Lost Art Press

Category: Open Wire

LAP Open Wire, July 20, 2024

Posted on by fitz

Update: Comments are now closed (thought Chris still might answer later, as needed). Join us again for Open Wire on August 10.

Wally and I are in the shop all day to work on 10 Shaker trays (because someone feels guilty for stepping down from their neighborhood house tour committee and thus agreed to make thank-you gifts as self-imposed penance) and for Open Wire AMAAW&C (Ask Me Anything About Woodworking & Cats).

You know the drill: post your (succinct) queries in the comments field below, and we (Wally and I) shall do our best to answer. Christopher might also pop in with answers from time to time…though I hope he’s spending the day having a grand time with Lucy and friends in Germany, and not paying attention to the internet.

Comments will close at around 4:45 p.m. (Eastern).

And a reminder of the Open Wire dates for the remainder of the year (when both Chris and I – and no doubt Wally – will be in the shop):

August 10
September 14
October 19
November 16
December 14

– Fitz


LAP Open Wire, July 13, 2024

Posted on by fitz
We had great fun hosting Peter Follansbee and six students this week! (I’m always gobsmacked by how much Peter’s students learn and how good they get with just a few days of instruction and practice!)

Update: Comments are now closed. Join us next Saturday for more Open Wire fun (and check the schedule at the bottom for the OW dates for the rest of 2024).

Due to a minor “oops” earlier this week when we mentioned we’d have Open Wire this Saturday (and the fact that I’ll be in the “office” anyway) – I decided to hold Open Wire today. But I will not start answering before 9 a.m, and possibly not even before 10 a.m. (Eastern). It’s been a deightful but busy week…so I plan to sleep in a bit on Saturday morning.

Comments will close at 4:30 p.m.-ish (Eastern)

And a reminder that we’ll be doing Open Wire – where you can ask all your woodworking questions and we’ll do our best to answer them – on the following Saturdays for the remainder of the year:

July 20 (Chris will weigh in if he can – but probably not until after comments close for the day)
August 10
September 14
October 19
November 16
December 14

– Fitz

New Chair Class & New Dates for ‘Open Wire’

Posted on by Lost Art Press

Some quick administrative stuff. To try to meet demand for classes on building a stick chair, I’ve scheduled a class in building a Welsh-style comb-back chair at our Covington storefront for Nov. 18-22. Registration for the class will open at noon (Eastern) on June 24.

You can register via this link on June 24.

The classes are expensive, I know. The price includes all materials, plus continental breakfast and lunch every day. (We are serious about the food.) The class size is small – six students with one instructor and an assistant. We go to great lengths to make the week special and work hard so you go home with a finished (completely finished) chair.

The other bit of news here is that we have to scale back “Open Wire” a bit for the rest of the year. Megan and I are traveling a lot in the coming months, and it’s difficult to juggle our Open Wire when one of us is out of town.

Here are the Open Wire dates for the rest of 2024:

July 20
August 10
September 14
October 19
November 16
December 14

We will post reminders before each Open Wire date. Those are the Saturdays when both Megan and I will be in the office and ready to answer your woodworking questions. Megan and I enjoy Open Wire, but we hate to leave the other in the lurch when the other is traveling or teaching.

— Christopher Schwarz

LAP Open Wire June 15, 2024

Posted on by fitz

Comments are now closed. Join us again next Saturday!

Chris is out of town this weekend, but Wally and I are here and ready to answer your woodworking and cat-treat-related questions. But unlike Chris, I will not start responding at the buttocks-crack of dawn – I like to sleep in a bit on Saturdays. And every day. (And Wally sleeps about 18 hours per day.)

As you surely now by now, leave a question in the comments and I’ll do my best to answer. You can even ask me about the Dutch tool chest book (now that the manuscript is in Chris’s hands, I’m far less stressed about it).

Comments will close at around 4:30 today.

– Fitz

LAP Open Wire, June 8, 2024

Posted on by fitz
Inigo (right) and Fezzig (left), who are darn near cute enough to distract from that masterful shell carving in the tiger maple Queen Anne lowboy behind them.

Comments are now closed. Thank you, John, for hosting!

Today’s Open Wire is hosted by our friend John Cashman, a historian long-time woodworker (mostly hand tools) who lives in eastern Massachusetts. He’ll no doubt be assisted by Inigo and Fezzig; all misspellings are theirs.

If anyone has questions on Shaker boxes, now is your chance. Likewise, questions on Queen Anne and Chippendale pieces, any of a million (give or take) woodworking books on topics ranging from birdhouses to Spanish furniture in colonial Peru.

John reminds us that, “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.”

As always, brevity is appreciated, and comments will close at around 5 p.m. Eastern. Also, for some reason that we can’t figure out, replies are not appearing directly under the comment to which one is replying. Apologies for the annoyance; we’re working on it.

– Fitz