Lost Art Press

Author: Lost Art Press

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

Where Are My Turning Tools?

Posted on by Lost Art Press

Today Roy Underhill and I got ready to tape two episodes for the next season of PBS’s “The Woodwright’s Shop.” As the sun started to set over Pittsboro, N.C., we realized that we needed to turn down a spindle so we could thread it on camera.

No problem. Roy’s school has nice Barnes treadle lathes. Plenty of wood. And Roy.

“Hmmm. Now where are my turning tools?” Roy asked.

It turns out that his lathe tools were at home. Without skipping a beat, Roy picked up some bench chisels and started turning down the spindle.

This, of course, attracted onlookers who were wandering by the school.

Now all we have to do is rehearse. Roy’s show is taped live. No do-overs. Ugh. Time for a beer.

— Christopher Schwarz

Anarchy in the N.C.!

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For the next 10 days my blog posts will be erratic and fueled by barbecue, beer and fatigue. If you e-mail me during the next fortnight, my response is liable to be brief, odd or not forthcoming.

Why? I drive to North Carolina tomorrow to tape two episodes of “The Woodwright’s Shop” with Roy Underhill, then teach a five-day class on building “The Anarchist’s Tool Chest” at The Woodwright’s School and then teach a two-day class at the Atlanta Woodcraft on building the essential marking and measuring tools.

Then I will take a long nap. Actually, that nap thing is a lie. When I get back from my Southern tour I’ll be unloading almost 6,000 pounds of “Make a Joint Stool from a Tree” books and then packing up all the pre-publication orders we’ve received (thank you, kind reader) and taking them to the post office.

Then a nap? No. Then I have to finish this Campaign Secretary that has to be completed by March 15 for Popular Woodworking Magazine.

So all this is my way of saying: If you try to reach me during the next month and I don’t respond, it’s not because your smell offends me.

Thanks in advance for your understanding.

— Christopher Schwarz

Download an Excerpt from ‘Make a Joint Stool from a Tree’

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For your reading pleasure: A short excerpt on mortising from the forthcoming book “Make a Joint Stool from a Tree” by Jennie Alexander and Peter Follansbee.

The file is a pdf and requires Adobe Acrobat 6.0. It’s a fairly small file at 1.4 mb, so even the dial-up users should be able to nab it without too much trouble.

MAJSFAT_SAMPLE

Yes, those are real color photos in the book. And yes, the page size really is 9” x 12”. And yes, it’s a Lost Art Press book.

And a gentle reminder: If you want to order this book and not pay domestic shipping you have only two weeks left before this offer expires on Feb. 27. Read more about “Make a Joint Stool from a Tree” in our store here.

— Christopher Schwarz

The Economics of Design

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“Combining style, materials, and technology in a desirable product at a price the market will accept has always been the basic problem facing furniture makers. Since costs are, in part, dependent on the labor intensity of their technologies, manufacturers must design pieces with the capabilities of their tools in mind, constantly compromising between cost and style. This system of give and take is the economic interface between technology and style. It is the economics of design.”

— Michael J. Ettema, “Technological Innovation and Design Economics in Furniture Manufacture,” Winterthur Portfolio, Vol. 16, 1981. (Special thanks to Don Williams for pointing me to this article.)