It’s time for our weekly Open Wire. And it’s also our open day here at the storefront in Covington. As a result, our answers might be a little delayed because we are answering other questions from people in the store.
This week’s open wire is hosted by me, Megan and whoever else starts tapping on my keyboard during our open day.
Here’s how it works: Type your question in the comment field. I will attempt to answer it. It is that simple.
So here we go…. Note that comments for this entry will close about 5 p.m. Eastern. But we will answer *all* of the questions.
We have our first batch of Warrington hammers in stock here in Covington and ready to ship. The heads are made in Nicholasville, Kentucky. The oiled hickory handles are made in Tennessee. The hammers are hand-assembled – glued and wedged.
They are $97 each. You can place your order here. You can read all about the hammer in our stor, including what the hammer’s cross-peen is used for.
If you are coming to our open day on Saturday morning (July 29), we will have a couple dozen of the Warringtons for sale as well.
The Warrington is our second hammer. It took us a while to get to it because our lump hammer has been so damn popular (did you see that Natalie Portman uses one for climbing?). We love “lumpy” so much that we have made a special edition version that features an engraving of our new headquarters building on it. These special edition hammers are more expensive because the proceeds go to help fix up the Anthe building.
What’s next? A claw hammer. This is a project we have been building up to for a long time. We now have the design of the head complete and are working on the handle.
Our new Warrington Pattern Hammers – I’m picking up the first batch today.
Just a reminder that we’ll be throwing the doors open (metaphorically – it’s too hot to actually do that) on Saturday, July 29, from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. for our 2023 Summer Open House. We’ll be selling our complete line of products, signing books and – most of all – talking about woodworking.
And exciting news: We’ll have a double handful of the new Warrington Pattern Hammers here for sale – assuming I don’t get hammer-jacked on the way back from Nicholasville, Ky. today. (We’ll also be putting most of the batch for sale in our online store as soon as we can; they’ll be $97).
Plus, Chris will lead tours of the Anthe building – the 1890s-era factory we are restoring to become our new headquarters. Those tours will leave from Willard Street (our current building) at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m.
At the request of readers, we have created a way for you to donate to help fund the two scholarship classes we are holding at Lost Art Press this fall.
In September, we are holding our second Chairmakers Toolbox class with six students. All students are from populations that are underrepresented in woodworking, including women, people of color and those who are gay, bi, trans or otherwise outsiders.
In November, Jerome Bias will lead a class of six African-American woodworkers as they build a blanket chest using hand tools.
I am picking up the tab for the wood and all the lunches during the classes. If you would like to donate to help with the wood or meals, simply click on this link, where you can make a donation with a credit card or with your PayPal account.
You will be able to designate which class the money goes to support, if that’s important to you.
I know that some of you have also mentioned donating tools for Jerome’s class. I’ll talk to Jerome about it and see if we can come up with a mechanism.
Thank you for your understanding and your generosity.
Jerome Bias, who will be leading the scholarship class.
We are thrilled to announce that we will offer a scholarship class this fall for six African-American woodworkers that will be taught by our long-time friend and hand-tool woodworker Jerome Bias.
The class will run from Nov. 27 to Dec. 1, 2023, at our storefront in Covington, Ky. The scholarships include tuition, materials and lunch every day. All African Americans are encouraged to apply: men, women, straight, gay, beginners, intermediates, whatever. No previous woodworking experience is necessary. Just a passion for learning the craft.
During the five-day class, Jerome will show students how to build a six-board chest using hand tools, white pine and traditional tapered nails. The chests can be personalized with different mouldings and details on the feet. These chests are fantastic as blanket chests at the foot of a bed or for storing hand tools in a workshop.
A six-board chest in pine.
But just as important as the chest, students will learn to wield handplanes, chisels, hammers and handsaws – the core tools of a trade shared by many of our ancestors.
Jerome is a talented woodworker, chef and interpreter living in North Carolina. In addition to building furniture, Jerome has worked as an interpreter at Old Salem Museum and Gardens and has studied the life and work of 19th-century African American woodworker Thomas Day. He has also presented his work at Colonial Williamsburg and regularly travels to former plantations to cook traditional meals as a way to enable African American visitors to connect with how their ancestors expressed hope and love while still enslaved.
Applying for the scholarship is easy. Simply send an email to: scholarship@lostartpress.com by Sept. 15, 2023. In the email, please let us know:
Your name and where you live.
A few sentences about any woodworking experience you’ve had so far.
A few sentences about why you want to attend this class.
We have room for six students in this class. Jerome will select the students from the pool of applicants. As mentioned above, the class includes tuition, materials and lunches during the class. Students will be responsible for travel to Covington and lodging – we are happy to help suggest places that fit your budget.
And don’t worry if you don’t have a lot of tools. We will be able to loan students the essential tools for the class.
Finally, please share this post with any African-American woodworker (or wanna-be woodworker) you know. We want to cast as wide a net as possible.
— Christopher Schwarz
P.S. Whenever we offer scholarships for woodworkers who have been traditionally excluded from the craft, we often hear the cry: Why not offer scholarships based on need? Our answer: We already do that. All of my teaching outside of my shop (Florida School of Woodwork; Marc Adams School of Woodworking) goes to fund need-based scholarships at those schools. I teach for free; all the money goes to scholarship funds. During my career, I have contributed tens of thousands of dollars to the Roger Cliffe Memorial Foundation, which supplies woodworking scholarships for veterans and people who face financial hardship. So please, before you take a swing at us, please know that we seek to help anyone get into the craft. These scholarships are just one of the ways we do it.
