“The Anarchist’s Tool Chest,” the book that allowed me to quit my corporate job, is now available as a free pdf download, now and forever. To download it, you need only click on this link. You don’t have to register, give up your email or do any other smarmy marketing idiocy.
We will continue to sell the printed version for people who like nice books that are designed and assembled to last lifetimes. And we are planning a revised edition of the title for the 15th anniversary of its publication. But the information itself? Free to everyone.
This is the sixth book of mine that I have made free. The others are here:
After much analysis and debate, we have decided to put “The Anarchist’s Tool Chest” – our bestselling book – on sale for the month of March. Until March 31, the book is $34 – that’s 34 percent off the $51 retail. Plus, all copies sold through us are signed by the author and include a nice wooden bookmark (more on that below).
We don’t do sales. So why are we doing this? During most of the pandemic, the printing plants we use were closed or operated on a skeleton crew. Paper was scarce. And other press supplies (like cover cloth) were impossible to find. So when we managed to get a book on press, we had to place a sizable order.
In 2021, we ordered a big run of “The Anarchist’s Tool Chest” to get us through the uncertain time. It was our 15th printing of the book. And now, we have way too many copies. So many that we cannot fit them in our warehouse in Covington, Ky. They are spread out in expensive storage lockers all over the city.
This half of our warehouse (and storage lockers on Cincinnati’s West Side), are filled with boxes of this book.
We are near-desperate to make space so that we can fit everything into our warehouse. So we are reluctantly putting “The Anarchist’s Tool Chest” on sale.
Because this book is a part of the foundation of our business, we wanted to make this event special. So all copies bought through us are signed individually by the author (me!). And we are including a nice U.S.-made wooden bookmark with each copy during the sale.
The bookmark included with each purchase during the sale.
The bookmark features a quote from humorist Nick Offerman, who is a fan of the book. The first time Megan and I met Nick was in Louisville, Kentucky, at a coffee shop. When we were about to arrive, we texted Nick that he could look for me – a tall bearded fellow – and Megan – a white-haired goddess.
Nick texted back: “I’ll be brandishing an incendiary device.”
That “incendiary device” turned out to be a copy of “The Anarchist’s Tool Chest,” which he asked me to autograph. It was the oddest moment in my life – Nick Offerman asking me to autograph a book.
The bookmarks are birch, made in Michigan and quite durable (as they are laminated).
Like all our books, “The Anarchist’s Tool Chest” is made in the U.S.A. and printed on quality materials you don’t find in modern books: The pages are sewn together then glued with fiber tape. Then wrapped with heavy hardbound boards covered in cotton cloth.
This book has changed the way that thousands of people do woodwork. Many have told us they quit their corporate jobs as a result of reading it. If you’d like to read what all the fuss is about, this is an excellent opportunity.
— Christopher Schwarz
P.S. We have notified our retailers that they are welcome to put the book on sale during March (and we have lowered their wholesale price as well). We try to be as fair as possible.
All my books sold through Lost Art Press will be signed by me.
All my books that you buy through Lost Art Press will be signed by me through 2024.
It takes a few hours of my time each week, but we are thrilled we can offer this small personal touch now that we have our fulfillment center up and running in Covington, Kentucky.
We also will offer the PG-13 “Sharpen This” sticker when you buy “Sharpen This.” (Our bestselling product of 2023.
This personal-touch stuff is what we have always wanted to offer our customers, but we were hobbled by our efficient but inflexible fulfillment center in Indianapolis.
More personal stuff on the way (no, you won’t be able to buy my underwear).
— Christopher Schwarz
All copies of “Sharpen This” come signed by the author and with this free sticker.
The prototype square kit (unglued). The grain in the final version will run in the correct direction.
We just got our first working prototype of a kit that lets you build an Anarchist’s Square with less than an hour of work.
I’ve made dozens of these squares since “The Anarchist’s Tool Chest” came out. The square was originally a student project. Tool monger Patrick Leach said he has found many of them in the U.K. during his career, and he suspects it was part of a curriculum at a school.
