My traveling Dutch Tool Chest, with all the stuff I’m about to load into it. And yes, I can lift it once it’s fully loaded…though I admit it’s getting more difficult the older I get!
Chris and I are once again headed to London to teach classes with the London International Woodworking Festival at the end of October. Chris is teaching a four-day (Oct. 26-29) Irish Chair Class, and a short class (Oct. 30) on Peasant Carving, and I am (no surprise) teaching a four-day (Oct. 26-29) Dutch Tool Chest Class, then a short seminar (Oct, 30) on making the most of your tool chest. And we’ll be around for the October 29-30 fair, of course!
The Chairmaker’s Toolbox is accepting applications for a scholarship class this August at Lost Art Press. All six students will receive free tuition and materials (plus some meals) during the week-long chairmaking class, Aug. 3-7.
Apply for this scholarship class here. Applications close on May 15.
The class will be taught by Grace Ambrose and me (Chris). During the five days, we will all build comb-back chairs using basic tools and simple techniques practiced by peasants and farmers during the last 300 years. No previous chairmaking experience is required. You don’t need to own a chest full of tools. You just have to really want to build chairs.
The Chairmaker’s Toolbox helps people who have historically been excluded or under-represented from the craft. We have supported this organization from its inception and welcome anyone and everyone into the craft. In addition to The Chairmaker’s Toolbox, we support many other scholarship programs for veterans, woodworkers with financial needs and those who struggle with mental health.
This class will take place in our workshop in Covington, Kentucky, which is a converted German barroom in the inner city. Each day begins with pastries, tea and coffee. Our bench room is filled with natural light and traditional workbenches. After a morning of chairmaking, students eat lunch in our converted biergarten (weather permitting), followed by a long afternoon of work at the bench.
Evenings are up to the students. Some go out to dinner in one of the many dive bars and restaurants in the 100-percent walkable neighborhood. Others cook for themselves.
By the end, all of the students will walk away from the class with a finished chair and the knowledge to make chairs in their own workshop.
This is one of our favorite weeks every year. These classes are filled with sharp and interesting people who are ready to change the craft for the better.
If this sounds like fun (it is), apply here and join us this August.
Join me and my dovetail saw February 20-21 at the Forge Nashville for a Lie-Nielsen Hand Tool Event. I’ll be working on a stepstool or a Shaker tray…or some other fun, small dovetailed project as time allows. Plus I’ll have a selection of our books available for purchase. (But if I’m away from my post, look for me at the amazing Alf Sharp’s bench!)
At the event, try out all the LN tools and get expert guidance as you learn from the LN staff, talk to guest demonstrators and hang out with a passel of fellow hand tool woodworkers. Plus, you can check out the Forge itself, a non-profit organization with wood and metal shops, a makerspace and gallery, private studios and more. You can find out more about the event here.
The Forge is at 217 Willow Street, Nashville, Tenn., and there is on-site parking. Hours are Friday, Feb. 20, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. and Saturday, Feb. 21, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
With our final class at the Willard Street workshop behind us, I’ve rearranged the bench room, the Mechanical Library and the machine room for four woodworkers, instead of a classroom.
First and biggest change: We scotched four workbenches. We sold three and will move the fourth to Megan’s workshop. That change gave us space for an 18” x 30” x 60” assembly table that I built last week. I’ve always loved low assembly benches, but I’ve never had room for one – until now.
I’ve arranged the four remaining benches so they stand alone. You can walk all around them. They are all parallel to one another, just like in the workshop shown in Plate 11 of “l’Art du menuisier.” And they’re arranged by seniority – on purpose. Apprentice Katherine is up front by the window, then Journeyer Kale, Editor Megan and me at the back.
The idea is that the more experienced people will always be able to see what the less-experienced people are up to. And be able to jump in (or shout a warning) if something goes amiss.
The back of the bench room now has the junior editors’ editorial workstations – I built their height-adjustable table using a 1960s-era drafting table and a massive tongue-and-groove white pine top. There’s lots of space to spread out to write, edit and design.
