Lost Art Press

‘Workbenches Revised’ – A Special Offer for Customers

Posted on by Lost Art Press

front_cover_T9086Next month, F+W will release the revised edition of my first book: “Workbenches: From Design & Theory to Construction & Use.” I still have a great affection for this book from 2007 for several reasons.

  1. It was my first book and took three years of my life to write and design.
  2. It is still an excellent reference for anyone looking to build a first workbench.
  3. It was produced and printed in the United States.
  4. I still agree with (almost) every word of it (except an error I made in a caption).

And while I quite like this book, it hasn’t done much to help our household during the last eight years. Though it sold quite well, I was paid a flat fee for the writing and have received no royalties since it was released in 2007. I’m not bitter about it in the least. That was the deal they offered me, and I gladly accepted it.

However, all that changes with the release of the revised edition next month. I spent the first part of 2015 revising every chapter and adding material throughout – including two additional chapters on new versions of French and English workbenches – with complete construction drawings from Louis Bois. The book is now longer, stronger and I’ll receive royalties on every copy sold.

Lost Art Press has committed to carry 500 copies of the book, which is being printed in the United States to high standards. All 500 copies that we are selling will be autographed personally (not via bookplate) and will be shipped domestically via USPS with free shipping. The cost is $34.99 and can be pre-ordered through our store. The book should ship sometime in late October 2015.

You can place an order for one of these books from our site here. The price is $34.99.

Should you buy this book if you already have the first edition and a great workbench? Probably not – the core ideas are the same, though sections of the book have been expanded greatly to cover advancements in workholding. But if you like to support the work we do at Lost Art Press or know someone who could benefit from a book on workbenches, then we are happy to send you one.

— Christopher Schwarz

42 thoughts on “‘Workbenches Revised’ – A Special Offer for Customers”

  3. Ordered. Like to support your work. Like to have the latest & greatest edition. I can give my old edition to the someone who could benefit!

    1. Len,

      I’m afraid we have yet to find a way to ship books overseas that makes sense for us or the customer. Amazon.co.uk will carry the revised title in April and will sell it for a ridiculously low price. So that will be the best bet for overseas customers.

      Sorry. We’re only two people and so certain things are just beyond our capacity and the number of hours in a day.

      1. No problem Chris – I understand the issues. I may wait for Amazon or I will get one of my American cousins to order and I will collect on my next visit. I also have some relatives in Akron that I haven’t visited so that might be another avenue. Either way you will get your royalties.
        Cheers
        Len

  5. “2. It is still an excellent reference for anyone looking to build a first workbench.”

    I disagree. I’ve built two benches, own 13 books about building and designing benches, and will only use two of those titles when I build my third bench in April: this one and its red buddy “The WB Design Book.” So I think it’s valuable for anyone, even those of us building our Xth bench, including the lucky few who build Roubos inspired by yours for a living.

    Any chance you could give us all a sneak peek at even just a corner or fat leg of one of the two new designs?

  7. I am sure this has been answered, but a quick search did not turn up the answer. What is the difference between this workbenches book (in the revised state) and the red one?

    1. Great question. This is a substantively revised edition of the 2007 volume of the same title. The red book [whose full title is “The Workbench Design Book: The Art and Philosophy of Building Better Benches”] was published later, in 2010. I do not know if Chris/LAP/PW have any plans to revise the red volume.

      Either title will guide you to build an exceptional bench. Their content overlaps minimally. (The most similar content is found in Chris’s top rules for designing benches and in his now-classic design adaptation of a bench featured in one of Roubo’s plates.) Note that while both volumes include Roubo-inspired designs, the blue volume alone includes an English bench (Nicholson-inspired), and the red volume alone contains a German mongrel bench (the Holtzapffel-inspired).

      If you are only looking to own one of the titles, there are several key differences to take into account:

      This book (blue, revised) contains the full plans for four benches (two french, two english), all designed by Chris, who is the sole author of the blue book.

      Although the red companion provides less of an introduction to workbench design and use, it offers more designs and represents the perspective of more authors. There are a total of nine full bench designs in the red volume. (Some of which were also published elsewhere.) The bench designers/authors include Chris, Meghan Fitzpatrick, Robert Lang, Glen Huey, and Jim Stuard.

      In general, this newly-revised (blue) volume is the one I would recommend for craftsmen who want to build a traditional hand-tool bench. The red volume is more geared towards power-tool users and late-20th C bench designs.

  8. I considered buying this title quite a few months ago but held off when I heard a revision was in the works. I’ve been wanting [sic] (semi)patiently ever since. Order placed, yay!

    1. The CD, now discontinued, contained an electronic pdf of the first edition, plus electronic drawings of the two benches in the book.

      It was an option that we created for those readers who wanted a pdf and electronic drawings. This was back in the day before SketchUp was big and before ebooks were everywhere.

      There won’t be a CD with this book. I am fairly certain that F+W will sell an electronic version, though you’ll have to ask them.

      Hope this helps.

      1. We will … But if you ask me nicely, I might send you the electronic drawings to go with the print book.

  11. I don’t often comment on other blogs, but I’m glad I saw this.
    If are a woodworker and you do not own this book, do yourself a favor and get it. Whenever I’m asked to recommend a few woodworking books, this is always one of them. IMO the best woodworking book written in the past 20 years.

  13. Did the corrected caption have something to do with an airplane factory? I remember laughing at that one and I’m pretty sure it was in the first edition…

    1. Yep. Looked it up. Page 18… that ‘frame clamped on edge’ is actually the tailplane (elevator) of the aircraft being assembled in the background.

  15. since you’ve updated your book you may want to update your international distribution. “sorry, we don’t ship to Romania” is so 1990…

      1. Buy a mule. Romanian shipping issue solved. Or you know, you could go the cheaper route and use a goat. Hang a copy of “The Book of Plates” in front of it off a stick and you’re good to go. It could munch on that one for years. Its the most impressive book Ive seen, even if it is just pictures.

        You all do an awesome job.

  19. I have the first edition but I would be much more likely to buy the second if the knock-down nicholson is in there.

  20. Ordered. Other will be donated. I hope it’s Chris that personally signs mine. Last time I went for something like this, they pointed me to the booth women at the Felder display.

  21. Will this update include instructions on creating a French bench with “glued-up through-mortise-and-tenon” joinery as you seem to employ in your classes these days? I’ve started one with this approach in mind, but I’m not to that point yet.

    1. It will have plans and strategies for the “pure” (whatever that means) Plate 11 Roubo bench. With the through-tenon and sliding dovetail.

      It won’t cover the bench we’ve been building in classes with the single through-tenon – not that that’s a difficult mod to make to the plan.

      Hope this answers your question.

      1. It does. If you don’t mind telling me what the minimum recommended width of that tenon is, I’d appreciate it. Is leg with 3 laminations, giving a single 2x width to the tenon sufficient, or does the tenon need to be closer to 3″ think, using the width of two 2x’s (using 3 or 4! laminations for legs)?

        I have the “original” blue book by the way, but don’t see too many people using the “stub” / blind tenon’s shown in that printing.

  22. I would like to get this book and the red book as well. Is the red book no longer offered through LAP or am I just blind/illiterate. Which if that is the case maybe buying books isn’t the best idea.

  23. That’s great news…..I can see AND read!!! In all seriousness, thanks Chris. Virtuoso was fantastic and I am looking forward to the DVD and these 2 books.

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