Lost Art Press

Good News for our Digital Products

Posted on by meghanlostartpress

If you are a fan of our digital products (pdfs, videos, plans, etc) then you know that they are sent to you as a link via email after checkout. But did you know that you can also access any of your digital purchases by logging into your Lost Art Press account? This prevents you from having to dig through emails or lists of links when you want to find a project that you finally have time for.

I will walk you through that in a minute, but I do have one more piece of good news for customers who have been tracking their purchases with their accounts for years. I frequently receive emails requesting that email addresses be changed or accounts be merged. I have been unable to do this in the past. Not any more! So, if you are one of those customers that somehow ended up with multiple accounts, feel free to reach out to the help desk and I, the Meghan that is not Fitzpatrick, will get you sorted out. You will no longer have to wonder if you ordered “By Hand & Eye” in 2018.

OK: back to how you access your digital content in your account. Start by clicking on the little person in the top right corner of our website and log in…or create an account if you haven’t been using one for your purchases.

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Once you are logged in you will click on the “My Downloadable Files” tab.

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You will then see all of the digital content that you have purchased. Here is what the pdfs will look like:

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And what your videos will look like::

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From here you can stream your video or download it. To download it you will click on the “vimeo” icon in the bottom right corner. This will open the video in a new window with the download option showing.

As always, you can email help@lostartpress.com if you have questions.

Last Chance for Free PDF with ‘Dutch Tool Chests’

Posted on by fitz

Order “Dutch Tool Chests” (by me!) by 11:59 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 11, to get a free pdf with your book order. Until then, the book and pdf is $39. At midnight on Wednesday, the pdf will cost $9.75 extra if ordered with the printed book.

“Dutch Tool Chests” gives you the in-depth instruction you need to build your own slant-lid tool chest (in two sizes) – from choosing materials, to the joinery, the hardware, the interior parts that hold your tools and the paint. Plus, plans for a mobile base that provides more storage and helps you move the chest around your shop. (Oh – and a brain dump on how to cut through-dovetails – the thing I most often teach.)

My goal in this book is to not only help you make a place to put your stuff, but to help make you a better hand-tool woodworker.

But my favorite part of the book is the gallery, which includes 43 chests from other makers, with ingenious ideas for using the chest’s tool bay (or bays). Clever rolling bases. Oversized (or undersized) chests. Imaginative uses of the back of the fall front and or/underside of the lid. And other unique storage solutions and uses that set them apart.

Like all Lost Art Press books, “Dutch Tool Chests” is printed in the United States. The pages are folded into signatures, sewn, glued and reinforced with fiber-based tape to create a permanent binding. The 192-page interior attached to heavy (98-pt.) cotton-covered boards (blue cloth, of course!) using a thick paper hinge. The cover and spine are adorned with a foil die stamp (which won’t help you build a tool chest – but it looks pretty nice, if I do say so myself!).

– Fitz

p.s. If you buy “Dutch Tool Chests” from Lost Art Press, you might wonder about that scribble on the half-title or title page. That illegible scrawl really is my signature – I’m signing every copy that ships from our Covington warehouse.

2024 Anarchist’s Gift Guide: Day 13

Posted on by fitz

Day 13: Blundstone Original Chelsea Boots

The only better (by which I mean long-lasting and uber comfy) boots I’ve ever had were Cole Haans with Nike Air insoles. They were of course discontinued before I could stock up. For the last decade or so, I’ve sworn by the Blundstone 510 – the original in black. I was seduced a year ago (or was it two?) by a “fashionable” version (#2343) with a blue sole and blue stitching…but I can’t seem to break those in – too many painful blisters. They’re supposed to be the same as the 500 series, just “prettier”; they are not the same. So I keep coming back to my 510s. And while they’re arguably a little pricey (though I’d pay more for good boots – worth it!), if I amortize the $200 cost over the five years each pair has lasted, they’re a great buy.

– Fitz

2024 Anarchist’s Gift Guide: Day 12

Posted on by fitz

Day 12: Aqua Net Extra Super Hold

This is a must-have if you have socket chisels – especially if you remove the handle from time to time. Once the handle won’t stay in anymore, spray the wood that goes into the socket, pop it in place then whack the handle top upside down on your bench.

This super-sticky hairspray will keep it in place until you knock it against the edge of the bench the next time you need the handle to come out (I only need to spray mine every few months, and I take my handles out a lot to maneuver the business end of the chisel into small places).

Also, when 1980s hair comes back in style, you will be prepared.

– Fitz

2024 Anarchist’s Gift Guide: Day 11

Posted on by fitz

Day 11: Milwaukee 50-piece General Purpose Utility Blades

We use utility knives all the time around here, and they get dull quickly. There is little more frustrating than trying to cut with a dull blade – plus it’s dangerous. But it’s a pain to go searching for that pack of blades you know is in the shop somewhere. Or fighting with a blade dispenser that is bockety (we’re looking at you, Stanley). That’s why we default to the Milwaukee blade pack. It’s easy to get a new one out of the dispenser, and the dispenser is large enough to hang on the wall. Also, it’s red, so it’s fairly easy to spot even if it’s in the bottom of your tool chest.

– Fitz