In the Mechanical Library, more changes are afoot. Megan is staying in her same cubicle but will need a new desk (the desk Megan has been working on for the last 10 years is Lucy’s). The rest of the library is being returned to its original configuration: loveseat plus a tool chest acting as a desk, with everything facing my stereo. This is how I like to write and listen to records.
In the machine room, my Delta 14” band saw is going to Megan’s shop. It is being replaced by the JET 14” industrial band saw that used to be in the bench room. With no classes in the bench room, we need only one band saw up there. And the General 490 is staying up front.
I have additional small changes planned, and I’m sure we’ll move things around again. But I think the new bench arrangement works already. Photography is easier without benches being butted up against each other. And it’s nice to be able to get to all sides of your work. Plus, all the benches have the same arrangement of natural light: Loads of light from the front of the bench with a little side light from the south-facing windows.
Mostly, however, it’s quieter and we all have a little more room to move.
— Christopher Schwarz
Editor’s note: Our ATCs facing off across the room reminds me of the dueling banjo scene from Deliverance.” I do not, in this scenario, know which of us is Lonnie …
Next Friday, Lucy and I fly to Australia for a week of relaxation and marsupials. And then I’ll stay on to teach a couple chairmaking classes for Wood Dust and participate in some woodworking events that look to be fun.
The two classes have been sold out for months, but the organizers have found a way to add a couple spots to the classes. If you’re stick-chair curious, you can read more here.
We’ll be building seven-stick comb-back chairs in both classes, and local chairmaking hero Bern Chandley will be on hand during the classes to make sure everyone gets plenty of attention and instruction during the classes.
If you aren’t up for the classes, there’s other stuff to do.
There is a dinner on October 7 in Coburg at the Post Office Hotel. There’s a big meal (and drinks) planned with speeches and whatnot from Michael Fortune, Matt Kenney and me. I’m told I should wear my finest “budgie smuggler” to the event (I’ll have to Google that soon).
Thirdly, there will be two “Yarns” (October 9 and 16) where I’ll be answering any and all questions from the audience and some friendly interrogators. If you want to know where the bodies are buried, these are the events to attend. I have no filter.
This will be my second trip to Australia, and likely will be my last. Not because I’m dying at an accelerated rate. But because it’s becoming difficult to travel and run Lost Art Press. I now have two apprentices. And a long list of books to write and edit. And I have a trench to manage at our warehouse in Covington, Ky. (I was only 55 when I acquired my first trench….)
I am greatly looking forward to the trip. I found the Australians to be delightful people with a keen sense of language and sly practical jokes (ask me about signing books in blood some day….)
A reminder that at 10 a.m. Eastern, registration opens for Covington Mechanical classes for the second half of 2025. See our ticketing site for more info (and to register at 10 a.m. Eastern).
Mark your calendars: Next Monday (Feb. 17, 2025) at 10 a.m. Eastern, registration opens for Covington Mechanicals Classes for the second half of 2025. All classes take place in the Lost Art Press shop in Covington, Kentucky, in the city’s entertainment district – which means there are plenty of options for accommodations and food/drink, as well as fun (beyond the fun of woodworking!).
Click through on the titles below to find out more about each class – and know that our classes tend to sell out quickly (we have room for only six students in most classes), but do join the waitlist, as we often have to fill a slot or two.
After a woodworking course, this student has tools, a chest – and friends. In spring 2016 I took my first woodworking course, an “Introduction to Hand Tool Woodworking.” The class promised to teach students to fix up some tools and …
I’m teaching four stick chair classes in Germany and Australia in 2025. Yes, it’s an American teaching a Welsh/Scottish/Irish form in places that are truly exotic for this humble chair form.
This is the most ambitious chair to make in a class. Heck, I wouldn’t dare teach it anywhere else. But Dictum’s Niederalteich campus has a great steam box and – most importantly – incredibly good workshop technicians (Mattias and Wolfgang) who can make anything work. The classroom is in a converted barn in a monastery. It’s a beautiful and isolated place to take a class.
