Lost Art Press

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‘The Anarchist’s Tool Chest’ Sale Ends Soon

Posted on by Lost Art Press
Signing books in our warehouse. Look at that floor space. And the window isn’t blocked by inventory.

Our sale of “The Anarchist’s Tool Chest” – our bestselling book – ends at midnight March 31. Until then, the book is $34 – 34 percent off – and comes signed by the author and a special bookmark.

This sale has helped enormously to clear floor space in our warehouse in downtown Covington, Kentucky. Thanks to everyone who picked up a book. Come April, we will move the rest of our stock out of temporary storage facilities and into the warehouse. 

Then we will finally – after 12 months of work – have our fulfillment center 100 percent operational.

I am ready. And the building is ready.

— Christopher Schwarz

‘What D’ye Lack?’

Posted on by fitz

Sunday thoughts from Charles Hayward (excerpted from “Honest Labour” – a collection of essays from The Woodworker magazine).

The mediaeval system of apprenticeship, by which the apprentices helped to sell—in booths which then served as shops before their master’s dwellings—the wares they had made, had one considerable advantage. It brought the maker of an article into direct contact with customers or potential customers, and therefore into direct contact with any criticisms levelled at their work. It may be that only the hardier spirits would venture seriously to criticise, for London apprentices, we know, were notoriously quick-tempered, and their cries of “What d’ye lack? What d’ye lack?” were frequently interrupted by the rallying cry of “’Prentices-clubs!” which brought them all pouring out to make common cause against any unfortunate citizen who had ventured to offend them. But, even so, there must have been a regular interchange of opinion between customer and craftsman which was helpful to both, and a far healthier state of affairs than that existing to-day, when fashions in furniture and design are entirely at the mercy of manufacturers behind the scene with whom the customer has no possible contact.

We have all experienced the utter futility of complaining to a salesman whose only job it is to sell the goods. A shrug and the comment that: “That is all the fashion now” is the only answer we get, except from the most intelligent, and the result is to be seen in a general lowering of standards both in workmanship and taste. One might cite as an example the massive upholstered suites which flooded the market some years ago. Nothing could have been more unsuitable for the average modern house, with its small box-like rooms, but it was only by going to the utmost trouble and expense that one was able to track down anything of reasonable size. The public simply had no say in the matter. Its only possible retort would have been to refuse to buy, and that is unfortunately what it does not do. The very prevalence of a mass-produced article seems to have a hypnotising effect. People come to take it for granted as “the fashion,” and honest criticism is lulled to sleep or given up in despair.

And a great pity it is. It is not good for any of us to get into the habit of accepting things passively. By keeping our minds critically alert we do at least keep them alive and develop our powers of judgment, the chances being that if we fail to exercise them over the less important things, they will fail us over the big. The mind, like any tool, can be blunted and spoiled by rust and neglect, can lose its fine cutting edge, grow slack and unreliable. And so we lose any chance we might have had to influence our fellows, so at least doing something to mould the world a little nearer to our heart’s desire.

Honest criticism is a necessary prelude to any really sound constructive work. It is necessary in all good furniture making. But it has to be based on a real habit of thought and observation. We have to be able to be honest with ourselves, and patient, too, in order that our skill may grow. We have to be able to look at our own work, and the work of others, critically; to contrast and compare methods and designs. In this way we shall gradually acquire the knowledge that is more than skill—an appreciation of what is really good and sound, of the part played by true proportion and clean, shapely line in a really fine piece of work, and a standard of taste which will become a natural part of our mental make-up, so that we shall not tolerate—at least in our own homes—anything that falls below it.

Woodworking Profiles, All in One Place

Posted on by fitz

I was chatting with Kara Gebhart Uhl about some new “Meet the Author” profiles, and realized that while we have a blog category for Nancy Hiller’s “Little Acorns,” we don’t have an easy way to find the profiles Kara and others have written. So, I’ve added a new category to our drop-down menu: Profiles. There, you’ll find 75 good reads about woodworkers (and that number will no doubt grow as I find ones I’ve missed).

– Fitz

‘To draw the several kinds of mouldings made by Joiners’

Posted on by fitz

Kale and I had a brief discussion of mouldings and moulding planes last week as she worked on her tool chest, and raised a square panel for one piece using a rabbet plane. And that reminded me of Peter Nicholson’s discussion of moulding profiles, which I love in large part because of the mellifluous nomenclature. Scotia. Quirk. Cavetto. Astragal. Yum. Here is part of that text, which teaches you how to draw a handful of profiles, excerpted from our reprint of “Mechanic’s Companion.”

§ 68. To draw the several kinds of Mouldings made by Joiners.

An astragal is a moulding of a semi-circular profile; its construction is so simple that it would be unnecessary to say anything concerning it. Fig. 1. [Editor’s note: Ha.]

There are two kinds of beads, one is called a cocked bead, when it projects beyond the surface to which it is attached, see Fig. 2; and the other is called a sunk bead, when the sinking is depressed beneath the surface of the material to which it is at­tached, that is, when the most prominent part of the bead is in the same surface with that of the material, Fig. 3.

