We will kick off the Anarchist Gift Guide on Thursday, Oct. 21 (tomorrow!). That’s a little earlier than usual, but the world is off its axis, and we want to give you plenty of time to get your gifts sorted for the holidays. Plus, this will be our biggest gift guide yet.
If you aren’t familiar with the gift guide, it has been a yearly tradition here for about a decade. It’s mostly little things that we find useful in the shop. It’s not sponsored and not affiliated. It doesn’t plug or promote our products. We do it because we love you (even you, John Cashman).
Hey – That Feels… Almost Normal
It was a relief to receive Nancy R. Hiller’s “Shop Tails: The Animals Who Help Us Make Things Work” from the printing plant in Tennessee. It took only 10 weeks to get it printed. That turnaround time is not like the old days when five weeks was the norm. But it’s way better than some other recent titles. (“The Stick Chair Book” is coming up on 17 weeks in gestation.)
So if you are looking for Lost Art Press books as gifts, here are four quick updates.
- “The Stick Chair Book” should be shipping the second week of November. Fingers crossed.
- “The Handcrafted Life of Dick Proenneke” is also scheduled to ship about that same time.
- We are running dangerously low on stock of “The Anarchist’s Tool Chest.” The cotton cloth we need for the cover is in limbo. If you need this book for a gift, don’t hem. And don’t haw.
- “The Woodworker’s Pocket Book” is out of stock, and we hope to receive books by Dec. 1.
So What the Heck Have Y’all Been Doing?
With publishing mostly on the ropes, Megan and I have been full-time furniture makers and tool designers during the last few months. We’ve been sending a lot of furniture out the door lately, but that doesn’t help you with Christmas (unless you ordered a chair or a tool chest from us).
The good news is that we should have Crucible Planing Stops in stock before Christmas. These ductile iron bench accessories should be less than $50 and will be super easy to install (drill a 5/8” hole in the movable block; drive the stop in; done).
We have also been working on two new tools that are now in the prototype stage. One is a sliding bevel that holds its setting better than any tool I’ve ever used. And the second is a handy waist apron that is great for woodworking (and will feature a cool vintage-y screen print). Both of these new tools will launch in early 2022.
And by then I hope things will get back to normal, and we’ll have some new titles to announce.
— Christopher Schwarz
Any update on the Dutch Tool Chest book? Really looking forward to that one too.
Sliding bevels? I say! And outperforming even the Chris Vesper ones (which’s take some doing)?!
I say!!!
Cheers,
Mattias
My reaction exactly.
Is there a reason for the blade of sliding bevels to be beveled on one end?
There are rare occasions where the bevel will allow you to take a reading inside an acute angle. Other than that, I don’t use the 45° on the blade. But I bet other people have ideas that I have overlooked.
This is great news! I look forward to this every year. Even though I mostly use it to buy myself gifts. Though I do sometimes send these ideas on for family gift exchanges and have gotten some cool stuff.
How wide will the blade be on the bevel? I ask because I am making one of Richard Maguire’s current projects and he used his to mark an angled tenon, which happened to be 1” long, so used his bevel to mark both the end and shoulder. Luckily I have 3 bevels and one was 1”. Though I am guessing the slotted side could be designed to mark other measurements.
Though one of my old bevels I have to treat it like it’s the “egg baby” from home economics class once it’s set.
A bevel that’s holds better than a Vesper is exciting. That may be my first Crucible purchase! Then I can sell my Vespers and pursue my dream to go to space.
I didn’t say it was better than a Vesper. That might not be possible. I said it held better…
“Better than any other tool I’ve ever used.”
But then again, some Christmas eve you’ll probably be visited by the ghost of Raney Nelson, replete with the shrapnel from the workbench that led to his untimely demise.
So maybe a bit of hyperbole is par for the course.
Are flannel cat pillow case covers on this gift guide?
I’ll wait whilst you add them…
Will you be offering your Crucible Planing Stops to your international retailers?
Yes. But as always, it will be their call. Not ours!
I am not seeing “The Handcrafted Life of Dick Proenneke” on your site where I can order it.
That’s because it hasn’t been released.
Looking forward to The Antichrist’s Gift Guide – really enjoyed last year’s – but even more so to ‘A Period Finisher’s Manual’ that I gather Don Williams has finished writing. I have a hunch it’s just what I need to up my finishing game.
I’m guessing that’s a really odd autocorrect, unless you meant to place this comment on the blog of Chris’s evil twin, Damien Schwarz. Lost Souls Press, I think it is…?
I didn’t even notice on my first reading. Nice catch.
Awwww. Why did you have to go and make it weird?
Hi Chris, the greatest gift I could get for Christmas would be your opinion on a good woodworking school? I have several semesters of wood shop at community colleges. Looking for something exceptional and not afraid to travel abroad. Thanks, -Robin
If I were a sapling and looking to get educated, I would investigate:
• The Krenov School
• North Bennett Street
• Rowden Atelier
All three will steer you toward high-end work. And that’s a good thing. You can always dial things down if you need to make a living at a cabinet shop (or as a starving chairmaker like myself).
Also, no matter where you go to wood school, be sure to get some business education as well. And marketing. I know way too many crazy-talented woodworkers who are admittedly hopeless at business stuff. You have to love the business side almost as much as the building side (I do).
Thanks for the thoughtful response! I’ve visited the Krenov school and would prefer to go there but was put off by their aggressive political takes. I’ll check out the school in Boston.
When are you going to add Bench Cookies to the list? The new ones are magnetic with latching sides so you can make one BIG cookie!
Noted.
Looking forward to the bevel guage..Vesper is great but almost unavailable. hoping for a 4 inch similar in size to the small vesper.