Category: Uncategorized
I Can See Clearly Now
On Friday I finished teaching my first chair class, 16 years after taking my first one in Canada from David Fleming. That class – plus John Brown’s “Welsh Stick Chairs” – set me on a long journey of building and researching chairs in an effort to find my own designs and techniques.
It was a personal struggle, which I didn’t document here on the blog or in my books except for the stray breadcrumb. And it was a lonely one until I met Chris Williams, a Welsh chairmaker who worked with John Brown for many years.
Finally, I had someone to talk to about chairs who spoke the same design language. Who had read the same books. Who looked at these gorgeous and eccentric chairs with similar eyes. (Side note: I like Windsor chairs, but they are different enough from Welsh ones that when I talk to Windsor makers I feel like the awkward stepchild.)
Meeting Chris about four years ago inspired me to finish work on my designs and push the structure of the chair a lot harder than I had been for the previous 12 years. There have been struggles and failures – cracked armbows, dead-end designs and a bad batch of glue. It was like walking in a fog for years. Now that seems to be lifting, and I think I can see a long distance ahead.
But I still remember my first chair class with a perfect clarity. I also remember the sheer frustration I experienced when I returned home and began building my second Welsh stick chair within days of stepping off the plane from Ottawa.
I didn’t have any patterns. I didn’t have the jigs I needed. I didn’t have any wood appropriate for chairmaking. And I was missing several important tools. But I plowed forward and made a chair anyway. And then at least 50 more.
When teaching my first chair class, I wanted to remove the barriers to making a second chair. So all the students made copies of my patterns in Masonite. I gave them all a set of the weird jigs I use, including the rig for drilling the sticks, the block for locating the stretchers, Zee Hinder Pluggen (don’t ask) and a handmade half-pencil.
And I offered them a kit of chair parts, just like the kit they received to make their first chair with me. I hope it works.
I don’t know how many chair classes I’m ever going to teach – certainly no more than two a year. They are exhausting to prepare for and execute. Plus, we have Chris Williams coming here in May to fly the Welsh flag and teach another batch of students using his methods.
That, and Chris’s upcoming book on John Brown, is probably enough to infect the next generation of Welsh chairmakers. I hope.
— Christopher Schwarz
Um, Yes, Me on Shop Talk Live
You can hear my voice and see my rolling eyes on today’s Shop Talk Live podcast from Fine Woodworking via this link. The podcast is a 37-minute interview with FWW’s Ben Strano about a variety of topics. Here’s a partially complete list:
- Ben’s high school nickname
- Me getting bleeped for the first time ever
- Why we teach classes at the Lost Art Press storefront
- My fears re: FineWoodworkingLive
- About my dumb chairs
- How I tried to get Matt Bickford and Peter Follansbee drunk to launch a publishing empire
- The one weird trick to destroy “social media depression disorder”
- Taco talk (actually, they edited this out)
- New scrapers from Crucible Tool
Ben’s a great guy and did a good job of making me say silly things. And if you want to hear me say even sillier things, sign up for Fine Woodworking Live. If not for my presentation, then for the talks from the legit presenters. It should be a great weekend.
— Christopher Schwarz
More Wax and a Three-legged Cat
Katherine has just made a good-sized batch of soft wax, which you can purchase in her etsy store – $24 for 8 oz. of wax in a heavy-duty glass jar.
The photo above shows a jar of her wax with her new three-legged cat named Bean. He’s a shelter cat (of course) and he lost his leg after being run over by a car and then delivered to the Kenton County Animal Shelter.
Katherine and Lucy volunteer at the shelter, so you probably know what happened.
Bean is impossibly sweet to everyone. And he – like all animals – refuses pity. We did not need another cat in our house (we have five). But we did need Bean.
Bean craps – a lot. More than many fully grown cats. So purchasing Katy’s wax will ensure an ample supply of kitty litter and deodorizer.
— Christopher Schwarz
We’re Open this Saturday
I’ve had my head so deep into a chair class I’m teaching this week that I forgot to mention that the Lost Art Press storefront will be open this Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
There’s lots to see.
Megan Fitzpatrick is finishing up the insides of two Dutch tool chests – one for herself and one for a customer.
We have some of the prototypes of our newest Crucible tool: the Williams Welsh Card Scraper. You can give our two working prototypes a spin, but we won’t have any for sale I’m afraid.
I have a bunch of new stick chairs complete and almost complete – including a beautiful one in walnut. Come have a sit and take a gander.
Brendan Gaffney has been out of town but will likely be back and working on a chest on a stand that has some really tricky details, angles and joinery.
The storefront is located at 837 Willard St. in Covington, Ky., 41011. Come hang out and ask all the woodworking questions you like. Kids and pets are always welcome.
— Christopher Schwarz