This Saturday we are opening the doors at Lost Art Press, and there is a lot of stuff going on. Here are the parts that I can remember:
Tools. Brendan, Megan and I are selling off our excess tools. I’m still digging stuff out of the basement. Everything will be priced to move. None of us own junk. All tool sales are cash.
Book-release Party. Suzanne Ellison, the Saucy Indexer and LAP researcher, is making her first appearance here. Suzanne and I are going to present our unexpurgated history of workbenches on Saturday night. At the party we will give you drinks. Suzanne has party favors for everyone that she has made. We have a few spots left for this free thing. Sign up here.
Special guests. Jameel and FJ Abraham from Benchcrafted will be there to poo upon our Roman workbenches. And they have cool Chatoyance stickers to sell.
Another special guest – Mark Hicks from Plate 11 Workbench Co. – will be there with shavehorses. (We bought one and he is bringing an extra one I believe). Give them a spin and talk workbenches with Mark, Jameel and me (if you dare).
Books. As per usual, we will have the complete line of LAP books available for sale, plus T-shirts.
Finally, a couple food notes. If you are here on Friday, go to Braxton Brewing and get yourself a fried chicken sandwich on a biscuit from Bakers Table’s pop-up shop. And when you are here, make sure you eat at Main Street Tavern. It’s right around the corner from us. We eat there way too much. The brunch is cheap and incredible (it’s offered both Saturday and Sunday).
Looking for a place to stay? Definitely Hotel Covington. It’s a seven-minute walk from our store. The restaurant there – Coppin’s – is outstanding.
Alright, enough of my unsponsored blathering. Hope you can stop by on Saturday.
Editor’s Note: In addition to making the last edits to the book, we’re working on some final approvals from museums, the index and the cover. We hope to offer pre-publication ordering in August.
Late into the nights and early in the mornings before my class at Port Townsend School of Woodworking last week, I was working through my review of “Hands Employed Aright: The Furniture Making of Jonathan Fisher (1768-1847).” Until now, Fisher’s complete woodworking story has existed only in my mind. Because no furniture researcher has known of Fisher, the way all the tiny pieces and rabbit trails come together has never been put to paper.
I have, of course, several binders jammed with notes and papers and countless documents and images on my computer that contain all the little pieces I’ve gleaned on this journey. But it’s taken me years to put it all together into a coherent narrative. As I’ve made my way through this material, I’ve managed to clench it at the forefront of my memory but this story has been burning in me for years and so I couldn’t wait to see it in its final form.
When Kara sent me the PDF for author review, I was ecstatic. Reading the book in this final presentation (photos and all), it’s almost as if I was experiencing this story for the first time. I cannot express how delighted I am to be working with Lost Art Press on this book because there is no other publisher I would trust with this material. From the very beginning, Chris put his faith in me as a researcher and author, recommending minor editorial changes only for clarity. This freedom allowed me to dive deep in Fisher’s life and to present him in the way I think he deserves to be presented: in his unvarnished brilliance. My goal in this book was to allow Fisher’s life and work to emerge unfiltered.
Even though I’ve known the significance of the survival of his tools, furniture, house, and journal records for a long time now, seeing it all together in the book blew me away all over again. I’ve had the same conversation time after time with furniture researchers – when I tell them Fisher’s story, they all say, “Wait. How come no one has ever heard of this before?” This is a good question. A handful of Fisher biographies have been written but because each book had a different focus, his woodworking activity appears as little more than, “Oh. And he even made his own furniture! How neat!” Yet there in the Jonathan Fisher House and Farnsworth Art Museum archives sat one of the most complete survivals of a pre-industrial cabinet and chairmaker’s story unidentified and undisturbed.
When I was in Port Townsend last week, I spent a few evenings visiting with Jim Tolpin. As I told Jim of Fisher’s story, we discussed how not only is the completeness of the artifacts important, but the fact that it documents a rural craftsman’s work makes it particularly exceptional. Most furniture research focuses on the most successful and prolific master cabinetmakers in the big cities but not just because of a lack of interest in rural work. The tragic reality is that very few rural artisans documented their work and even fewer have two centuries of descendants that carefully preserved their artifacts. Their life’s legacy has long been discarded and their stories are gone forever.
Jonathan Fisher’s story is an incredible exception to this.
Reading through the book, I’m reminded of how spending this time with Fisher has profoundly changed me as a craftsman. Five years ago, when I began crawling under that furniture to read and understand his tool marks, my perspective on the way woodworking can shape our lives began to broaden. In Fisher, I saw a man that knew no boundaries. He made chairs, tables, chests, agricultural items, hats, picture frames, tools, paintings, and even his own wind-powered sawmill and workshop.
