Miller Dowels Mini-XWhen things go wrong in the shop, one of the crutches I lean on are Miller Dowels Mini-X thingies. These are stepped and ribbed dowels that you install with a super-insanely-good stepped drill bit. How to use them: First drill a hole with the bit to reinforce … | Continue reading
WASA Red Kitchen ShearsThese kitchen scissors are part of a (perhaps imagined) memory. One of my grandparents owned the perfect pair of kitchen shears. Used to slice apart meat and bone, these shears are just perfect and balanced in every way. Eventually I found them – I think. T … | Continue reading
Castile Soap Cream for FinishingI advocate using Castile soap for finishing some pieces of furniture. It’s non-toxic, easy to repair and gives light-colored woods a whitish glow. Never heard of soap finish? I’ve written and recorded a lot about it. Here’s an introduction. The onl … | Continue reading
The following is excerpted from “Woodworking in Estonia.” The author, Ants Viires, devoted his life to recording the hand-tool folkways of his country without a shred of romanticism. Viires combined personal interviews and direct observation of work habits with archaeological evi … | Continue reading
Japanese ‘Bank Paper’I write a lot of stuff down every day on paper – sketches of future projects, notes on joinery, Megan’s lunch order, and dimensions, dimensions, dimensions. For the last decade I’ve mostly used the free throw-away pads that our lumber supplier would bring us … | Continue reading
We are extending our free shipping offer until midnight Nov. 24 for one reason: It’s working. While most “inventory reduction” sales verge on bunkum, we are offering free shipping for one single reason: to reduce our inventory. Right now, the Anthe building is loaded to its maxim … | Continue reading
The Sharpie PRO (or the Fancy-pants Sharpie T.E.C.)I feel like a fool for having used regular Sharpie markers in the shop. They are…OK. As long as you don’t expose them to water, alcohol, pretty much any solvent or even a stern look. Face it: The ink in regular Sharpies is not du … | Continue reading
Almost every week on the Open Wire, we get asked some variation of the question: What finish should I use for the top of a dining table? My answer is not going to be the most obvious one (polyurethane/varnish) or the most durable (conversion varnish or – shudder – bartop). Instea … | Continue reading
The Anarchist’s Gift Guide – comprised only of stuff I have bought and used in our shop – starts today and runs over the next two weeks. I started this “gift guide” years ago (read past recommendations here) after watching a woodworking TV personality’s “gift guide” for one of hi … | Continue reading
I’m at the shop today, waiting for yesterday’s paint to dry (it’s linseed oil paint, so I’ll be waiting a few days beyond today, too…but I won’t have to apply more than the one coat!). So, I’m ready to answer your woodworking-, paint-, cat- and early modern literature-related que … | Continue reading
The American Philosophical Society was founded in Philadelphia in 1743 by Ben Franklin to “promote useful knowledge.” Before the U.S. Patent Office was formed, one of the functions of the APS was as a repository for plans for inventions and devises for improving the human condi … | Continue reading
Starting now, when you buy the book “Sharpen This” from the Lost Art Press website, it will not only be signed by the author (that would be Christopher Schwarz), but we’ll include our reprint of the 2017 “Sharpen This” sticker that some (hi, Mom!) might find mildly offensive. (If … | Continue reading
Jerome Bias is teaching a scholarship class here next month. Most of these students are new to hand tool woodworking, so we are gathering tools to give them or loan them during the week. I’ve got the saws and block planes and hammers we need. But if y’all have some excess user to … | Continue reading
Join us at 837 Willard Street (the Lost Art Press storefront and shop) for our 2023 Holiday Open House, Saturday, December 2, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. As long as supplies last, we’ll hand out (free!) the old posters that magically appeared when we moved our stuff from our former warehouse … | Continue reading
The following is excerpted from “The Anarchist’s Design Book,” by Christopher Schwarz, an exploration of furniture forms that have persisted outside of the high styles that dominate every museum exhibit, scholarly text and woodworking magazine of the last 200 years. There are his … | Continue reading
Starting now, when you buy one of my seven titles from the Lost Art Press website, it will be signed by me. We’re able to do this now that our fulfillment operations are here in Covington, Kentucky. We hope to make this offer permanent, but until we figure out how much work it wi … | Continue reading
