Lost Art Press

Category: Crucible Tool

Back in Stock: Scrapers & 2 Books

Posted on by Lost Art Press
We just received new stock of the Bowen’s book, and it was charged a tariff.

First the good news: Tariffs aren’t yet affecting Lost Art Press books. We print entirely in the United States. But some of the raw materials, including some of the papers we use, come from Canada. We follow the issue closely, and our books might not see any price increases.

The bad news: metal prices are on the rise because of the tariffs. And the only book we import, “The Welsh Stick Chair: A Visual Record” by Tim and Betsan Bowen was just walloped by a tariff. We had to raise the price significantly. 

This is a great book, and I hope we can carry it going forward. But no promises.

We just got the first batch of Crucible Curved Card Scrapers in from the machine shop. These have been out of stock for far too long. I bought the steel before all the tariffs went into effect, so the price is the same ($25). I have no idea what will happen to the price with the next batch (some steel components have doubled in price in the last month).

So buy them now while they are this price.

Finally, we have also restocked on “Doormaking and Window-Making.” There is no price change for this Michigan-printed book.

— Christopher Schwarz

When Holdfast Holes Shrink

Posted on by Lost Art Press
You can open up your holdfast holes a tad with a slightly oversized bit.

After a few years of drying, my workbench’s benchtop shrank a bit. It’s not a big deal, but the drying process also shrank my 1” holdfast holes. And with a few of the holes it became difficult to insert the holdfast’s shaft.

There are a few ways to open up the holes a bit. Reaming them out with a 1″ drill bit and “wallering a tad” works, but it can take some effort to get the middle section of the hole to size. 

A second expensive-but-precise method is to use a tool called a “bridge reamer” or “car reamer.” These construction tools have a slight taper and are used to correct misaligned holes in steel construction and the like. These cost $100 or more, which is a lot for a single task.

The third option is to buy an inexpensive 1-1/16” drill bit such as this one. Before running this drill bit into your holes, I recommend you open up the top rim of the hole with a rasp so the bit won’t tear up your benchtop’s surface.

For drilling, use a corded drill with a side handle, especially if your benchtop is made of a hard wood. Yellow pine is especially tricky because of the differences in density between the earlywood and latewood. Take your time, don’t rush and you’ll get through it.

Holdfasts work best where there is a close fit between the shaft and the hole, so don’t over-do it.

— Christopher Schwarz

New Pinch Rods in Development

Posted on by fitz

Thanks to a clever idea from our friend Roger Davis, we’re well on the way to once again offering Crucible Tool Pinch Rods (the brass on our former offering has become prohibitively expensive). Shown here is the second prototype. They work, but not as perfectly as possible, so we’re still working with Craig Jackson at Machine Time to perfect the locking/sliding mechanism.

One of the cool things about the tool is that you can expand its capacity with inexpensive 1/4″ keystock. Our version will come with two 12″ rods (as shown above) – but for less than $20, you can get two 36″-long pieces of keystock to check the diagonals on larger casework. (And of course it’s available in other lengths as well.) Then cut or grind a bevel of about 60° on the business ends so they fit snug into the corners.

In case you’re not familiar with pinch rods, it’s a more accurate way than, say, a tape measure to check that your corners are square. Nestle the pointy ends in two opposite corners, lock the screw, then check that the tool fits perfectly corner to corner on the other diagonal (then adjust your case as necessary before the glue sets, and check again).

Whew – it’s square (good thing, because this glue has been dry for months!)

I also use pinch rods to “measure” the length of a case inside, say when I’m fitting another things inside it, such as a till bottom in a tool chest. I set the pinch rods for a snug fit end to end, then use the tool to mark the length on my bottom board. I don’t care what the number is – just that the measurements match.

Our best guess is that the new pinch rods will be out in the summer. No word on pricing yet.

— Megan Fitzpatrick

Updates: New Books, Reprints & Tools

Posted on by Lost Art Press
Castle ruins outside Newbury.

The editorial staff is currently on the road to Wales, which is why we haven’t been posting much on the blog this week. Despite our remoteness (physically) we’ve been working on Lost Art Press stuff the whole time.

Here are some updates on new things and reprints.

“Dutch Tool Chests” by Megan Fitzpatrick should ship from the printer this week. We’ll have it up for sale next week. All copies purchased directly through Lost Art Press will be signed by the author.

“Good Eye” by Jim Tolpin and George Walker is in its final stages. George and Jim have a few corrections to the text. We’ll make those when we return. Then the book will be off to the printer – and out right before Christmas (assuming no publishing tragedies).

“American Peasant” (second printing) should be back in stock by Nov. 13. The second printing will have a completely different cover than the first printing.

Exeter hammers should be back on sale sometime during the week of Nov. 18. We have a bunch of hammer heads on hand now and are waiting on the handles. With any luck, we’ll have 500 more hammers out in the world by the end of the year.

“The Woodworker” series of books. Many of you have noticed that we are out of stock on all four volumes of our “Woodworker” books. These will be back in print in early 2025 in a nice softcover format. During the pandemic, the prices for making these books nearly doubled. We can’t in our right minds double the retail price on these. So we are switching to a softcover. The binding will be the same: folded, stitched and glued signatures. The only difference will be the cover. We hope to sell the set of four books for $99 as a result.

  • Christopher Schwarz

The GoDrilla Saga (With a Happy Ending)

Posted on by Lost Art Press

Good news: We now have 500 pristine-perfect GoDrillas in our warehouse, and we’re shipping them out as fast as you can order them.

Today ends our six-month saga with manufacturing difficulties with this tool. If you care about sob stories involving aluminum extrusions and custom lathe tooling, then this is the bedtime tale for you.

Earlier this year we received a batch of GoDrillas that would not accept a hex-shank drill bit. Things were just too tight. The manufacturer said they were in spec. We ate the cost of that run. We ordered a replacement batch. It was better, but still on the tight side. We could get hex-shank tooling in with a little effort. After a few go-rounds using these GoDrillas, things loosened up and the GoDrillas worked normally. Still, we were grumpy.

So we sold that batch at a deep discount.

The interior surfaces of the new GoDrillas. So much room for activities!

Now we finally have GoDrillas that are perfect. We had to buy a $2,000 tool and add a step to the process to get here, but it was worth it. We all spent all day today packaging up GoDrillas and hex rods and instruction books, and they are ready to go.

If you have been waiting for these in-spec GoDrillas, the wait is over. You can order one here.

Thanks to Josh Cook, the mechanical designer for this tool, for figuring out the problem and getting a solution.

— Christopher Schwarz