Update: Comments are now closed (thought Chris still might answer later, as needed). Join us again for Open Wire on August 10.
Wally and I are in the shop all day to work on 10 Shaker trays (because someone feels guilty for stepping down from their neighborhood house tour committee and thus agreed to make thank-you gifts as self-imposed penance) and for Open Wire AMAAW&C (Ask Me Anything About Woodworking & Cats).
You know the drill: post your (succinct) queries in the comments field below, and we (Wally and I) shall do our best to answer. Christopher might also pop in with answers from time to time…though I hope he’s spending the day having a grand time with Lucy and friends in Germany, and not paying attention to the internet.
Comments will close at around 4:45 p.m. (Eastern).
And a reminder of the Open Wire dates for the remainder of the year (when both Chris and I – and no doubt Wally – will be in the shop):
August 10 September 14 October 19 November 16 December 14
The “Shop Tails” audiobook cover, and Carol Russell’s delightful fiddleback Tasmanian blackwood cat carving.
One of Nancy Hiller’s last “jobs” (which she insisted on doing herself) was recording the audio version of her final book, “Shop Tails” (an often grueling job on a book that clocked in, after final editing, at almost 12 hours). We posted it on the LAP store just hours after we got the final files from her and Jacob Belser at Primary Sounds Studios; that was Aug. 4, 2022. We lost Nancy on Aug. 29, 2022.
Ten percent of net profits from “Shop Tails” – a tribute to the many four-legged friends (and one feathered friend) whose lives were intertwined with Nancy’s – go to The Ranch Cat Rescue, in Bloomington, Ind., a non-profit run by Alison Zook that is funded solely by donations. In a small effort to help Nancy’s favorite cat charity just a little more, we’re asking for $5 donations via this PayPal link (while the fundraiser is channeled through my personal account – all donations will of course go to The Ranch Cat Rescue).
Not only are you helping to support Alison’s work in Nancy’s name, with your $5 (or more) donation you’ll also be entered to win one of two fabulous prizes in a random drawing. First prize is the beautiful fiddleback Tasmanian blackwood cat carved by Australian wood artist and teacher Carol Russell for the book jacket. (She – I’m convinced it’s girl cat – has been keeping me company on my desk since last July. I will miss her, but am willing to let her go in support of such a good cause.) Second prize is the book we made into the audio book cover “Woof!! The Audiobook.” The fundraiser runs through March 13; I’ll the announce winners on March 14.
Here’s that donation link again – and below is an excerpt, Shadow the Turkey Vulture, from Nancy’s audiobook.
This picture is from 2019; no we did not haul my 400-pound Gluebo bench back to the shop.
NOTE: We are having technical difficulties with Word Press’s commenting system today. Our replies are not posting. Or they are posting and then disappearing. (Both Megan and I are having this trouble on separate machines.) We are trying to get your questions answered, but it’s frustrating….
The fellow above is here this weekend teaching a class in making traditional sash, so Chris and I are twiddling our thumbs and awaiting your questions about woodworking, cats, LAP books, Shakespeare, the Anthe building restoration (we’re finally on to the stuff that should be done, rather than must be done – so that’s exciting!) or Wilco songs.
So type your question in the comment field and we will do our best to answer it. And know that concision is much appreciated.
Comments for this entry will close at about 5 p.m. Eastern.
If I leave the cat treats behind, I can fit the rest of my ATC into this Nanuk hard-sided case. Right?
I find this difficult to believe…but it must be true. Chris and I have never flown to a place to teach concurrent classes. Or flown concurrently to different places to teach classes. But it is finally happening: Chris and I are both presenting at the London International Woodworking Festival (London, England – not London, Ky.) on Saturday, Nov. 2, and we’re both teaching classes before the festival…which means I had to break down and buy my own hard-sided case in which to pack my tools for the flight. No more borrowing Chris’s Pelican. Or his tools while teaching, as our courses run at the same time.
Saw, sawset, handplanes, square, sumitsubo and sumisashi by Kawahara Keigo, Museum Volkenkunde, Leiden, Netherlands.
We start our matsuri, or festival, with work commissioned by Philip Franz von Siebold, German physician and botantist. In 1823, under the auspices of the Dutch East Indies Company he was posted to Dejima, an artificial island and trading post off the coast of Nagasaki. For over 200 years, first for the Portuguese and later for the Dutch, Dejima was the conduit for trade with Japan during the isolationist Edo period (1600-1869).
Siebold collected a vast number of plants that were later taken to Leiden. He taught western medical practices and he, along with others, documented Japanese flora, fauna, customs and culture. Siebold quickly began the multi-volume “Archiv zur Beschreibung Nippons” (Archive for Describing Japan). The archive included this illustration of tools:
Siebold was allowed to hire artist Kawahara Keiga (1786-1860?) to further their documentation efforts. Kawahara was taught western painting techniques by Carl Hubert de Villeneuve. He painted harbor scenes, plants, animals and all manner of things. His artwork included the hand tools used by Japanese craftsmen.
Kawahara painted on paper, wood and silk. An archive of his work is held by the Netherlands National Museum of Ethnology (Museum Volkenkunde Leiden). Below is a gallery of Japanese hand tools painted on silk by Kawahara. At the end of the gallery are three illustrations by other artists, each of which has been used in previous blog posts (now they are all together!). After the gallery is a link to use if you would like to see several more paintings of tools, boats, sea life and more.
Kanban (shop sign) for a blade and toolmaker, late 19th century, Mingei International Museum, San Diego.
Cooper’s Tools, before 1872, National Archive of Estonia. Measurements are in fuß (fuss or foot).
The link will take you to a Search Page. If it comes up in Dutch you can select your alternate language at the top right of the page. In the Search Box enter Kawahara Keigo and press Search. Use the Green Arrows on the right to advance to Page 11. Kawahara’s work is found on Pages 11 to 51.
Kawahara’s cats! After all, this is the Lost Art Press and Cats blog.
