I’ll have to check my shop notes, but I think this trestle took as long to draw as it did to build in wood. The precision of CAD does not lend itself easily to curved, compound shapes. My head hurts so much that I want to build a birdhouse in CAD to decompress. That’s sick.
— Christopher Schwarz
Some of you have noted that I am canceling classes this year. The reason is that I need to stay home to help take care of some important family members, and this trend could continue for a few years.
I have tried to hold on to a few classes this year, which has required some extraordinary measures and help from friends. One of the classes I am happy to report I can teach is a special Anarchist’s Tool Chest class at The Furniture Institute of Massachusetts June 22-28, 2015.
This tool chest class is particularly special for two reasons: It will be at Phil Lowe’s school. Phil is one of the people I admire most in the craft for his skills, teaching ability and wonderful demeanor. I have always wanted the opportunity to work with Phil.
The second reason the class is special is it will run for seven days instead of five. These extra days will allow us to get a crack at working on the inside bits of the chest.
So if you want to build the best tool-storage system I’ve encountered, this class is ideal. And I don’t have any more floor chest classes on my schedule.
You can read more about the school here. The class will be small – nine students max. And Phil said yesterday there are still three spots left.
In the coming weeks I’ll announce the few other classes I’ll be able to teach this year. So stay tuned. For those students who enrolled in classes I had to cancel, I apologize and look forward to resuming a regular teaching schedule in the years ahead.
— Christopher Schwarz
Two hours measuring and sketching. Three hours drafting. And those legs aren’t supposed to meet like that.
Now I’m looking around for a glass of Stone Old Guardian, which will make me forget this ever happened.
— Christopher Schwarz
The always-industrious Mary May has set up a special website where you can get updates on her forthcoming book, “The Acanthus Leaf: A Rite of Passage for the Classical Carver.”
Simply go to acanthusbook.com and you can sign up for the e-mail updates.
Mary has turned in a completed sample chapter with illustrations and photos and things are looking very good. We’re not exactly sure when this book will be released, but we’ll let you know as soon as we have news.
— Christopher Schwarz
The writer of a popular tree book once stated that the white pine of our northeaster States was destined to disappear except for ornamental purposes. There are many reasons to believe that that time will never come, yet the nature and habits of the tree and the shortsightedness of the people make the statement more than a mere suspicion.
Not a great many years ago within the white pine region, there were magnificent stands of old growth pine. Every old inhabitant today will tell you how they stood on his father’s farm when he was a boy, their clear, straight trunks and gnarled flat tops high above everything else. Many an old house back in the country has floor boards and cupboard doors that are more than three feet wide which were made from such trees.
These old monarchs of the northern forests are gone now, except for the isolated trees or clumps scattered widely over the region. A woodlot owner recently guided me several miles back into the hills in order to point out three magnificent pines which have been standing probably for more than 250 years. One could never mistake them from others of a later generation.
(more…)