There are many questions about Fisher’s woodworking career I was able to resolve but many still remain. The one that nags me the most is, “What was it in Fisher that made him so boundless in his pursuits? What was it that gave him the confidence to pursue activities that were yet outside his skill set?” Throughout his whole life, Fisher continually explored new trades, in most of which he found success. Jonathan Fisher has inspired me to loosen the shackles of specialization that today’s consumer culture tries to bind us with. I do not believe we need experts to hand us pre-packaged products fit for immediate consumption because Fisher exemplifies a compelling alternative. Jonathan Fisher teaches us to boldly explore new craft vistas to build a life with our own two hands.
“Welsh Stick Chairs” by John Brown is a small but mighty book. At just 104 pages long, this book can be read in an afternoon, but it has changed the lives of thousands of woodworkers all over the globe.
John Brown (1933-2008) was a chairmaker in Wales who specialized in Welsh stick chairs, a vernacular form of furniture that was typically made by the end users. Compared to Windsor chairs, Welsh stick chairs are masculine, lively and even sometimes a bit aggressive.
They are built with simple hand tools and (when made properly) are designed to last for hundreds of years.
John Brown made hundreds of these chairs, and in 1990 he published a small book that explained how he made the chairs at that time, plus some history of stick chairmaking in Wales and a critique of the Windsor chairs they were sometimes confused with.
The book electrified woodworkers everywhere. Even those who weren’t chairmakers were fascinated by John Brown’s approach to the craft. His disdain for measured drawings. And his honest and forthright writing style.
“Welsh Stick Chairs” has been out of print for some time. But thanks to the efforts of Matty Sears, one of John Brown’s sons, and the rest of the heirs, we are pleased to present a beautiful and well-made edition of this important work.
The book is now available for pre-publication ordering in our store. It is $29, which includes free domestic shipping. The book will ship to customers in late June 2018, which is the 10th anniversary of John Brown’s death.
Using first-edition examples of “Welsh Stick Chairs,” we reset the entire book in the original font to ensure the text was crisp. We rescanned and processed the photos and drawings and cleaned them up. And we spent weeks researching the paper stock of the original in order to capture the same earthiness and perfection of the first edition.
We also made a small but invisible improvement – we sewed the signatures together to ensure the book will last for lifetimes.
The book is a softcover, covered in heavy card stock like the original. The book measures 7-1/4″ x 9-5/8″.
Our version includes John Brown’s original introduction to the book, plus the additional introduction he wrote for the third edition and an updated essay on John Brown by Nick Gibbs.
Detail from Albrecht Durer’s “Melencolia 1,” 1514,
There are a number of geometric constructions that allow us to create regular (i.e equal-angle and equal-facet length) polygons. Most of those for squares, rectangles and triangles are quite straightforward, requiring but a few steps. However, those dealing with five or more sided polygons get quite tedious involving numerous exacting steps.
Traditional artisan’s constructions are far simpler and each work in the same way to create polygons of any number of sides. The caveat is that they do not generate perfect vertices and therefore do not form regular polygons – i.e. they are approximations. Their products are so close, however, that we cannot see the difference in most drawing and furniture-scale applications. In constructions such as building foundations or landscape layouts, the deviation is a bit more evident. The constructions can, however, easily be “tuned” to near perfect by making small adjustments in the step-out procedures. Here’s a look at three trade-practice methods to create a seven-sided “heptagon.” More details and full instructions for executing these methods are available as a download (free for the next 10 days) at our www.byhandandeye.com shop page.
We use this construction when we know the length of one of the facets of the polygon we wish to generate. Basically, it gives us the focal point of the inscribing circle:
We use this next construction when we know the radius of the inscribing circle. In both of these methods, we are segmenting a line into the number of facets required by our polygon. (In the first, we are segmenting a half-circle circumference line, in the one below, the diameter):
The fastest method, however, is attained through the use of the sector (which you can download for free in the form of a paper template at www.byhandandeye.com).
Using the “line of polygons” (which we derived from another traditional calculator called a “scale of chords”) we start by setting the dividers to the radius of the inscribing circle at the line’s “6” index point:
Then we reset the dividers to the number of facets we want – in this case at “7” for producing our heptagon:
When we step this span around the circle, we have our construction. Again, because this is just an approximation, we will likely have to make a tiny adjustment to allow the dividers to return to the exact starting point. Be assured, though, that you will be so deep in the ballpark with any of these traditional methods that you’ll be able to smell the hot dogs.
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!)
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