From “The Cabinet of Arts, or General Instructor in Arts, Science, Trade, Practical Machinery, and the Means of Preserving Human Life, and Political Economy, Embracing a Variety of Useful Subjects” by Hewson Clarke, Esq. and John Dougall (London, 1817). Hat tip to Jeff Burks. See the full book here – it’s only a little longer than the title itself.
The best thing about leaving the corporate media culture after 22 years was that I restored two words to my lexicon: “yes” and “no.”
During the last two decades, most traditional media slashed production quality – paper size, paper weight, paper coatings, cover stock, binding quality. Think I’m full of crap? Pick up a decent magazine from the 1970s (no, not Nuns & Nazis) and compare it to its stunted and skinny 2013 progeny.
It’s easy to blame the Internet for this, but the real cause is far more nuanced and is not something I like to argue about in the comments of a woodworking blog.
Anyway, back to “yes” and “no.” When we print a book, we spend a lot of time mulling the manufacturing details. Some details you might not notice, but that’s OK. We do. So when our printer says, “That will cost you extra,” our response is almost always, “That’s fine. Do it.”
The cover deboss for Christian Becksvoort’s “With the Grain: A Craftsman’s Guide to Understanding Wood” is a good example. To get a deboss with this level of detail on a cotton cover, we had to invest in a copper die and rounds of experimentation. Most media companies I’ve worked for wouldn’t bother, saying (foolishly) that it wouldn’t help sales.
But we think it makes for a better book. And better books sell for longer than the typical modern 18-month book cycle.
And what about the word “no?” That’s the best part. We can say “no” to publishing books on routers and table saws and birdhouses that will have broader appeal. And we can say “no” to selling our books through home centers and discount booksellers, which choke small bookstores and publishers.
Now that we’ve approved the cover deboss – the bindery can finish the job. The book will be trucked to us shortly. And I hope that when you open your box from Lost Art Press, you will say: “Yes.”
— Christopher Schwarz
Wednesday, Feb. 20, is the last day you will be able to order Christian Becksvoort’s “With the Grain: A Craftsman’s Guide to Understanding Wood” with free domestic shipping. After Wednesday, shipping will be $7.
The book will be in our “warehouse” soon and shipped out before the end of the month.
We are currently working on creating both iPad- and Kindle-friendly versions of “With the Grain,” which we will sell through our site and will be DRM-free, as always. That process usually takes four to six weeks, so stay tuned.
Additions to the Blog
Look at the right-hand rail of the blog, and you’ll notice some additions there you might find helpful (or you might ignore).
1. We’ve reorganized the categories and now show how many blog posts are in each category, that number is in (parentheses).
2. A section called “Upcoming Events.” This shows where I’m teaching in the coming months, plus woodworking shows where Lost Art Press will have a booth. Even if you never leave your cave, this can be useful to you. When you send me an e-mail and you wonder why I’m not replying, and then you send me 10 more frantic crazy-sounding follow-ups, you might check the calendar and say: “Oh, he’s overseas.”
3. A section called “Current.” This is more for fun, especially if you like books, music or beer. I’ll be updating this section to let you know what book I’m currently editing or writing. Plus, it will list the books I’m reading – it will usually be a woodworking book. (Right now, however, I’m reading mindless zombie fiction, “World War Z,” which is the only known antidote for editing 18th-century French translations.) Plus, you can find what I’m listening to, building and drinking (though not all at the same time).
— Christopher Schwarz
I’ve been sharpening my own saws for many years, but it’s not something I’m comfortable teaching or writing much about because I don’t do it enough to feel like I’ve encountered all the crazy, messed-up situations that are possible with a saw.
Question: How do I recut the teeth in a new sawplate?
Heck, I don’t know.
How do I best reconfigure the PPI count of my saw to make it finer or coarser?
Ummmm.
My sawplate is warped. Every other tooth is tiny. I want to change a ripsaw to a crosscut saw with sloped gullets. I’d like to add progressive rake and progressive pitch.
I know a lot of the answers to these questions, but I don’t have a lot of experience messing around with saws in all sorts of disrepair.
But when my saws are dull, I sharpen them. It’s really pretty easy and I’ve never thought it was a big deal.
However, I have found that many woodworkers are leery of filing their saws. They are afraid they will screw them up. They are mystified by the angles. They don’t know what equipment to buy.
So here’s the truth: Filing saws is easier than sharpening a smoothing plane. If you have a triangular file and saw set, you can do it. You don’t have to have a dedicated saw vise (make wooden jaws) or filing guide (make one). You don’t need a saw jointer (I use a mill file embedded in a block of wood).
And here is the larger truth: If the Veritas Saw File Holder is what moves you into the category of “people who file their own saws,” then the jig is worth its weight in gold. It’s an incredibly simple device that trains you to hold the file in the correct orientation for both rake and fleam when filing saw teeth.
For the experienced filer, it allows you to dial in any combination of rake and fleam, so you can feel free to experiment with angles that are outside of the muscle memory of your hands.
And it’s a fantastic teaching aid, to boot.
After filing four saws with the guide, I spent a Friday afternoon teaching a person who had never filed a saw how to do it with the guide. The Veritas guide flattened the learning curve to the point where the woodworker’s second saw was almost as good as mine.
So if you are looking for something that will help you become a better saw filer in short order, this jig is the ticket I would buy.
— Christopher Schwarz
If you are a hand-tool woodworker, you owe it to yourself to ditch your job for a couple days and head to Amana, Iowa, for the Handworks event on May 24-25, 2013.
Of course, Lost Art Press be there with a big group of friends. We will have all our books to show. Tool chests? Sure. Beer? Probably. A stomach pump? No. A redheaded editor? Indeed.
But that’s not all.
If you have any interest in the tool chest of H.O. Studley, then Handworks should not be missed. Why?
1. Don Williams, the author of the forthcoming book on Studley, will be there to discuss his research in detail and provide a first glimpse at some of the thousands of incredible photographs Narayan Nayar has taken of the chest during our documentary trips in the last two years.
2. We will be selling there – and only there – 50 brass thickness calipers based off the original in the Studley tool chest. We’ve commissioned a machinist/woodworker/computer guy to make them for us, and work is proceeding.
Price: $45.
So go to the Handworks page here at Handworks.co. Register. The event is free. It’s going to be something that people talk about for many years to come – like the first Woodworking in America.
— Christopher Schwarz