We have finally worked out all of the price increases that will take effect on Sunday, July 7. This blog entry is our final reminder. The price increases will also take effect with our retailers in the U.S. and elsewhere.
The price increases for books are the result of increased costs of paper and cotton cloth – plus increased labor costs at the printing plants we use in Tennessee and Michigan. Here are the books that will see price increases and the new prices.
By Hand & Eye: $51 (a $3 increase)
Doormaking & Window-making: $34 (a $6 increase)
Campaign Furniture: $51 (a $4 increase)
Chairmakers Notebook: $63 (a $4 increase)
The Woodworker: The Charles Hayward Years Vol. 3 Joinery: $47 (a $3 increase)
Truth to Tools: $37 (an $8 increase)
Making Things Work: $37 (a $7 increase)
The Anarchist’s Workbench: $37 (a $6 increase)
Country Woodcraft: Then & Now: $54 (a $9 increase)
Woodworker’s Pocketbook: $23 (a $5 increase)
The Stick Chair Book: $53 (a $6 increase)
Shop Tails: $37 (a $7 increase)
The Handcrafted Life of Dick Proenneke: $59 (a $5 increase)
Karvsnitt: $44 (a $2 increase)
Backwoods Chairmakers $51 (a $4 increase)
The price increases for tools are more significant. Metal prices continue to go up, and we decline to switch to plastics or other inexpensive materials (in fact, we are reducing our use of plastic this year). In addition to the cost of metal going up, our price structure wasn’t consistent. Some tools (such as the sliding bevel) were way underpriced for all the machining and handwork that goes into them).
Because we want to keep making tools (and develop new ones), we have to make sure that Crucible isn’t robbing Lost Art Press. Here the tools and their price increases.
Protractor: $66 (a $20 increase)
Lump Hammer: $137 (a $36 increase)
Crucible Sliding Bevel: $350 (a $140 increase)
Brass: $197 (a $77 increase)
Steel: $113 (a $54 increase)
Dovetail Templates (both the 1:4 and the 1:6 & 1:8): (both will be $70 each, a $19 increase)
Crucible Type 2 Dividers: $210 (an $84 increase)
Warrington Hammer: $133 (a $36 increase)
Crucible Engraving Tool: $34 (a $7 increase)
GoDrilla: $83 (a $25 increase)
Crucible Card Scraper: $25 (a $1 increase)
Crucible Planing Stop: $63 (a $12 increase)
Crucible Iron Holdfast: $156 (a $12 increase)
Before you give us grief in the comments, please keep in mind that all of our products are made here in the States. We pay our employees a more-than-fair wage with health insurance coverage. We could go overseas and reduce our prices (or keep the profits). But we prefer to employ our neighbors.
— Christopher Schwarz
I’m always happy to spend more to buy high quality products made in America by workers making a fair wage. Keep up the great work LAP!
What Carl said.
The brass center squares are out of stock… I’ve been eyeing these for a while, so now seems the time to finally get one. If I order one now, can I have it at the current price? Thank you –
Also interested in knowing this!
Nobody should give you “grief” of any kind about these price changes. You are absolutely entitled and within your right to charge whatever “the market will bear”, and whatever you feel you need in order to justify offering your products for sale, and to maintain your business standards and values. That said, your unit sales will almost certainly diminish, at least for a while, as a result of higher prices, but your gross profits may increase, or at least be acceptable to you. If not, either way, the market will have spoken.
No one should complain knowing the effort put into a good product that is ethically produced and the open transparency that LAP puts into every product.
Well I better buy the sliding bevel now. Its been on my want list for a while.
All your tools are worth their prices, not only because you are making quality products made ethically, but your sliding bevel and dividers have truly brought innovation to the category. That sliding bevel is still an absolute deal for the peace of mind it gives me.
Don’t sweat it! Thanks for putting integrity first, huge respect.
Don’t sweat the price increases! Keep you guys making good tools keeps you on the straight and narrow as toolmakers and keeps you out of the ‘gigantic plastic sippy cups’ business befalling the toolmakers of years gone by 🙂
One small ask (and sorry it may possibly not that small 🙂 ) would be an ongoing list of books/tools/journal that aren’t (or won’t) be going to your sellers in other countries (e.g. I buy most of LAP/Crucible stuff from Lee Valley).
My intent would be to allow me to batch a larger order together to use a cross-border remailer. This might be a PITA, but I’d be happy to volunteer a few hours to cobble together a public facing spreadsheet or similar if there’s enough of us to benefit.
I absolutely love my Crucible Dividers and Sliding Bevel Gauge. I’ve held off on purchasing a second of each however, because there had been earlier mention of different sizes being released. Is that still in the works for additional sizes with these tools?
We tried to make. 7” blade for the sliding bevel. But unfortunately the fit is so fussy and individual that we couldn’t make it work. Sorry.
We might do smaller dividers someday. But not in the short future