I had a half-hour or so video chat with Derek Jones, the author of the new book “Cricket Tables,” to ask him about the form, what drew it to him in the first place, where the name came from, and where his online handle (lowfatroubo) originated. Grab a cup of coffee or tea and lis … | Continue reading
Above are prototypes of two new tool-storage items – the Pencil Pocket and Plane Pocket – that we’ll have available in 2024. They are heavyweight canvas, with grommets that allow you to screw them almost anywhere in your tool chest, on your bench legs or back, or on your shop wal … | Continue reading
Our newest title, “Cricket Tables” by Derek Jones, showed up two weeks early. It is in stock and ready to ship. And boy is that cover green. Derek picked out the color, and it has really grown on us. You will not lose this book in the dark. The book ships for free until Nov.... | Continue reading
We just got our first working prototype of a kit that lets you build an Anarchist’s Square with less than an hour of work. I’ve made dozens of these squares since “The Anarchist’s Tool Chest” came out. The square was originally a student project. Tool monger Patrick Leach said h … | Continue reading
One of the great advantages of having all our inventory in Covington – and employees to fill boxes – is that we can offer a free shipping promotion without setting a pile of money on fire. (Our storage and salaries are now fixed overhead costs; before we had to pay $4 for every o … | Continue reading
By Suzanne Ellison He was deeper in the forest than he would normally venture and felt a sense of unease in this unfamiliar wood. The weak daylight of late October was fading away, and he didn’t see the tree stump until it was too late. He caught his foot on the stump and fell ha … | Continue reading
The following is excerpted from Joshua A. Klein’s “Hands Employed Aright: The Furniture Making of Jonathan Fisher (1768-1847).” Fisher was the first settled minister of the frontier town of Blue Hill, Maine. Harvard-educated and handy with an axe, Fisher spent his adult life buil … | Continue reading
Here is a quick-ish update on products we hope to have in stock before the holidays – including three I haven’t announced before. “Cricket Tables” by Derek Jones This book should arrive at the warehouse any day now. Is the cover cloth going to be that bright green? I hope not. Bu … | Continue reading
One of the six tasks I’m juggling now is a refresh of the Lost Art Press website. It mostly will make the site easier to search. And it will categorize our products to help new customers make sense of the things we make (we make more than 100 things). One of the recommendations f … | Continue reading
I don’t like to take books out of print. In fact, we have spent the last 16 years trying like hell to keep everything possible in print. Recently, we took “The Solution at Hand” out of print, and our email lit up with people asking “why?” Interestingly, many of these people had n … | Continue reading
Chris and I are catching up after a fabulous field trip yesterday to the Berry Center in New Castle, Kentucky (highly recommended if you’re ever in the area and are a fan of Wendell Berry’s work, both literarily and as it relates to equitable and ecological farming). But that doe … | Continue reading
We have Crucible Engraving Tools back in stock and shipping. This tool engraves straight lines and arcs in wood so you can create decorative patterns or “spells” found on peasant furniture in Scandinavia and Eastern Europe. Megan and I have filmed a new video on how the basics of … | Continue reading
The move from the third-party warehouse to our in-house warehousing and fulfillment unearthed a colossal number of design curves. I wish I could remember when those were erroneously deemed out of stock…but I’m sure it’s been at least 18 months. So…oops. (We’re confident that havi … | Continue reading
We get asked (a lot) if we could please add a “book ribbon” to all our titles (a shiny ribbon that helps you mark your place in a book). We would love to, but we cannot add one without dumb price increases and unacceptable delays. Here’s the truth: Neither of our printing plants … | Continue reading
After moving 170,000 pounds of books and tools to Covington, we discovered boxes of products that had been discontinued long ago. To make room in our warehouse and get these products in the hands of people who will use them, we are selling these at a steep discount until we run o … | Continue reading
With woodworking books, it can take years for publishers to decide if they want to translate a title into a foreign language. With technical information, publishers want to make sure that the information is worth translating and reprinting. Translations are shockingly expensive. … | Continue reading
