Lost Art Press

New Book in the Works from Lost Art Press

Posted on by Lost Art Press

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Thanks to a generous British reader, we have a new book in the works here at Lost Art Press that fills an important gap in hand-tool knowledge.

The story of this new book starts only about six weeks ago when John Hoffman and I went to England to research campaign furniture and to attend the European Woodworking Show at Cressing Temple.

Woodworker Richard Arnold pulled us aside at Cressing Temple and showed us two booklets from the turn of the last century. Titled “Doormaking for Carpenters & Joiners” and “Window-making for Carpenters & Joiners,” these two little booklets represent exactly the sort of thing we seek out at Lost Art Press.

These books were written by an experienced practitioner who wanted to preserve in print the hand-tool methods used for making doors and windows. Unlike many books out there on doors and windows, these little gems are aimed at the novice. They begin with the very basic stuff that you almost never see written down. Both books cover layout in an exhaustive manner (using ticking sticks I might add). And both books begin with very simple projects and progress step by step to more complex doors and windows.

I read both booklets in a day. They are outstanding, and we want to share them with you.

The bad news is that these booklets are rare. There is even a low-quality reprint of both booklets from the 1970s that is also rare. Booklets do not survive as well as books.

The good news is that Richard has loaned us two pristine originals that we are sending to a professional scanning service. We are going to combine the two booklets into one durable, hardcover book so that this sort of knowledge isn’t lost. This book deserves to be in print.

If you have ever been interested in how to make quality doors and windows in an efficient manner, I know you’ll like this book quite a bit.

I don’t have information on pricing or the release date yet. My best guess: Less than $20 and in March.

Thanks again to Richard. Readers like him make our job easier.

— Christopher Schwarz

38 thoughts on “New Book in the Works from Lost Art Press”

    1. Jonathan,

      It actually covers entryway doors, passageway doors and ledged doors for barns. Plus hanging and fitting them. It doesn’t cover cabinet doors (about which there is plenty already written).

  2. Chris,

    This is exactly the kind of book I would love to get my hands on. I will be counting down the days. Excited to see this sort of stuff surfacing.

  4. Less than $20 but not sixpence, I suppose.

    I’m curious, is there a list somewhere of the rest of the titles in the series? (I see in the photos these are nos. 8 and 11.)

      1. There are over twenty, from basic carpentry to veneering, finishing, turning, wood joints, cabinetmaking, etc. Search for “Woodworker Series” in quotes.

  8. Both these titles sound wonderful. It will introduce the subject of the additional Roubo subject that some of us hope you will continue on to publish, which is millwork.

    Sounds exciting.

  10. Put me down for a door book! Although once I have one I will be out of excuses for making the entry door I promised my wife two years ago…

  11. Awesome! Making replacement doors and window sashes for my mom’s 1860’s home in the late 1990’s is what got me started in woodworking. At the time there was limited information on the internet (and limited at the local library as well) on the topic so I ended up dissecting a door and a sash set to figure out the joinery. Still one of my favorite projects to date.

  12. Awesome! These should be a perfect compliment to the window and door info you find in Modern Practical Joinery and Carpentry and Joinery Illustrated. I’ll certainly be picking up a copy.

  14. The complete list, and year of publication, is:

    (1) Woodwork Joints, How to make & where to use them 1903
    (2) The Beginner’s Guide to Fretwork 1904
    (3) Veneering, Marquetry and Inlay, Wells, Percy A. 1904
    (4) Soft Woods and Colonial Timber, Wells, Percy A. 1904
    (5) Hard Woods, English and Foreign: a practical description of hard and “fancy” woods used by the carpenter and cabinet-maker, etc., Wells, Percy A 1904
    (6) How to use the Stanley Universal Plane 1908
    (7) Elementary Woodcarving
    (8) Doormaking for Carpenters and Joiners 1908
    (9) Practical Polishing, Staining 1908
    (10) Simple Lessons in Wood-turning 1909
    (11) Window-making for Carpenters and Joiners 1909
    (12) Practical Upholstery: Methods of Stuffing and Covering various styles of Furniture Clearly Explained, with Hints on Repairing and Renovating. 1909
    (13) Violin Making and Adjusting 1910
    (14) Elementary Staircasing 1910
    (15) Design for Woodcarvers 1910

    I only have 6 of these, plus the later combined reprint of Doormaking and Windowmaking, combined with Staircasing; would love the rest. They range from 58-90 pages, typically 80. Most authors not stated.

    1. Wow, thank you for finding all the titles! I was looking in worldcat.org to see which libraries have this and it looks like only the British LIbrary has it as far as I can tell, and it may not even be complete there. Thank you Chris for this future publication. I look forward to it, and maybe others from the series in the future as well??

    2. I take it, then, that these are a different series from the four “Woodworker Series” books by William Fairham, et al?

  15. I think you found one I’m interested in, Chris. Good find. I sure wouldn’t mind getting a copy of the originals for my library – I’ll be on the lookout for sure.

    ps, next time you find a great resource like that give me at least a 3 day head start before you cause an all out dash for it, thanks.

  16. Excellent, I’m in on theses. I’ve picked up a couple of out of print books on door and window making and have making a new front door for my house on my to-do list.

    Will there be a chapter on making hinges from horsie poop?

  17. Chris, just curious. How do you guys handle copyright issues – if there are any? thanks,

  18. Gotta say thats great! As much as I’m enjoying Roubo I’m *kinda* curious about the carpentry enteries in L’Art du Menuisier…..!

  19. Will you be building samples out of more teak remnants, or digging into your stash from the recent wood sale?

    Looking forward to seeing these on my campaign shelves.

  21. I just got an email flyer from the local wood store, they have a load of 8/4 Sapele on sale for $4/bf. Just right for a new front door.

  23. This is exciting news, to say the least! I cannot wait for this. Up until now I’ve been using Alan & Gill Bridgewater’s book – Building Doors & Gates. One of the most satisfying woodworking projects I’ve done is making true divided light sash… taking it all the way to cutting the old wavy glass and even applying the glazing compound, very relaxing. https://picasaweb.google.com/102981472942866443292/BarnSashJune2012?authuser=0&feat=directlink

    Thank you Lost Art Press!

    1. Oh, and the sash in the link was done with a router table + sash bit, since then I’ve purchased a sash moulding plane and plan to do it the right way!

  25. The apprenticeship to becoming a ” menuisier” focuses mainly on doors, windows and cabinets here in Switzerland. I always found it strange that woodworking enthusiasts I see on line could make all of this great furniture but stuff like doors and windows aren’t talked about that much. You can learn a ton from doors, some of the layout can be real head scratching!!!

    1. Sadly, because that information was considered common knowledge, it didn’t get written down. These books will definitely be gracing my shelves: a new door for my office has been on the want list for a couple of years.

  26. Excellent news. I’m very excited about this. Once again, many thanks to Lost Art Press for helping me and so many other woodworkers have a painless entrée into the world of hand tools. Wonderful news.

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