On the Crucible Holdfast from Christopher Schwarz on Vimeo.
There is a contingent of people who think we are nuts for making our Crucible holdfast the way we do: cast, with a 1”-diameter shaft that’s as rough as a cob.
Yesterday I made a short video that explains our thinking on this tool. You can watch it above if you’d like to learn more about this tool.
— Christopher Schwarz
You can now watch the episode of Roy Underhill’s “The Woodwright’s Shop” where I discuss the two Roman workbenches I built this summer. Here’s the link to the episode. Yes, I know the text says I’m blacksmith Peter Ross. I’m sure they’ll fix it at some point.
If you want to go deeper into the topic of Roman workbenches, be sure to check out issue two of Mortise & Tenon magazine, which features an article on the low bench and how to use it for cabinetmaking and joinery operations (even dovetails). The issue ships in early January.
And if you are as crazy as I am, stay tuned for the letterpress book we’re producing on these benches here at Lost Art Press and in conjunction with Steamwhistle Press. The first draft of the book is almost fully written. Now I just have to decide if I need to rewrite it with a more sober tone. Right now it reads more like Hunter S. Thompson on workbenches (without the mescaline).
— Christopher Schwarz
The Lost Art Press storefront will be open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. this Saturday, Dec. 10. Feel free to stop by to take a look at the books, check out our two Roman workbenches or just ask woodworking questions. During the last open day we taught people to turn, sharpen and handplane.
We have a pretty sizable pile of returned and damaged books in stock that are 50 percent off retail (cash only for these). We also have about a half dozen letterpress Anarchist’s Tool Chest posters that were returned for tiny cosmetic imperfections. Those are $10 (cash only).
And, of course, we have all of our Lost Art Press titles in stock, including the brand new “The Woodworker: The Charles H. Hayward Years Vol. III: Joinery” (all major credit cards accepted for new, undamaged stock).
A T-shirts. Geeze we have a lot of T-shirts in sizes from small to 2XL. We have the Lost Art Press logo shirt in blue, the Anarchist’s Tool Chest shirt in red and Crucible shirts in grey. All shirts are $20.
Speaking of Crucible, we have lots of holdfasts in stock (but no dividers).
The storefront is at 837 Willard St., Covington, KY 41011.
— Christopher Schwarz
If family members are pestering you for suggestions of things they should get you for Christmas, it’s difficult to say you really want a $15,000 wide-belt Timesaver.
But if you don’t speak up, you’re gonna get a necktie or worse.
Every year I publish a gift guide on my blog at Popular Woodworking Magazine that is comprised of small things that you will find really useful but won’t destroy your daughter’s $20 gift limit. The first five entries are up now.
Read Day 1 of the gift guide here: Clauss Scissors.
Day two on a Boot Tray for Sharpening.
Day three on humidity monitors.
Day four on a MWTCA membership is here.
Day five on the Arno burnisher is here.
If you’d like to read gift guides from past years, check this link.
— Christopher Schwarz
P.S. As always, this gift guide is sponsored by absolutely no-%^&*%$-one.
My daughter Maddy has been stuffing envelopes this afternoon and reports she still has more than 300 sticker sets left. So don’t worry about us running out.
Several customers have included notes that say: If you are out of stickers, it’s no problem. Keep the $5 for your education.
And people say this is a mean world.
If you’d like a set of stickers for your very own, send an SASE and a $5 bill to:
Stick it to the Man
P.O. Box 3284
Columbus, OH 43210
Maddy will take your SASE and put three high-quality vinyl stickers – one of each design – in your envelope and mail it to you immediately. (If you send $10, she’ll send two sets; $15 will get you three sets). These are the nicest die-cut stickers we could find and should even be suitable for outdoor use, according to the manufacturer. The stickers are made in the United States, of course.
This is Maddy’s second job, by the way. She also intubates pigs for a research lab.
By the way, Katy has been making more wax and we have some up in her etsy store now. Check that out here – there’s plenty of time for Christmas delivery.
— Christopher Schwarz