A torus in architecture is a moulding of the same profile as a bead; the only difference is, when the two are combined in the same piece of work, the torus is of greater magnitude, as Fig. 4; in Joinery the torus is always accompanied with a fillet. Fig. 5. single torus moulding.

The Roman ovolo or quarter round, as called by joiners, is the quadrant of a circle, Fig. 6. When the projection and height are unequal, as in Fig. 7, take the height B C, and from the point B describe an arc at C, and with the same radius from A, describe another arc cutting the former at D, with the distance A D or D B describe the profile A B. This is generally accompanied with fillets above and below, as in Fig. 7.

The cavetto is a concave moulding, the regular profile of which is the quadrant of a circle, Fig. 8; its description is the same as the ovolo.

A scotia is a concave moulding receding at the top, and pro­jecting at the bottom, which in this respect is contrary both to the ovolo and cavetto; it is also to be observed, that its profile consists of two quadrants of circles of different radii, or it may be consi­dered as a semi-ellipse taken upon two conjugate diameters, Fig. 9.

To describe the scotia, divide the height A B into three equal parts, at the point 2 draw the line 2 C D, being one-third from the top, draw E C perpendicular to C D, with the centre C and distance C E describe the quadrant E F; take the height A 2 and make F D equal to it: draw D G perpendicular to F D, from D with the distance D F describe the arc F G, and E F G will be the profile of the scotia. This moulding is peculiarly applied to the bases of columns, and makes a distinguishing line of shadow between the torii.

The ogee is a moulding of contrary curvature, and is of two kinds: when the profile of the projecting part is concave, and consequently the receding part convex, the ogee is called a cima-recta, Figs. 10 and 11 ; and when the contrary, it is then called a cima-reversa, Fig. 12.

To describe the cima-recta when the projection of the moulding is equal to its height, and when required to be of a thick curvature, Fig. 10. Join the projections of the fillets A and B by the straight line A B; bisect A B at C, draw E C D parallel to the fillet F A, draw A D and B E perpendicular to F B; from the point E describe the quadrant B C, and from the point D describe the quadrant A C, then B C A is the profile.

To describe the cima-recta when the height and projection are unequal, and when it is required to be of a flat curvature, Fig. 11. Join A B and bisect it in C, with the distance B C or C A from the point A describe the arc C D, from C with the same radius describe the arc A D cutting the former in D, the foot of the compass still remaining in C describe the arc B E, from B with the same radius describe the arc C E, from the point D describe the arc A C, from the point E describe the arc C B, then will A C B be the profile required.

The cima-reversa, Fig. 12, is described in the same manner.

Quirk mouldings sometimes occasion confusion as to their figure particularly when removed from the eye, so as frequently to make one moulding appear as two.

Dovetails: Efficient Waste Removal

Posted on by fitz
3-13A. Chisel used to size tails. One-hit tails.

The following is excerpted from “Shaker Inspiration” by Christian Becksvoort.

Not too many woodworkers can claim five decades of business success, but Becksvoort is among them. In “Shaker Inspiration,” he shares not only his woodworking knowledge and some of his best professional techniques for producing top-quality work, but also the business advice that helped him establish and sustain his long career in a one-man shop. Plus, he shares measured drawings for 13 of his own well-known furniture designs and seven Shaker pieces that he’s reproduced.

I stack my parts four or six high. That way I only clamp once on each side, for all parts. Let’s say it takes four hits per side to get halfway into each socket, or eight hits altogether. That means I have to switch chisels eight times (a wide chisel for the baseline, then a narrow chisel to remove the waste). If I do one socket at a time, and I have 12 sockets to chop, that means I switch chisels 96 times. By cutting all baselines on all pieces, then switching chisels and removing the first 1/16″ (.16cm) of waste, I save a lot of time.

3-13B. Here’s the first hit, with a 1/2″ (1.27cm) chisel and a very light tap directly in the scribe line.

Switching to a narrow chisel, I take out a thin sliver of waste on all the tails. Then I set the other chisel up against the shoulder I’ve just created at the scribe line, and give it a profound whack. I tend to tilt the chisel forward about 1°, to undercut the waste. Again I chop all of them, switch chisels, remove waste and do it once more, until I reach the middle of the tail boards. Then I flip them all over, re-clamp, and proceed in the exact same manner on the other side.

3-13C. Once all the light hits are done on all the pieces, I use a 3/16″ (.47cm) chisel to take out a thin sliver of waste on all the sockets.

When done, I clamp each board upright in my vise, then clean the corners with a thin-bladed knife. Remember that bevel-edged chisels have a narrow 90° edge, and the dovetail angles are less. There is almost always a bit of waste in each corner. We like crisp, clean tails, right into the corners.

3-13D. With the shoulder of the socket established, my second hit is a vigorous whack. I tilt the chisel forward about 1° or 2° for a slight undercut. In pine, that hit should easily reach half way into the socket. For hardwoods, it may take two or three hits (removing the waste each time) to reach the middle.
3-13E. Once I reach the middle of the socket, I use the narrow chisel to remove a much thicker waste piece.
3-13F. When one side is done, I flip the whole pile over, re-clamp it, and follow the same process on the other side.