Tag Archives: Chris Schwarz

featured, Lost Art Press, Popular Woodworking, Writing

Behind the Scenes

July 23, 2016 @TheRainford 5 Comments

“Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain.” — Wizard of Oz

Back in May I spent a couple of days in Cincinnati Ohio on my way down to Harrodsburg Kentucky for the EAIA Annual Meeting and a quick stop in Covington Kentucky on my way home to visit with some of my woodworking friends in the area.

My first stop was at the Popular Woodworking offices and studio to see Megan Fitzpatrick and David Thiel who graciously showed me around.

The office building while nondescript from the outside contained an interesting space on the inside. A mixture of office space, editing bays, studio/soundstage and a woodworking shop.

I visited the shop area with backdrop you may recognize from several woodworking videos. The timber framer in me wants to push up that simulated plate and add some braces. 🙂

In the warehouse space you could see several projects from Popular Woodworking and American Woodworker magazine. If only we had room in the car to buy one and bring it home.

In the studio area I was able to see another F+W project video being recorded.

Out in the woodworking shop I felt right at home. There was a large machine and bench room. In the corner I could see Megan’s workbench and the windows you may recognize from many an article and post from Popular Woodworking over the years.

I was too busy talking David’s ear off and didn’t take a picture of him to include in the post, but I’ll make sure to take one next time I am in town.

On the way home from our trip I also stopped in Covington KY (right across the Ohio river from Cincinnati OH) to visit Chris Schwarz at the Lost Art Press storefront. The storefront is a nice historic building that used to be a saloon in a part of Covington that reminds me a bit of Brooklyn — lots of history, artists, hipsters, good restaurants etc.

After watching the build out via many of Chris’ blog posts it was neat to see it in person and to see several of Chris’ recent pieces in person.

You may recall the Aumbry above from the cover of a Popular Woodworking issue earlier this year and from the Anarchist’s Design Book.

The weekend I was there Chris was working on his “Danish Campaign Chest.”

I had fun talking shop with Chris and Megan and checking out some of the recent bits of hardware he picked up.

The adjustable swing out seat he added to his bench was a nice addition I’d love to have on my own bench someday for carving and other detail and design work on the bench.

This was my first trip to Cincinnati and I had a great time exploring the city. In fact I’ll be in the area again in September for Popular Woodworking in America.

A big thank you to Chris, Megan and David for showing me around and a big thank you to my wife Alyssa for wrangling the babies while I geeked out with fellow woodworkers.

Take care,
-Bill

For more information on the Lost Art Press you can check out their website here.

For more information on Popular Woodworking you can check out the magazine’s website here.

For information on Popular Woodworking in American 2016 you can check out their site here.

Historic Places, Traditional Woodworking, Woodworking Techniques

The Woodwright’s School

September 6, 2013 @TheRainford 2 Comments

For Labor Day weekend this year I flew down to the Woodwright’s School in Pittsboro, North Carolina to take a 3 day class on making a Jointer Plane with Willard ‘Bill’ Anderson (more on that in an upcoming post).

My flight got in early on Friday and I had the chance to hang out with some friends at the school during the last day of a class on building the Anarchist’s Tool Chest with Chris Schwarz.

The Woodwright’s School is located in downtown Pittsboro which is a scenic town about 20 minutes from Chapel Hill.

Don’t let the sometimes quiet streets fool you, once inside the school you are in a lively space full of folks who as passionate about woodworking as you are. Roy was on hand to help students as they worked their way through the last day of week long class on building a traditional English tool chest based on Chris’ book ‘The Anarchist’s Toolchest’.

The class busy working on their Anarchist's Toolchest — The class busy working on their Anarchist’s Toolchest

One of the attractions to Roy’s school is its focus on only using traditional English/American hand tools — there were no whining power tools, no Dozuki saws and no plastic handles to be seen — or at least none that I saw when Roy was making his rounds. 😉

Feeding Bill's bar tab and Khrushchev's shoe — Feeding Bill’s bar tab and Khrushchev’s shoe

If you ever read Roy’s book on public speaking you’ll get why Khruschev’s shoe is an interesting trophy. Beyond the witty stories and advice on how to keep a crowd engaged and entertained, the last chapter on the morning after a presentation was the one that resonated the most with me. Applying the advice therein has improved several lectures I have to make each year.

