Megan Fitzpatrick

I am Megan Fitzpatrick, a.k.a. @1snugthejoiner. I’m a woodworker and the editor at Lost Art Press. I am short one dissertation of a Ph.D. in English literature (focused on early modern drama), and am a former editor of The Chronicle <eaiainfo.org/> and of Popular Woodworking Magazine. When I’m not at the computer or teaching, you’ll find me building furniture or at the bar alongside, Christopher Schwarz, publisher at Lost Art Press.

In addition to making custom furniture (inquiries about which are welcome), teaching woodworking, writing about woodworking, and editing writing about woodworking, I’m in the midst of restoring a circa-1905 four square in Cincinnati’s Northside neighborhood, and living amidst the chaos with my cat, Olivia the Greyt. My personal blog is rudemechanicalspress.com.

How many handplanes on the head of a pin?

November 8, 2022

On this, as so many other subjects, it might be a good idea to curb the obsessive need to tell others they are wrong.
Free your mind, and the rest will follow

October 28, 2022

Try a new method, learn a new technique, be open to new possibilities. You might like it.
Do what’s difficult

July 25, 2022

You can watch 'em make chairs till the cows come home. But doing it? That's another thing entirely.
Hitty things: You need four (but more are better)

June 1, 2022

Sometimes your work needs a whack. That's where hammers come in.
How’s it hangin’? (Your dovetail saw, I mean)

May 11, 2022

There's a lot that goes into picking out a premium dovetail saw, but it comes down to one determining factor: how it fits you best.
When furniture makers make crates

March 21, 2022

Furniture maker Megan Fitzpatrick demonstrates how to make a crate that gets the job done (and Bean the Shop Cat approves).
Keep it safe, keep it simple, and don’t forget the bourbon

February 1, 2022

Whether you're teaching Shakespeare or Shaker furniture making, the lessons are mostly the same.
Learning how to saw by hand

January 18, 2022

Practice makes perfect when it comes to sawing precise lines.
‘Work slower; it’s faster’

December 21, 2021

For every hour you save rushing a project, you'll probably spend four hours redoing the parts you're ashamed of.
How to Fit a Shelf to Hand-Cut Dadoes

November 25, 2021

Whether sawing freehand or against a guide block, Megan Fitzpatrick always checks that the dadoes are flat and square.