Here’s the latest chapter in the Lost Art Press Hat Saga. Book 14, chapter six, verse 12. Short version: We have new hats in the store now. They fit well, are reasonably priced and are available in tan and (by request) camouflage. Other facts to know: They are embroidered on demand. We make almost no…
In my early 30s, Marc Adams invited me to teach at The Marc Adams School of Woodworking, and I honestly didn’t know what to say. I was honored to be asked. But I was terrified at the prospect of teaching a bunch of strangers hand-tool woodworking. Despite my better judgment, I said yes to Marc….
We have Derek Jones in the shop this week to teach a two-day class in French polishing, and Derek has generously agreed to give a free short demo on the process at 2 p.m. Saturday at our Covington, Ky., storefront. Derek is the editor of Furniture & Cabinetmaking Magazine and runs the Lowfat Roubo site,…
I don’t have a lick of formal training in furniture or industrial design (my only design schooling was in graphic design). And yet, after reading the book “The Old Way of Seeing” by Jonathan Hale in the 1990s, I decided to give it a go. Please consider the above paragraph to be a “surgeon general’s…
Last night I got home from work and my wife said, “You smell like mothballs.” I am pretty sure I looked a bit disheveled too. I had a blank stare on my face and had the hair-falling-out-of-the-ponytail halo going on. “I just had a mind-blowing experience,” I replied. I had just gotten back from the…
If I wrote clickbait headlines, this one would be: “One Weird Trick to Really Understand Furniture Design.” But I don’t. So instead, you’re getting some odd indie-rock lyric that works for me but does Jack Buddy for this blog’s SEO. When I started working on “Campaign Furniture” more than a decade ago, I decided to…
The Lost Art Press storefront will be open to the public from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, and I’ll give a free demonstration on scraping at 2 p.m. that day. The lecture will cover: Understanding scraping. How and why it works. And what that means for the sharpening procedure. How to sharpen any scraper…
Last night I swept out my shop in Fort Mitchell, rescued a few boards of old-growth yellow pine I’d forgotten about and took out the trash for the last time. I built the shop 18 years ago, when Lucy was pregnant with Katy (who is leaving for college in 12 days). It was the first…
During our most recent open day, Derek Jones gave a great lecture about French polishing for the attendees, and that made me think: We should do this every month. So on our next open day, Saturday Aug. 10, I will give a free lecture at 2 p.m. on scrapers. This is a demonstration that I…
Last weekend I attended a fantastic Society of American Period Furniture Makers mid-year meeting and had two shocking thoughts. Until Elia Bizzari showed up, I was one of the youngest guys in the room. And I’m a codgery 51 years old. Of all the incredible things I learned during the weekend, virtually none of it…