This is one of my favorite chairs to build (I have two on the bench right now). It’s incredibly comfortable, and the joinery is perfect for a first-time chairmaker. This class is in Dictum’s Munich facility, which is across the hall from Dictum’s storefront in Munich. Peter runs the shop there, and it’s an excellent urban workshop. (Bring your family, and they will find lots to do in Munich.)
The Wood Dust people are bringing me (plus Michael Fortune and Matt Kenney) to Melbourne for a woodworking event. I’ll teach a five-day class in making a comb-back, and there are evening events in Melbourne as well. Tickets haven’t gone on sale yet, but the link will take you to the site that has more information.
After a couple days off and some travel, I’m teaching a second five-day class in making a comb-back in Newrybar. Tickets haven’t gone on sale yet, but the link will take you to the site that has more details.
Teaching overseas is difficult. Not just for me, but for the people who organize and execute these classes. Because of the difficulty, any one of these trips could be my last. Not because of me – my health is great, and I have plenty of energy. But because of the difficulty and expense of putting on a class with an instructor who has to travel 9,786 miles to get there.
Note: If you’re planning on coming to town next month for our Chair Show and Open Day, here are some restaurants to try. There’s a reason Cincinnati is one of the fattest cities in the USA.
Megan and I often joke that next year we’re going to flip the script on our classes at the storefront. We’ll hold a week of great restaurant meals, and we’ll also build a little stool (just to say we did some woodworking).
We are obsessed with good food – if you’ve taken a class here you probably already know this. So *if* we ever did a food tour, here is what the itinerary might look like.
Monday
Breakfast: Sugar ‘n’ Spice in Over the Rhine. This is an old-school diner. Stick to the basics, and you’ll be thrilled: pancakes, biscuits, French toast, home fries and bacon.
Lunch: City Bird (any location). A local chicken chain, and the best. Get the chicken however you like it (ask for it spicy if you like spicy). Be sure to get fries. And the salad is outstanding.
Dinner: St. Francis Apizza in Hyde Park. On Mondays, St. Francis does Chicago tavern-style pizza. It’s a six-day process to make the thin and flavorful dough. Standouts: pepperoni and sausage, and the bacon pizza (with whole slices of bacon). Pick up your pizza and eat it at a table in the parking lot. Get some drinks at Dutch’s a few doors down.
Tuesday
Breakfast: Maplewood downtown. Everything here is tasty and fresh. I love the chilaquiles and the lemon ricotta pancakes. The juice is worth it. Hang out by the restaurant’s front windows and watch the world go to work.
Lunch: Eli’s Barbecue, Findlay Market. The pulled pork sandwich and the smoked turkey sandwich are mainstays. Get the jalapeno cheddar grits on the side, or the mashed potatoes (which get seared on the griddle). After lunch, tour the market and get a waffle at the Taste of Belgium stand. You can spend the whole day at the market and its surroundings.
Lunch (per Fitz): Eckerlin’s Meats, Findlay Market. The hot pastrami sandwich is the best I’ve had in Cincinnati in years.
Dinner: Northside Yacht Club. This is in Megan’s neighborhood, and damn is it good. Great burgers, wings, fries. And always check out the monthly special. It’s a dive bar with A+ food and drinks. It’s not fancy. The “yacht club” is a joke – the building is on an industrial creek. For dessert, go to Shake It records (also in Northside). One of the two best record stores in the city.
Wednesday
Breakfast: Brown Bear Bakery. Cincinnati is awash in amazing bakeries. Brown Bear is a family favorite. Everything I’ve ever had there (except one thing) was mind-blowing good. Great coffee. Great place to sit and watch the city.
Lunch: Olla. Just a couple blocks from our office, Olla is serious Mexican food. The birria (in all its forms) is mouthwatering. The best guacamole in the city. Fantastic tacos. And a great place to hang out with a margarita.