When I teach students to make the square in a class, it takes two days. There are a lot of lessons involved, from sawing accurate half-laps to truing long edges to perfection to sawing perfect little beads.
But thanks to this kit, you don’t have to do all that.
The kit parts are made from 1/2”-thick Baltic birch. All the joinery and decorative details are already cut. All you have to do is a little cleanup with sandpaper then glue the parts together. The prototype turned out dead square with little effort.
Then you can finish up the square however you like. You can leave it unfinished or tart it up with paint, oil or a film finish. Because it’s plywood, it’s unlikely to ever go out of square.
The kit parts.
I am greatly looking forward to getting some of these kits in house because I don’t have any more of these squares. I sold most of them and gave away my personal one – the one I built for the book – to Anne Briggs (aka Anne of All Trades) as a gift.
I miss having some of the squares around and using them. I had some with accessory fences that made them even more useful. So I’m sure I’ll shoot some video of making, using and modifying the square.
When? I don’t know. Soon, I hope. How much? Again, I don’t know for sure. Less than $50 I hope.
They’ll be made in Ohio and shipped out by Mark and Gabe.
This book should arrive at the warehouse any day now. Is the cover cloth going to be that bright green? I hope not. But if it is, we’ll include a warning label. Retail $33.
Letterpress poster.
“By Hammer in Hand” letterpress poster by Brian Stuparyk
We should receive our press proofs today. Unless something is dog-a-whumpus, these will sell starting in mid-November. We ordered 500 (probably too many). Retail $25.
The “2024 Workbook.”
“Workbook 2024”
This is something I’ve been thinking about doing for a long time. I record all the things I build in an antique “Daybook” – an old accounting ledger. I also write down design changes for my chairs, how much they sold for, the exact finish I used and where the customer lives. It is an invaluable record of my work.
You can’t buy a decent ledger shaped like this anymore, so we decided to make one. The “Workbook 2024” is a 64-page ledger printed on lovely #60 smooth and undyed paper. The pages are sewn and casebound in thick, cloth-covered boards. (We are using the same printing and bindery plant that does all our color books.) The book measures 4-1/2″ wide x 11-1/4″ tall.
An interior spread of the “Workbook.”
The interior pages are printed with blue and red lines that help you organize your information. And, because we can’t leave well enough alone, we added a short quotation to the bottom of each entry page. Megan selected all the quotations on the left-facing pages (verso). I picked all the ones on the right-hand pages (recto).
We are only printing 1,000 of these. Then we will see if we should do this again for 2025. Retail $27. (Note: Our margin is terrible on these and we don’t think we will be able to sell them wholesale.) These will be in stock by the end of November.
The A-square in maple.
The Anarchist’s A-square: A Kit
This is a fun project I have been working hard on. We are trying to create a three-piece kit of parts that you can assemble to create your own A-square (the tool shown on the cover of “The Anarchist’s Tool Chest”).
The parts will be made of Baltic birch and have all the joinery and embellishments cut. You will just need to do a little fine fitting and then glue the parts together. I have made dozens of these squares for customers and friends and love them. And they are useful tool as well.
We are waiting on a prototype this week and hope to start production as soon as possible. Retail: under $50. But I don’t know enough to state a firm price.
Wooden bookmarks.
Wooden Bookmarks
My daughter Madeline is itching to get back into the sticker business. So I created these lovely wooden bookmarks that are printed in the US on a two-ply veneer. The bookmarks are 2” x 6” and come in a variety of species. The woodcut at the top of the bookmark is from Rudy Everts. The quotation is from John Brown.
Our logo on the back.
We have long been asked to make a nice bookmark. These are nice. Retail $5. Maddy will set up an SASE (self-addressed stamped envelope) system this week and should start selling them next week.
— Christopher Schwarz
P.S. The Anarchist’s Gift Guide starts Nov. 10. If you want a preview of one of the items, check out today’s substack entry.