Traditional woodworking can feel like a very small world at times — the gentleman in the photo above was also in the class I took earlier this summer on making a Name Stamp with Peter Ross at Roy’s school — even though I was 700+ miles from home I happy to see that I could still run into people I knew.

Roy's corner cabinet — Roy’s corner cabinet

Loitering in the back of the classroom is a corner cupboard you may recognize from Roy’s show. I heard his wife has been waiting on it for a while — which made me feel a tiny bit better about the dresser I owe my wife Alyssa — which reminds me I need to get working on that again….

It was also great to spend some time hanging out with my friends Chris Schwarz and Megan Fitzpatrick including a stroll through Ed’s tool shop above the school.

No toolchest is ever completely filled and Ed’s shop has a huge collection of traditional tools on par with some of the best regional tool shows. I tried my best to be good and save my pennies for the Nashua tool show later this month, but I did find some new toys.

Chris' Dutch Tool Chest — Chris’ Dutch Tool Chest

I had fun chatting with everyone, examining some interesting tools and helping to sweep up before a trip to the City Tap — which is a awesome bar just behind the school with great food and drinks.

On my way out of the school I saw my old friend Otto Salomon and various other proper woodworking models from the Teacher’s Handbook of Sloyd.

It seems the Woodwright’s School is full of new and old friends that are literally popping out of the woodworking.

If you’d like to learn more about the school, make some new friends, meet up with old friends, or sign up for a class you can check out the school’s website here.

-Bill

EAIA, Historic Places

EAIA 2013 Cape Cod — Day 3 Tool Swap, Tinsmithing, Tool Chests, Auction and Banquet

May 23, 2013 @TheRainford Leave a comment

Day 3 was the last day of the EAIA 2103 Conference on Cape Cod. It was another busy day full of events. After breakfast we headed off to the Tool Show and Swap where folks setup tables full of tools for sale or trade or a booth with a display to show either a unique collection, research results or other things of interest to the group.

Seeing the prices folks wanted for some items, I’m not convinced they wanted to sell them — but I guess that is why most folks refer to themselves as collectors (or hoarders — as my wife often calls me) and not sellers.

It was great to finally meet Chris Schwarz in person as I've been a fan of his work and writing for a long time. — It was great to finally meet Chris Schwarz in person as I’ve been a fan of his work and writing for a long time.

A highlight of the event for me was finally getting to meet Chris Schwarz in person. I’ve conversed with him via email and similar means for several years, but it was nice to get to talk with him in person. I am a big fan of his work, research and writing.

Very nice display showing how wood and metal planes can be restored

This display was interesting in that it showed a split view of before and after restoration. Having brought many an old plane back to life, it was a nice presentation.

Bill McMillen giving his talk on Tinsmithing

Next up was master tinsmith Bill MicMillen — who you may have seen at other EAIA events, Eastfield Village or Colonial Williamsburg.

Bill McMillen's talk on 'The Tinsmith In America: The Trade, Materials, Tradesmen, The Tools and Products' — Bill McMillen’s talk on ‘The Tinsmith In America: The Trade, Materials, Tradesmen, The Tools and Products’

Bill gave a nice talk on the “Tinsmith In America: The Trade, Materials, Tradesmen, Tools & Products”. It was interesting to see how the trade came to America, changed and migrated over the years.

Bill went on to demonstrate how to make a tin cup walking us through the various forming and soldering stages.

Bill McMillen demonstrating how to tinsmith as he makes a cup

Bill demonstrated his considerable hand skill in making the cup by hand and also showed how some of the later forming machines changed the way common items were made.

Chris Schwarz giving a talk on 'Tool Chests Fancy & Simple' — Chris Schwarz giving a talk on ‘Tool Chests Fancy & Simple’

Chris Schwarz gave a talk called ‘Tool Chests Fancy and Simple’ where he explained a bit about the evolution and anatomy of tool chests — from the densely packed and high style H.O. Studley Toolchest, to fare more utilitarian models.