Dinner: Colette. A small French restaurant that continuously blows my mind. I have had everything on the menu. And I will have everything again. If I had to pick a few favorites… the brioche, the cod, the ravioli and the cote de boeuf. My favorite cup of coffee in the city, too.
Thursday
Breakfast: Young Buck Deli. Only two things on the menu. Both are great.
Lunch: Heyday. We talk about this place a lot. On any given day, I will say that Heyday has the best burger and the best fries. Friendly staff. Everything is fresh and perfect.
Dinner: Cafe Mochiko. My favorite Japanese place in town. Fantastic ramen, karaage and katsu sandwiches on milk bread (it’s a Japanese bakery by day). Even the damn burger will blow you away. And if you like Japanese pastries, this is the place.
Friday
Breakfast: Coppins. The restaurant in the Hotel Covington. This is where we take guests when they visit. Lots of good stuff to please everyone in the family. And a beautiful place to eat, too. If the weather is nice, sit outside in the courtyard.
Lunch: Sotto. Usually I recommend Sotto for dinner, but it’s difficult to get a reservation for dinner. So go for lunch. Everything – and I mean everything – on the menu is fantastic. Sotto is where we go to celebrate our victories or lick our wounds. The short rib cappellacci can change your life.
Dinner: Purple Poulet. A family-run restaurant with the best fried chicken I’ve ever had. Shrimp and grits. All the Southern specialties. And if you don’t get the bread pudding at the end, then you will have committed a crime against puddings.
The above itinerary wasn’t easy to put together. On any given day I’d instead insist that you go to the Eagle, Allez, Otto’s, the Baker’s Table, Nada, Boca, Taft Brewhouse, Decibel, Libby’s, Mita’s, Losanti, Senate, Nine Giant, Crown Republic or Taglio’s.
And Fitz would add El Camino, Teak, Kiki, the Pony, Gulow Street and Sacred Beast.
Welsh chairmaker and teacher Chris Williams, who will join us once again in March/April.We have alerted Crafts & Vines so the owners have ample time to stock up on red wine.
We have a handful of new classes – including one from Welshman Chris Williams – to announce for the first half of 2025, tickets for which will be on sale at 10 a.m. Eastern on Sept. 16, 2024, on our ticketing site.
For more information, click through (above) to each class (but pay no mind to the “Register Now” button you’ll see – you cannot register until 10 a.m. Eastern on Sept 16).
Christopher Schwarz’s Welsh-style stick chair, which he’ll be teaching three times at LAP this winter and spring.
– Fitz
p.s. Classes sometimes sell out within nano-seconds (class sizes are quite small, so there are very few spots available), so if you’re interested, limber up those fingers and get ready. And if you don’t get in, sign up for the waitlist – we almost always have at least one spot that needs filling.
p.p.s. We might add a class or two in the coming months – so stay tuned!
The prototype of a Shaker-inspired dovetailed step stool that I will be teaching; I have finally tired of making and teaching Shaker trays.
We’ve added a special class and spaces are available now: Learn How to Make Woodcuts with Rudy Everts. The class is Sunday, Nov. 24 and Monday, Nov. 25. Rudy, who is visiting from Munich, will also be filming a video on making a stick chair using nothing but feral green woodworking techniques, from log to finished chair. (But not during the class, of course.)
Students will learn how to draw a design, transfer it to a woodblock, cut the block using edge tools, then print the woodblock by hand onto paper using printing ink.
Rudy has developed a woodcut style that draws inspiration from MC Escher, Wharton Esherick and Paul Landacre, and he has developed numerous shading techniques making woodcuts over several years. (You might know just some of Rudy’s work from the cover of “The Stick Chair Journal” and “The Stick Chair Book” – as well as various carvings he’s made for Chris over the years. Also, Rudy is one-third of the Chair Chat trio, so you know it’s going to be a fun class.)
Driving on the comb during a chair class in Bavaria.
I just returned from two weeks (and then some) in Bavaria. For the most part I was teaching classes put on by Dictum GmbH. It’s been more than five years since I’ve taught there, so it was great to catch up with old friends and make some new ones.
