails. What jack plane to buy.), so if you can’t wait for one of the 2025 Open Wire dates, try a Google search at site:lostartpress.com – after 15+ years of entries on this blog, odds are decent you’ll find an answer.