At the time I stopped teaching in 2015 I was booking 18 class a year. It was a stupid schedule. I quite enjoyed the travel and learning from the students. But my personal work – my writing, designing and building – suffered.
Starting in November I’m returning to a limited teaching schedule – four classes in a year and no more. I am extremely excited (yes, I used an adverb there) to share the techniques and designs I’ve developed during this hiatus.
These classes will be different as I’ll be teaching little or no casework or workbenches (unless the French Oak Roubo Project III comes calling). It will be all staked furniture and chairs.
My first class will be Nov. 3-4, 2018, at our storefront in Covington, Ky., where I will teach the Staked High Stool. This project is a great introduction to chairmaking and working with compound angles. And everyone leaves with a finished stool. You’ll be able to finish your stool with “shou sugi ban,” though we’ll also teach spray finishing of shellac and some hand-applied finishes.
Registration for this class will open next week. We’ll have full details on all the storefront classes for the remainder of 2018 posted on Monday.
I hope you’ll consider joining us. The classes are small – six students maximum. The workshop is a great place to work with excellent benches and loads of natural light. And Covington, Ky., is a fun place to stay and eat.
I’m teaching two courses in Munich this October at the new and expanded workshop for Dictum GmbH.
Today I visited the new workshop, and it is impressive. Located by the Munich Ostbanhof (east train station), the new facilities are flooded with natural light and have beautiful new German workbenches. And downstairs is Dictum’s Munich store and a huge array of choices for food, culture and lodging.
The classes are taught in English (with German expletives). If you are interested in handwork or getting started in chairmaking, here are the details:
Staked Furniture: 3-legged Stool Oct. 8-9, 2018
I taught this class for the first time this summer, and it is a fun couple of days. In the class I explain how to do compound-angle joinery without math or even numbers. Plus, all the chairmaking techniques I have compiled and refined during my time as a chairmaker. If you do flat work and right-angle projects, this class will open up a new world for you.
Build a Sawbench Oct. 10-12, 2018
This three-day class is great for new woodworkers. The pace is relaxed, and we get to explore all sorts of odd corners of the craft. The last time I taught this class, we also made winding sticks, straightedges and other useful workshop appliances.
Munich is a great city – very easy for international travelers to get to and navigate.
One area of the new Dictum workshop in Munich.
Some of you might be wondering if this new round of classes at Dictum indicates I might teach more in the coming months and years. And the answer is: kinda. I’ve resolved to keep a limited teaching schedule until my youngest daughter has graduated so that I can be a good father.
After her graduation in May 2019 I hope to teach about four weeks a year. (Teaching 18 classes in a year turned out to be a bad idea for my psyche.) I’ll probably teach a couple short courses at our storefront and maybe a week-long course somewhere else (if anyone will have me).
I know this is short notice, but if you can make it, you are guaranteed lots of fun, hard work and the general mayhem that is building a workbench in five days. Of course, there is also beer to be had by all at the bar next door – after class only (sorry). The sign-up page is here.
A handful of new woodworking class sessions from Daniel Clay, Brendan Gaffney and me will go on sale Wednesday, May 9, 2018 at 9 a.m. EDT on Eventbrite. Classes are limited to six students – the number of benches (plus one for the instructor) we have available in the front room of the storefront, which is filled with natural light. And the mechanical library, Electric Horse Garage and biergarten are all open for inspection.
If you’re one of the first six to register, the instructor will be in touch regarding payment and tool lists. If you’re number seven or after, you can choose to be added to the waitlist (for which I encourage you to register – I filled an empty slot in my last class from the waitlist, and Brendan has added the sector sessions below as a result of robust demand).
All proceeds go directly to the instructor; they are not a money-making enterprise for Christopher Schwarz or Lost Art Press. He’s let those of us who are teaching use the space for free as a way to help build and get the word out on the local woodworking community, and because he is incredibly generous. (Note: He is also an excellent teaching assistant, and will likely be around for at least a little while during the classes.)
In this two-day class, students will receive comprehensive instruction in the fundamentals of chip carving, a decorative technique in which faceted “chips” are removed from a wooden surface to produce geometric patterns, stylized images, lettering and ornamentation. Through demonstrations, guided practice, skill-building exercises, and the completion of a decorative wall hanging, students will leave class with all the knowledge, experience and confidence to pursue chip carving on their own. One of the most attractive aspects of chip carving (especially for beginning woodcarvers) is that it can be accomplished at a high level with minimal tools and materials; all you need to become a great chip carver is a sharp knife, some suitable wood and a little practice.
No prior woodworking or carving experience is necessary to take the class, but all are welcome! This class is best suited to those with little or no chip carving experience.
The instructor will provide the wood and other necessary materials for the class. Students must supply their own chip carving knives. If you don’t have a chip carving knife it is strongly recommended that you start with this knife, or this two-knife set. Additionally, it is recommended that students bring a pencil, a sheet of 220 sand paper, a 12” combination square, and, if you have one, a sharp block plane.
Learn how to cut dovetails by hand, and cut and refine curves with hand tools, as you build a classic Shaker two-step step stool (out of cherry) that will withstand decades – lifetimes, really – of use. This one is based off the classic stool in “Making Authentic Shaker Furniture,” by John Shea (Dover, 1975). You’ll also get to listen to me wax prolific about liquid hide glue, use it, and take home a bottle of Old Brown Glue courtesy of Patrick Edwards.
