Lost Art Press

A Frustrated Furniture Maker

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A highly skilled woodworker, teacher, draughtsman and writer has said the following about me on several occasions, according to his students.

“You shouldn’t listen to Schwarz. He’s never been a professional woodworker.”

He’s 100-percent correct, of course. I spent one summer building entryway doors for Therma-Tru. A second summer I built folding particleboard tables. And I did 14 years building furniture infrequently for Popular Woodworking magazine. But I would never ever call myself a professional furniture maker.

I am, like many of you, a frustrated amateur furniture maker. Since 1993, I have spent every waking moment trying to perfect my skills. I have taken classes, read every book I thought was worth reading and happily soaked up every bit of wisdom I could find from woodworkers alive and dead.

I struggle every day that I am in the shop, which is just about every day. I mess stuff up. I design some pieces that are awkward, which I would never show in public. I mis-cut joints, curse my hands and wish I were as confident as Frank Klausz.

If I had to put a resume together today, the only real skills I’d list are an insatiable curiosity for our craft and the ability to string together words in a way that upsets some people. Oh, and I am one of the founding members of the Radio Shack Battery Club.

So why am I pulling my pants down on the Internet and not even asking you for a credit card number? Because I want you to know that there are very few (if any) woodworking gods. Yes, there are some people who are savants at a particular joint or process, but anyone who thinks he has mastered the craft should study 40 more years and get back to us.

Woodworking is hard. For everyone. And if you love the craft as much as I love the Radio Shack Battery Club, then you will never ever be satisfied with your work. Something in every project – a joint, a reveal, a quirk – can always be improved.

So why do I teach? That seems like uber-hubris.

Wow. That’s a good question. I teach only because people ask me to teach. I’ve never called a school asking to teach there. I teach because there are always people who know less than I do (incredible though it seems). And I teach because I have met some of my best, lifelong friends in classes, including John Hoffman, my business partner in Lost Art Press.

So I agree with the guy who says you shouldn’t listen to me because I’m not a professional. But perhaps I am a somewhat useful ugly bag of mostly water because I am an amateur.

I am no different than the goofy guy next to you at the bench in the last woodworking class you took. Except that guy… whew… he really smells.

— Christopher Schwarz

Let the Campaign Begin

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I guess we will find out how much you like Campaign Furniture. I just spent $2,500 on a load of 4/4 mahogany boards that are 16” and wider to build some campaign chests. Plus another $500 on 12/4 mahogany for a run of Roorkhee chairs.

First order of business: Build a full-blown campaign secretary before March 15.

— Christopher Schwarz

Drawboring in ‘Make a Joint Stool from a Tree’

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Editing “Make a Joint Stool from a Tree: An Introduction to 17th-century Joinery” has been an eye-opening experience. Sure, I’ve followed Peter Follansbee’s blog for a long time, listened to him at Woodworking in America and even read John (now Jennie) Alexander’s landmark book ”Make a Chair from a Tree.”

But following the construction of a joint stool from felling the tree to mixing your own paint has presented a surprise at almost every turn.

Take, for example, drawboring. I’ve been drawboring joints for years – I think I did my first one in 1999. But I’ve always added glue and clamps to the equation if possible. Not Peter and Jennie. They use robust offsets between the bores and make pins that have a long taper and are quite beefier than I typically make.

What else is interesting is that the techniques used by Peter and Jennie differ slightly at many times. Peter shaves his pegs at the bench with a chisel. Jennie uses a drawknife in a shave horse.

In the end, what is most enlightening is how much trust they put in the joint itself. After reading their experiences during the last two decades, I’m going to change my own drawboring methods.

So even if you don’t ever think you’ll build a joint stool, the book is filled with interesting techniques from two people who have devoted their lives to unearthing the techniques used for building this classic furniture form. Heck, I am even going to mix my own paint now that I know how Peter and Jennie do it.

In case you are wondering, we are closing in on getting this book to the printer. The layout is, with the exception of the index, substantially complete. Unlike previous Lost Art Press books, “Make a Joint Stool from a Tree” is going to be printed in an oversized format – the page size is 9” x 12”. The book will be full color throughout and features illustrations from Eleanor Underhill.

And much like other Lost Art Press Books, it will be hardcover, casebound, Smythe sewn and printed in the United States. We don’t have a price or an exact release date yet. But as soon as we do, we’ll announce it here.

So sharpen up that hatchet. The oak trees in your neighborhood are going to be very afraid after you read this book.

— Christopher Schwarz

New Episodes from ‘The Woodwright’s Shop’

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The shows from the latest season of Roy Underhill’s “The Woodwright’s Shop” can now be viewed online for free through this link.

What, you are still here and reading my crap? Click the link and get over there and watch all 13 episodes. That’s more than six hours of Roy, with less than an hour of my drivel on planes and the Anarchist’s Square. Plus great episodes with Peter Follansbee, Bill Anderson, Peter Ross and Steve Latta. And five glorious minutes with Megan “Chopped Liver” Fitzpatrick.

Click here to view them.

I mean, like, so what the heck? There’s nothing to see here. Would it chase you away faster if I talked about the weather? Maybe if I posted another stupid quotation? It’s Roy for gosh durn sake. Click here.

Oh I give up.

— Christopher Schwarz

By the way, the description of the show on planing is so ridiculously wrong it makes me wee my wee panties. The real name of the show is: “The 12-step Program to Break Your Addiction to Smoothing Planes.”