Lost Art Press

Author: Lost Art Press

Publisher of woodworking books and videos specializing in hand tool techniques.

Loading the Studley Tool Chest (And Settling Old Scores)

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The first time I helped load up the H.O. Studley tool chest with all its tools, I thought the task would be easy. I thought it would take less than an hour.

More than four hours later, we were still trying to thread all the little drill bits into all the little holes. And somewhere, H.O. Studley was laughing.

This year, during our fourth visit to this iconic tool chest, we had a plan. Plus, I have been doing finger exercises for months (mostly picking the noses of our five cats) in order to be able to thread my sausages through the latticework of mahogany, ebony and mother-of-pearl.

Today we loaded the chest in less than 45 minutes.

We shot this video, which has been sped up to 20x normal speed, to demonstrate our extreme dexterity.

I know you will watch this in awe.

— Christopher Schwarz

Contest: Guess the Weight of the Empty Studley Chest

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UPDATE: The contest is over. We have a winner. Announcement to come.

One of the factoids we want to include in Don Williams’ forthcoming book “Virtuoso” is the weight of the H.O. Studley tool chest – both loaded and unloaded.

Today we weighed the unloaded chest on an analog scale. Yes, we know it’s not as precise as (add your type of scale here). But it is what we have.

scale_IMG_7961Before we put the chest on the scale, we all took a guess as to the weight. Now it’s your turn.

Guess the weight in pounds of the unloaded tool chest before midnight on Wednesday, Oct. 24, by leaving a comment below. The closest or exact guess will win one Studley T-shirt.

Please note:

1. The chest is fully unloaded of all its tools and drawers. Nothing more could be removed from the chest.

2. If two people guess the same weight, the first person to guess that weight is the winner.

3. No, we’re not answering any more questions about the chest for this contest. Guess, and be done with it.

4. Please guess in whole numbers. Our scale does not read fractions of a pound.

5. Do NOT send me an e-mail with your guess. The only valid entry is in the comments below.

— Christopher Schwarz

We Moved the Studley Tool Chest

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During the final photo shoot of the Studley tool chest we removed all the tools (no small feat), lifted it off its cleats on the wall (it was surprisingly lightweight) and moved it across the room to photograph the back of the chest.

I have not been this nervous since making out with Kym Harper during “E.T.”

The great migration went smoothly. No hiccups. Don Williams, the author, cleaned the exterior of the case and then Narayan Nayar photographed the back. Me? I ate a scone.

Tomorrow we will reload the chest (no small feat) and take photographs of the chest with Studley’s workbench. And later this week, we are going to film a video about the chest. More details to come.

— Christopher Schwarz

Six-board Chest Class, a Slideshow

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If you have ever wondered what a woodworking class looks like from start to finish, here’s your chance. During the six-board chest class at The Woodwright’s Shop, student Mattias Jonsson documented a lot of the “action” and created a slideshow of his images.

I hate to be photographed. And I think this slideshow will explain why.

View the photos here.

— Christopher Schwarz

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Roubo Translation: Now it is Your Turn

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When we released “To Make as Perfectly as Possible” at Woodworking in America this weekend, there was one recurring comment from the customers:

“I bet you are proud and happy to see this released.”

My response was entirely undiplomatic.

“Actually, I’d be perfectly happy to set the book on fire and then extinguish it with my <deleted>.”

Indeed, this is the way I feel after every book that we publish is released. The process is agonizing, to the point that I struggle to see merit in what we’ve spent hundreds or thousands of hours on.

I’m sure in the coming months that I’ll come to love the book again and feel the same excitement when we launched into the translation project years ago. It’s a natural cycle, and perhaps I should learn to just smile and nod.

For those of you who ordered your standard or deluxe copy of “To Make as Perfectly as Possible,” your book is going into the mail stream starting this week. John Hoffman and his kids will be packing up the books and sending them out as fast as they can.

When you open your package, I think you will agree with me that it was worth the wait.

One important note: We have suspended sales of the deluxe edition for now. We are very close to selling out the 600 copies that we printed. And until we get everyone who ordered a copy their book, we are not taking any new orders. We suspect we will have a few more to sell at the end.

There is no waiting list. Sorry. If you want a copy, you will have to wait for us to count the remaining books and announce how many are available. No exceptions, please.

We are still selling copies of the standard edition for $43. It’s quite nice. You can order one here.

— Christopher Schwarz