Here’s a typical scene at dinner one night with the students. We got our menus and the students were explaining what a “divorce salad” was.
“Is this what you eat when you want a divorce?” I asked.
“Yes, of course,” they said.
“No,” I replied. “You are pulling my chain.”
Eventually we realized they were saying “die wurst,” which means “the sausage.” Not “divorce.”
And yes, they put hot sausages on a green salad here. Don’t knock it until you try it.
I’m returning to Dictum next year for two more weeks of teaching. The plan is to teach two chairmaking classes: A big ole comb-back at the workshop in Niederalteich. And an Irish armchair in the workshop in Munich. When registration opens for these classes, I’ll post the links here.
I made a short video of the Dutch tool chest class. Students came from all over the globe.
In between a few too many beers and Bavarian food, I managed to finish editing Megan’s Dutch tool chest book. It was worth waiting for. Soon we’ll begin designing the book, so it’s definitely coming out this year.
After teaching, I traveled to Nuremberg with Lucy to explore the city and see a lot of folk furniture at the Fränkisches Freilandmuseum. I could have spent three or four days there, but we had only one. I made a video of some of my favorite pieces and interiors. Take a look.
And now I’m back in the States. Happy to be home, but falling asleep at odd times until my body adjusts.
Christopher Williams, author of “Good Work: The Chairmaking Life of John Brown,” arrived in town on Thursday night to get ready for his Welsh Stick Chair class here next week – so we thought we’d give you a look behind the scenes at just some what goes into getting ready for a class.
The Christophers left Covington at around 8:30 on Friday morning (when it was still a tolerable 85° or so) for the hour drive to C.R. Muterspaw Lumber to choose enough 8/4 and 4/4 red oak for seven chair “kits” (red oak because it’s strong, available in straight grain and reasonably priced, and it looks nice with a clear finish, or paint).
Kale and I stayed here to hold down the fort – so there’s no video from the lumber picking. (And I, for one, literally can’t stand the heat; I’m considering a move to the Northern Territories.)
Seat blanks (the angled lines are how Chris Williams helps students get the front and back legs on each side in the same plane).
But Kale picked up the camera as soon as the guys were back, and caught some shots of what goes into class prep (at least on day 1 – Chris and Chris are finishing up as I write this at lunchtime on Saturday).
Making sure we have enough good parts ready (with a few extras) is key to a worry-free class. It’s a lot of effort – but worth it, so that students have a good experience…without our having to scramble (much) during the week.
There are still a few spots left in my Dutch Tool Chest class, Oct. 30-Nov. 1 in London, England. In the class, you’ll learn some fundamental hand-tool woodworking skills (planing, sawing and chisel use, as you cut dados, rabbets, dovetails, thumbnail mouldings, chamfers and more – plus how and why to use cut nails) as you build a solid tool chest that will serve you (and your heirs) well for many years. (Note: It also makes an excellent toy chest – kids love the hidden compartment!)
Plus, tickets are go on sale Sat., June 22, for the London IWF Bazaar on Fri., Nov. 1 and Sat. Nov. 2. The bazaar will feature Saturday seminars, with talks on 18th-century furniture, cricket tables, peasant furniture, Shaker furniture, saw sharpening and more, as well as the following vendors: Classic Hand Tools, Lie-Nielsen Toolwords, Lost Art Press (hey – that’s us!), Bad Axe Toolworks, Ian Parker, The Windsor Workshop, Niegel Melfi/Melfi Planes, Michel Auriou, Richard Arnold, Veritas, Sean Hellman, Skelton Saws, St.John Starkie & Bryony Roberts/The Quiet Workshop, Oscar Rush/Hand Forged Edge Tools, Philip Edwards/Philly Planes, Southern Fellowship of Woodworkers, Furniture Maker’s Company, Lowfat Roubo /Derek Jones, G-Sharp Tools/Gervaise Evans, Festool UK, Lamello.
