Lohr Woodworking

07/12/2021

We love when small details, like pulls, are just as tactile and fun as the rest of the piece. But, they also often have to be repeatable and/or made in batches. As we whip up another dozen of these dovetail pulls for the jewelry cabinet we have in the works, I found footage from various instances over the last couple of years when we made these pulls in differing sizes. I tried to stitch the process together in an order that makes sense, but making sense of things isn’t a skill I’ve honed quite as much as pull making.

06/04/2021

Most of our spec pieces start with a design concept, but also include some sort of challenging technique that forces us to learn something new. We’ve done plenty of curved work, but this week was a fun new adventure in half blind dovetails on bent-laminated drawer fronts. Rob spent the early part of this week staring at the bench trying to figure out how to manage the curvy joinery. Turns out, it wasn’t too different a process from regular half blind dovetails. Achievement unlocked!

This little case will fit into a larger cabinet on stand, which has been in the works for a while around here. Larissa is working on some prototypes for some weird, angular, bendy door panels so there’s been plenty of head-scratching for her, too.

Now that we’ve bent some wood and our minds, we’ll hit pause to enjoy the weekend and then invite a new Practical Woodworking class into our shop next week!

05/28/2021

The sincerest thanks to everyone who participated in our Kestrel Chair chair raffle to raise funds for Urgent 365. 60 of you guys collectively donated $2820!! Amazing. We are so proud and grateful to be a part of a community that pulls together that kind of support. We are going to top it off to bring it to an even $3000. We encourage you to check out and continue to support Urgent 365 and all of their programming, especially our local Philly folks!

And the winner is.... Tyler Rivera!! 👏 🪑

05/27/2021

Guys! ✨ LAST DAY✨ to enter to win a walnut Kestrel Chair we made! We are hosting our annual raffle to support our favorite local organization Urgent 365.

The folks of Urgent 365 are doing amazing work and to ‘close the opportunity gap for Black and Brown youth and young adults in pursuit of personal and professional growth’ here in Philadelphia. Go learn about all they do! Even if you don’t want a chair named after a bird.

The winner of our raffle gets our handmade Kestrel Chair (shipping included within the U.S.). It’s made of local PA walnut as well as the blood and sweat of two of your favorite local makers. Entries are $20 each and you can enter as many times as you want to! Find all the details here: www.lohrwoodworkingstudio.com/raffle!

05/20/2021

Take a seat and let’s raise some funds for Urgent 365 !

It’s warm, you’re finally going outside again. But wouldn’t it be nice to take a seat in a handmade walnut Kestrel Chair when you come back indoors? You can enter to win this very chair knowing all of proceeds will be donated to Urgent 365 and their incredible work in Philadelphia. Last year we raised $3,200 for their annual Trunk Party- Let’s make 2021 even more, guys!

Details:
Entries are $20 each
Enter as many times as you want
Winner gets the chair shipped free (to U.S. residents)
Our blood, sweat, and tears are included at no extra cost
Raffle closes Thursday, May 27th at 5pm EST
Winner announced Friday, May 28th at 3pm

Send payment via PayPal directly to [email protected] or www.lohrwoodworkingstudio.com/raffle to pay with a credit card.

04/26/2021

We’re so thrilled to have written an article for the current issue of Fine Woodworking aaand have our No. 112 Chest of Drawers featured in the Gallery! What an honor it’s been to work with this fun and prestigious publication and their killer team.

Rob Spiece and Larissa Huff, Schwenksville, Pa.
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There are 112 dovetails in this chest, hence its formal name: the No. 112 Chest of Drawers. “Yes, we counted and without shame,” Rob says. The design was inspired by the vertical book-matches of the Biedermeier style. “Biedermeier furniture tends to be pretty visually overwhelming, so we wanted to move away from the burled veneers usually found on those pieces,” he says. “This walnut veneer we found has a lovely shape and the sapwood gave us the bold graphic element we were looking for.”
Walnut, 18D x 32W x 60H
Photo: Eoin O’Neill

04/18/2021

It’s the LAST DAY of Baltimore Craft Week, guys! You can shop from the safety of home and the comfort of pjs on the couch. We’re selling several spec pieces as well as accepting custom commissions. Make sure you take a moment to check out all of the amazing creations by so many talented artists. Craft week! Woo!

www.shop.craftcouncil.org ✨

04/08/2021

We’ve put these dovetailed pulls on a lot of pieces over the last few years, but this is the first time we gave them a little beveled reveal. It’s nice making minor tweaks over time and watching those details mature.

01/30/2021

This maple tree truly outdid itself. It’s clearly the star of the show, so we’re just honored to have been able to build the thing that holds it up for its second life.

Big thanks to Irion Lumber Company for having such stunning material and great customer service!

01/27/2021

Oiling this desk (particularly the little drawers) was the highlight of the day... probably week... possibly month? Thanks to the curliest maple for making it all possible.

01/14/2021

🌟 Ah! We’re thrilled to announce that we have two scholarships to offer for the 2021 season! Each scholarship covers tuition and lodging for a Practical Woodworking course and a Box Making Workshop. 🌟

Woodworking is expensive. Taking a class is expensive. We know there are many folks out there with the passion but just can’t swing it. We are those people too, so we know how it feels. We’re so happy to be able to remove this roadblock for two folks and invite them to join us for two sessions this year.

Please share far and wide for anyone who may be interested! Applications are open to anyone whose life and practice in making could be changed for the better but could otherwise not afford to enroll.

Endless thanks to ENCurtis (and those who bought raffle tickets!), who graciously donated an amazing cherry wall cabinet to raise funds to make this possible. His kind gesture has encouraged us to continue to offer scholarships annually into the future.

You can find the application and all the other fun details here: https://lohrschoolofwoodworking.com/scholarship. We’ll be accepting applications through Feb 5th and announcing the recipients on March 1st.

(The class photo was taken in pre-covid times. Covid safety protocols will be strictly in place in our classes until they aren’t!)

12/15/2020

2020 has been a year of many things. For us, it included designing and launching two new classes (Chairmaking & Box-Making) as well as shooting and offering our first online course. For Casey Chew, it meant breaking a record by completing all six classes we offer in a single year. We thought that kind of enthusiasm, dedication, and putting up with us so damn much deserved recognition so we whipped up this first ever Lohr class trophy. We deeply appreciate the friendships and relationships we are so lucky to form with so many of our students. You guys are just the best.

(3D printed man running with a hand saw courtesy of Andre Rucker Photography)