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They Spelled my Name Right

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Being a “Schwarz” really stinks at times. Most people in the United States misspell your name as “Schwartz.”

That’s actually OK with me because that’s how you say it (sort of) in German. Well actually, it sounds more like you are saying a bodily function onomonopia-style after a big dose of the “long chicken.”

I digress.

Today I received my August/September 2012 copy of American Craft magazine, which I have been reading for almost a decade, and I am quoted in it. Yay!

My one paragraph of fame is in the “Voices” column, where the editors asked the question: “How important is history to your work?” The answers, from a variety of artists, were interesting. I’m not an artist, so mine wasn’t so interesting. But I was quoted! And they spelled my name correctly! Yay Schwarz! Oh, here’s my answer:

“History informs everything that I do in the shop or at the drafting table, whether I’m building an 18th-century workbench or an Eames table. But I don’t seek to replicate – that’s like using a phrasebook for a foreign language. Instead, I try to become fluent in ‘campaign furniture,’ or ‘French workbench’ and build things using those same rules of syntax and grammar.

“My guiding principle is from John Ruskin’s ‘Stones of Venice’ (1854): Never encourage copying or imitation of any kind, except for the preserving of great works.”

— Christopher Schwarz

Important Book News from Lost Art Press

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When I was in journalism school, the professors said you shouldn’t tell your competitors what you were working on. Ever.

Here is what we are working on this week.

1. “Mouldings in Practice.” This book ships from the printing plant in Michigan on Aug.8 and will hit the mail stream on Aug. 13. So here is the important news: Free shipping for “Mouldings in Practice” ends at midnight Aug. 8. After that, domestic shipping will add $6 to the price. If you want to save $6, place your pre-publication order before Aug. 8.

2. There will be 26 leather-bound and signed editions of “Mouldings in Practice.” These will be available for sale in the store in mid-August. The price will be $185, which includes domestic shipping. These books will be bound in brown calfskin and debossed in gold leaf – all by the good guys at Ohio Book in Cincinnati, Ohio. There will not be a waiting list for these books (please don’t ask). When they are available in the store, they will be available in the store.

3. There will be ePub and Kindle editions of “Mouldings in Practice” available in the fall. We are working on the conversions now.

4. The book “By Hand and Eye” by George Walker and Jim Tolpin is now in our hands and is being edited.

5. All of the essays and scans for the Roubo translation are complete. We are now editing the essays from Don Williams. Even if you have no love of marquetry, this is awesome and strong stuff. I shudder to think how much money we have spent so far on this project, and I am bewildered by how much time and money will be spent ahead. It will be worth every penny.

6. New projects on the horizon: A chair book from Peter Galbert. A book on EVERYTHING about saws by Andrew Lunn. A book on understanding wood by Chris Becksvoort. And a very special surprise for Christmas… a la Francais.

— Christopher Schwarz

Peter Follansbee on Hatchets

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Since the publication of “Make a Joint Stool from a Tree,” many readers have asked what sort of hatchet they should buy to get started hewing the legs for their joint stools.

Peter Follansbee, one of the two authors of the book, took a few minutes to show me how you can do the work with either a single- or double-bevel hatchet. And he discussed several brands of tools that are available on the market now. He also showed off a hatchet that Jennie Alexander, the other author of the book, had converted to a single-bevel hatchet.

If you are curious about hatchets, this quick video will get you started.

— Christopher Schwarz

Customers, Circa 1765

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It is better said that the general design of the piece to be covered with mosaic or marquetry, and the expense which one wishes to make is in fact considerably more expensive than simpler furniture described earlier. Because of this substantial increase in cost there is no allowance for any type of mediocrity in its execution, which makes it very pricey when being very well made.*

* Nothing is so common as to see veneered pieces of cabinetry of all types, but nothing is more rare as to find them perfectly made. This is due less to the fault of the workers than that of the collectors, who for the most part are without taste and without knowledge, and even worse, unable to pay for good work and who take indiscriminately that which is presented to them, providing only that it costs very little. From this comes the greatest quantity and the worst quality of marquetry and cabinet work, where, even without speaking of scrimping on materials, the style is absolutely the worst in relation to the theory and practice of the art. The former is totally unheeded for both the sections of marquetry and the ornamentation with mosaics. For the most part these are badly designed and without taste, and rarely designed and made for the space that it occupies. [Often these sections of marquetry were purchased “off the shelf” from catalogs or brokers in marquetry appliqués. If the fit was not perfect, lower-class furniture makers, or more appropriately furniture makers with lower-class patrons, cut and fit these compositions to fit the space on a cabinet whether or not it was aesthetically appropriate. – DCW]  I do not pretend to say here that you cannot find pieces of cabinetry and marquetry very well made. I am very far from thinking that. On the contrary, I know that there are excellent artists in this line of business, to which I give all the fairness possible, but sadly that number is not many, and it cannot be otherwise for the reasons that I give above in this footnote.

— A.J. Roubo, “L’Art du Menuisier,” Part III Section III Chapter XII, pp. 866-7

Blue Spruce Tool Rolls are Back. Hurry….

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I am not shy about my love of my Blue Spruce chisel roll. Not only is it exactly what I want and need in a chisel roll, it’s also made by Dave Jeske’s daughter Hannah.

Last time Hannah broke out her sewing machine and made chisel rolls, it was to raise money for a school trip. This time, she’s more ambitious: She is helping fund her college costs. Hannah is a double major in communications and theater and “hopes to be on Broadway someday,” Jeske says.

So now is the time to order. The chisel and marking tool rolls are now live on the Blue Spruce web site here. There are four sizes of chisel rolls and three for marking tools. They are well-made, durable and lightweight. I carry mine everywhere I travel – it has seen more wacky hotels than my family members. And when the rolls are gone, they are gone (until Hannah comes back from school perhaps).

By the way, Jeske didn’t ask me to write this blog entry. He’s too low-key. When Jeske and I were hanging out at the Lie-Nielsen Open House last weekend the topic came up. I insisted on a public service announcement.

So get out your credit card and send Hannah to college.

— Christopher Schwarz