The courses and the bazaar are at the London Design & Engineering UTC, 15 University Way, London E16 2RD.
Learn to build a Dutch Tool Chest from an American in the beautiful city of Munich – in July.
I still have a couple spots open in my tool chest class on July 14-16 at the Dictum store in Munich, Germany. If you are looking for a quick and fun vacation, this could be it. The school is right by the train station and tons of restaurants, biergartens and museums. Bring your family (I’ve done that a couple times – they love Munich).
Details on the class are here. The class is taught in English (Southern High Redneck English). And you don’t even need to bring tools.
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.
For more than two weeks, our blog has been hobbled by problems with our Domain Name Servers (DNS). Basically, the majority of our email subscribers weren’t receiving updates when we posted something new.
Also, our RSS feed took a dump. So even fewer people knew we were posting anything.
We still have tickets available for this magical event on June 2 in Berea. Andy Glenn, the author of the book “Backwoods Chairmakers,” is bringing more than a dozen of the chairmakers featured in his book to Berea for a day of live demonstrations, displays of backwoods chairs and discussions about the craft. Tickets are only $33 for the entire day. This is a not-for-profit event we have put together with Berea Student Craft and Andy.
Chairmakers attending include:
Brian Boggs @brianboggschairmakers Terry Ratliff Michael Houston Drew Langsner Randy Ogle Lyle Wheeler Mike & Kelly Angel Tom Lynch Mark Newberry James Cooper Patrick Cecil
An event like this has never taken place, and considering the ages of some of the participants, it might never happen again. If you can make it to Berea on June 2, please do. We will be there with books to sell. Tickets here.
I am teaching two additional stick chair classes here at our storefront. One in August and one in September. Registration for these classes opens on Wednesday. Details here.
Our DNS problems are not completely resolved (it can take a few days for things to sort themselves out). Thanks for your patience and know we are trying to get everything back to the way it was.
We’ve gotten many requests for more stick chair classes this year, so we added two more to the calendar. Both classes will be held at our Covington, Kentucky, storefront and the cost includes all materials and hearty lunches – plus pastries, coffee and tea each day.
Some students have remarked that my classes are equal parts food tour and chair class. You will not leave hungry.
Registration for these classes opens at noon (Eastern) on Wednesday, May 8, through our page at TicketTailor. If you fail to get into a class, I encourage you to get on the waiting list. A couple spots usually open up.
This chair is one of the two most comfortable forms that I build. Based on Irish examples I’ve studied on my travels, this chair is great fun to build and very strong. Though Irish chairs are not traditionally saddled, we will saddle these chairs for extra comfort. You’ll make every component of the chair, cut all the joints and even have time to apply finish to the chair.
This is the most popular chair I make for customers. It is comfortable and versatile, and it can be configured as a dining chair, an office chair or for relaxing. This comb-back design is based on historical examples I’ve measured and studied on my trips to Wales. Students will be encouraged to customize their chairs with different designs for the hands, shoe and comb. Plus you’ll be able to fit the chair for sitters who are short or tall.
— Christopher Schwarz
Editor’s note: The Ticket Tailor page reads “Register Now”…But you can’t do that. As noted above, the ticket link will be live at noon, Eastern, on May 8.
I have two more classes this year that have open spots. One in Germany, and one in Indiana.
I’m teaching people to build the Dutch Tool Chest in Munich July 14-16. You can register and read more about the class here. The class takes place next to Dictum’s lovely Munich showroom and is easy to get to via train. There’s lots of good food and touristy stuff in the area for your family to do while I yell “Schneller! Schneller!” as you dovetail.
The other class is on how to build a peasant cupboard on July 27-28 at the Marc Adams School of Woodworking in Franklin, Indiana. You can read more about the class and register here. This is a fun class because the cabinet construction is the quick part. Then we paint the face frame, learn about spells and engrave them.
I probably will announce two more chair classes for this year in the coming days. One in London and one here. The class here will likely be for an Irish armchair with a saddled seat.
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