The following is excerpted from Peter Galbert’s “Chairmaker’s Notebook.” Whether you are an aspiring professional chairmaker, an experienced green woodworker or a home woodworker curious about the craft, “Chairmaker’s Notebook” is an in-depth guide to building your first Windsor … | Continue reading
Katherine has been busy as a full-time worker at Rookwood Pottery, and has just started taking classes at Covington Clay to exercise her creative side. But she had time this weekend to make a batch of Soft Wax 2.0, which is now in her etsy store. This might be the last batch befo … | Continue reading
I promised my Pine Croft students last weekend an online lesson on leveling their pins and tails (the glue hadn’t set up enough to stress the joints before it was time to clean up). So I’m sharing it with the rest of you, too. Even if you set your marking gauge/cutting gauge to t … | Continue reading
Almost eight years ago, I wrote a piece about a hidden letter written by Jacob Arend, a journeyman cabinetmaker, living and working in Würzburg, Germany. Arend, and fellow journeyman, Johannes Witthalm, had recently finished making their masterpiece, an ornate writing cabinet. Th … | Continue reading
Christopher Schwarz and I are back from our respective travels, both with almost-done projects to complete from our classes (work to which we eagerly look forward as a break from staring at our screens). But today, we’re staring at our screens as we eagerly await your Open Wire q … | Continue reading
We get a lot of requests to reprint our letterpress “By Hammer & Hand” poster, and now I am pleased to report that the project is in the works. Brian Stuparyk, the artist of the poster, has agreed to a second run (he will receive a royalty on each one sold, FYI). The poster will. … | Continue reading
Over the last year, Christopher Schwarz and I have been making our way through the last of the bog oak boule we split between us. To date, it’s been used for tables, sculpture and a bunch of chairs. As I wrap up my final two chairs from this ancient and preserved tree, Chris has … | Continue reading
The following is excerpted from Jögge Sundqvist’s “Slöjd in Wood.” The first project (excerpted here) is a butter knife that will begin to unlock the world of slöjd for you. You will then learn to make bowls, a sheath for your knife, spoons, a place to hang your clothes, cutting … | Continue reading
Megan and I are both traveling out of town to teach this weekend, so there’s no one available to monitor and answer the comments. We asked Wally, and he just yawned. We will be back next weekend – we promise – to answer your woodworking questions. — Christopher Schwarz | Continue reading
We have just received stock of our newest bandana design; this one is navy blue and features a line drawing of the Anthe building (aka the new Lost Art Press shipping location and headquarters), plus a bunch of woodworking machine cutterheads (made by Anthe for more than a centur … | Continue reading
During the summer my steam box took its last hot breath. The interior bits had rotted away, as had the door and its hinges. I pitched the thing, planning to build a replacement. Then I thought: Am I really happy with the Earlex wallpaper steamer that powers it? It’s fine for smal … | Continue reading
The following is excerpted from Mary May’s “Carving the Acanthus Leaf.” Learning to carve the acanthus leaf is – for carvers – like a pianist learning a Chopin étude, a young oil painter studying the genius of Rembrandt or an aspiring furniture maker learning to cut dovetails by … | Continue reading
Today, Chris and I are taking turns behind the wheel and at the keyboard (one person per job at a time, of course); we’re headed to Wisconsin to celebrate a dear friend’s birthday. You can help us while away the travel hours with your Open Wire questions. As always, simply post y … | Continue reading
Last Friday (Sept. 29, 2023), we exported the “printer pdf” of Derek Jones’ new book, “Cricket Tables,” and sent it off for proofs. We reviewed page proofs on Monday, I uploaded a few corrections, approved said corrections, then it was off to the presses! Below is a short excerpt … | Continue reading
Peter Galbert and Peter Follansbee – two of our favorite authors – have both started substacks recently, and they have both become part of my daily reading routine. (What’s a substack? It’s a blog that has different subscription levels. You can read some articles for free. Other … | Continue reading
The following is excerpted from “With All the Precision Possible: Roubo on Furniture,” by André-Jacob Roubo, translated by Donald C. Williams, Michele Pietryka-Pagán & Philippe Lafargue. Representing a decade of work by an international team, this book is the first English transl … | Continue reading