Category: Uncategorized

Artist Wendy Neathery-Wise is now selling her handmade bronze apron hooks in her etsy.com store.

I have been using the one she made for me for a couple weeks and really, really, really like it. Really!

It’s a great little gadget for those of us who aren’t good at tying apron strings behind our backs. I am terrible at this simple task, even though I have been doing it since my days as a fishmonger in high school.

The apron hook works with any string apron. All you do is tie one of the strings to the base of the hook – use a double knot and tie it tight. With the other apron string, tie it into a loop that is knotted at its base. Make this knot at the point where the apron is comfortable.

You are done.

Put the apron on and hook the hook into the loop. Now your apron fits the same way every time and it is easy to put on and take off.

Wendy has two designs – the one shown above that features dividers and the English layout square on the cover of “The Anarchist’s Tool Chest.” The other one features a French workbench.

They are very cool old-school, handmade shop accessories. Check them out and buy one here and here.

— Christopher Schwarz

Jennie Alexander has asked for help getting a full cite on a quotation that gets thrown out a lot in the world of hand-tool woodworking.

Here’s the quote: “Because people are dead, it does not follow that they were stupid.”

This is often attributed to David Pye and is said to be from his book “The Nature and Art of Workmanship” (Cambridge University Press, 1968). I don’t have this book (shame on me, I know).

If you own this book, could you check the above quote to make sure it’s accurate and report back the page number?

Your help is much appreciated.

— Christopher Schwarz

“Shaker Side Table,” my latest DVD with Lie-Nielsen Toolworks, is now in stock through the Lost Art Press store.

It is $40 plus domestic shipping. Click here to see it in the store.

The reason this DVD is so expensive is because it is more than four hours long. In it, I show every operation in building this table completely by hand, from tapering the legs to applying the finish. The DVD is, in essence, all the demonstrations I would show students during a week-long class on building this table.

Also, I am not a quiet worker. During every operation I continue to talk, explaining the method I’m using and the pros and cons of alternative methods.

As a result, the DVD is dense with information. And like a growler of imperial IPA, it is not designed to be consumed all in one sitting.

When the DVD came out, I was terrified that viewers would recoil at the length of the program. It is longer than any woodworking DVD I’ve been involved with. To my surprise, reaction has been good. Very good in fact.

My next DVD with Lie-Nielsen, which they are editing now, will be a similar approach to building a boarded chest entirely by hand. So if you like the side table DVD, you’ll probably like the boarded chest video as well.

As always, these DVDs are possible only because of the good people at Lie-Nielsen Toolworks. Left to my own devices, I would never appear in a DVD (or teach a class, or talk to a woodworking club, or attend a show). I look like a lab animal and sound like a barking dog. But Thomas Lie-Nielsen is of the mind that many woodworkers like to learn using video, and he’s right.

— Christopher Schwarz

Starting next week, all the books that I’ve written that we sell through Lost Art Press will be signed via a letterpress bookplate.

For the last six months, I’ve been signing the books via a simple adhesive label. We wanted something nicer. These bookplates are about five times nicer and 32 times as expensive.

These self-adhesive bookplates measure 2-3/8” x 2-3/4” and were printed at Steam Whistle Letterpress and Design in Cincinnati, Ohio. The bookplates are on acid-free Mohawk stock and were hand-set and printed on vintage equipment restored by Brian Stuparyk at Steam Whistle.

If you need some letterpress work (invitations, business cards, whatever), I highly recommend his shop. Brian has been obsessed with printing since he was a kid and has quite the collection of vintage machines and type.

As a convenience, we are also offering these signed self-adhesive bookplates by themselves for $2 (that price includes shipping). That way you can affix them in a book you have purchased from one of our retailers. Let me repeat that in a different way: All books sold by Lost Art Press that are written by Christopher Schwarz are already signed by him via this bookplate. You don’t need to buy this item if you are buying a book from us. This item is for people who have bought a book from another retailer and want to add his signature to it.

Here’s the link to the item in our store.

Here are some quick answers to questions we’ve received about signed books.

1. Why use a label or bookplate? Why don’t you just sign the book itself?

Our inventory is in Indiana. I am in Kentucky. There simply are not enough hours in the day for me to drive to Indiana and sign all our books. Until the day comes when we can consolidate all our operations in one city, this is the best that we can do.

2. Why don’t you offer these bookplates signed by other authors?

I suspect we will do that in the future. It’s a time-consuming process, and our first goal is to produce books, not get them autographed by the author.

3. Can I get you to sign my book with no bookplate?

Sure, just show up at one of the places I am teaching (my schedule is in the right rail of the blog). I’ll sign your book, your bare chest, whatever.

— Christopher Schwarz