In this two-day class, students will build their own Cabinetmaker’s Sector, my modernized design for the ancient geometer’s tool, used for drawing, drafting and (in my shop) the layout of dimensions and joinery on woodwork. The class will revolve around the skills of modern hand-tool makers, including careful marking and measuring, mixing metal and wood, hand shaping, finishing and (of course) how to use the tool.
Each student will be provided the wood and the necessary brass hinges and pins, everything needed to produce the sector. The first day will revolve around affixing the brass and wooden tabs into the tools, riveting the leaves together, flattening and lapping the tools and reviewing the principles behind the geometry of the sector. The second day will revolve around shaping the sectors, stamping and inking the sector marks, finishing the sectors and learning to use them in the shop. Every student will leave with a completed sector, plus the knowledge of how it works and how to use it.
Build the Boarded Bookshelf from Christopher Schwarz’s “The Anarchist’s Design Book” as you learn how cut dados and tongue-and-groove joints by hand, and drive tapered, square-shanked nails without splitting your work. And of course, plane up your work for a perfect finish. The bookcases will be built in pine…and we might even have time to give them a first coat of General Finishes milk paint (or casein-based milk paint, if that’s your preference – the tool list will include links and pros/cons for both finish treatments).
In this two-day class, students will build their own Cabinetmaker’s Sector, my modernized design for the ancient geometer’s tool, used for drawing, drafting and (in my shop) the layout of dimensions and joinery on woodwork. The class will revolve around the skills of modern hand-tool makers, including careful marking and measuring, mixing metal and wood, hand shaping, finishing and (of course) how to use the tool.
Each student will be provided the wood and the necessary brass hinges and pins, everything needed to produce the sector. The first day will revolve around affixing the brass and wooden tabs into the tools, riveting the leaves together, flattening and lapping the tools and reviewing the principles behind the geometry of the sector. The second day will revolve around shaping the sectors, stamping and inking the sector marks, finishing the sectors and learning to use them in the shop. Every student will leave with a completed sector, plus the knowledge of how it works and how to use it.
During this intense two-day class you’ll build a Dutch tool chest (from either pine or poplar, depending on what’s good, available and inexpensive that month) using dovetails, dados, rabbets and nails (or screws). Because of the demands of the project, this class will likely run into the early evening to ensure everyone completes the chest. The Dutch chest is an excellent introduction to handwork and the result is a fine place to store your tools.
Hinges and lifts are up to the individual makers, but I’ll provide some suggestions/links for both commercially available and handmade options.
Make a Coffin-Shaped Bookcase…for use Now & Later with Megan Fitzpatrick October 20 & 21, 2018 (just in time for Halloween!) Cost: $340, which includes all materials. (Click here to register: Will go live on 5/9/18 at 9 a.m.)
Build a traditional kerf-bent and nailed pine coffin (which we’ll then make into a bookcase for interim use). Note that at the bookcase link, you can download the coffin chapter from “The Anarchist’s Design Book,” free. But it doesn’t come with fun, frivolity or candy corn (all of which you’ll get in this class!). As tempted as I am to build the fire-bent version…my health care exchange insurance just isn’t good enough to chance it! (Apologies to John Hoffman for the coffin image – it makes me chuckle every time!)
Build an accurate reproduction of an icon of American furniture with Will Myers during an Oct. 6-7, 2018, class at our Covington, Ky., storefront.
Will has spent years researching Shaker design by measuring the actual pieces in the Shaker communities. His careful work has resulted in measured drawings for this table that result in a true reproduction. (Will was shocked to discover that none of the published plans available were exact reproductions.)
During this intense two-day class, you’ll build a reproduction of this beautiful table and learn:
History and details of the three original candle stands of this style that I have examined.
Why this table is not as simple as it first appears, and how many small details contribute to look of the table as a whole.
Layout and cutting of sliding dovetails on a cylinder, to join the legs to the spindle.
Shaping the legs, using spokeshaves and card scrapers.
Turning the spindle to final shape.
Shaping the top support with planes and spokeshaves.
Shaping and smoothing the edges and faces of the round top.
Why you need a metal “spider” (and how to make one) to reinforce the leg-to-spindle joinery.
Registration for the class is free. Registrants will be invoiced for the $300 class fee and additional materials fee (which will likely be around $100). Attendees at this class should have some woodworking experience. While no turning experience is required, it will be helpful.
These classes are are limited to six students led by Will (plus me as an assistant). That’s why we can tackle such ambitious projects.
Register for the class here. After you register, you will receive an invoice for the class plus a tool list. Any student looking for a place to stay or eat near our storefront can get full details here.
As I’ve mentioned before, these classes do not benefit me or Lost Art Press. All proceeds go to the instructor. If you’ve ever met Will (or seen any of his videos) then you know he is a skilled woodworker and excellent instructor. We are thrilled to have him teach here.
A handful of new woodworking class sessions from 
Chip Carving Class with Daniel Clay
Dovetailed Shaker Step Stool with Megan Fitzpatrick
Build the Cabinetmaker’s Sector with Brendan Gaffney
Boarded Bookshelf with Megan Fitzpatrick
Make a Coffin-Shaped Bookcase…for use Now & Later with Megan Fitzpatrick