Chris Schwarz and his tool chests -- then and now. You can see how far his research, his work and his designs have come over the years. — Chris Schwarz and his tool chests — then and now. You can see how far his research, his work and his designs have come over the years.

It was also interesting to see some of Chris’ journey from earlier power tool oriented projects to later more traditional projects that focused on traditional joinery and hand tools.

In the evening we took part in the EAIA annual silent auction that benefits the EAIA endowment. There was a nice selection of traditional tools, books and items folks donated and/or made for the auction.

Beautiful chair in the silent auction that I believe had a relationship to (or at least a design derived from) the works of Wallace Nutting

Alyssa and I had a lot of fun in the auction and it took some bidding, but we got some of the items we set our sights on….

Alyssa had her heart set on this nice turned pen made from kingwood and is already putting it to good use.

Books and turned pen we won in the silent auction. The had I bought from the Lost Art Press

I won an old book from Winterthur Museum on the Dominy Clock shop which came from Long Island (a few towns out from where I grew up) and was a book I’ve been hunting around for for several years. I look forward to reading it soon and visiting WInterthur later this year as they have an exhibit on 400 years of Massachusetts furniture and has several reproductions made by friends from NBSS.

After teh banquet dinner Myles Standish came to regale us with stories of his life and to answer questions. — After the banquet dinner Myles Standish came to regale us with stories of his life and to answer questions.

After the auction we had the annual meeting and banquet. Following dinner, Myles Standish came to regale us with stories of his life and travels and answer any questions the audience had.

Beyond all the events I also got some shiny new toys:

Saws and Carriage Maker's Rule — Saws and Carriage Maker’s Rule

I got the carriage maker’s rule and old hand saws at the Great Planes auction and will put them to good use in the shop.

Lot's of new reading material — Lot’s of new reading material

At the tool swap I got some great books this year. I got a bunch of historic reprints from the Toolemera Press that I had been thinking about for a while. In an antique shop on the Cape I found a nice 1950s set of 4 Audel’s books on masonry. At Plimoth I got one of Peter Follansbee’s DVDs on carving (Which he was kind enough to autograph for me), a DVD version of making a chair from a tree, and a nice book on English Period House Fixtures and Fittings which looks like a nice reference book.

Lee Valley Saddle Square made for the 80th Anniversary of the EAIA -- I look forward to using it at the bench. — Lee Valley Saddle Square made for the 80th Anniversary of the EAIA — I look forward to using it at the bench.

I’ll end with the first thing I got on this trip — picked up during registration — which is a nice Lee Valley Saddle Square which was engraved to commemorate the 80th Anniversary of the EAIA. Similar to Lee Valley dovetail saddle squares I have I’m sure it will earn its place in my tool chest.

I had a great time on this trip and while it was hard to go to work on Monday, I was happy to think about the great time we had and look forward to next year’s event.

Historic Places, Tool Reviews, Workshop Projects

Anarchy at the Tool Show — Classic Tool Chests

September 23, 2012 @TheRainford Leave a comment

I need to get something off my chest– literally. Ever since reading the Anarchist’s Tool Chest I’ve had Tool Chest envy. My wife and I recently moved up to NH from Boston and it seems like it has been taking a lifetime to get my shop setup and fully functional again. Teaching, work, life, smaller projects and commissions keep getting in the way. Once winter sets in and I get more ‘me’ time in the shop I plan to build my own proper tool chest — though right now hand my tools ride around in style via a mobile tool chest/cart I built as a student at NBSS — complete with curved fenders, a retractable handle, 4 drawers and a tray top (I’ll post more on that in an upcoming post).

This past week I was at the Live Free or Die tool show and auction in Nashua NH — and is part of my twice annual pilgrimage to the ultimate old hand tool show. Beyond great deals on hard to find tools, it’s also a great place to see lots of faces from NBSS, vendors I’ve been buying from for years and the one random guy who only seems to sell very ornate turned plumb bobs every year.

Below are some of the more interesting tool chests I was able to find and photograph with my camera phone (please excuse the quality of them). The wide variety of what survived was a great source of inspiration.