During the final photo shoot of the Studley tool chest we removed all the tools (no small feat), lifted it off its cleats on the wall (it was surprisingly lightweight) and moved it across the room to photograph the back of the chest.
I have not been this nervous since making out with Kym Harper during “E.T.”
The great migration went smoothly. No hiccups. Don Williams, the author, cleaned the exterior of the case and then Narayan Nayar photographed the back. Me? I ate a scone.
Tomorrow we will reload the chest (no small feat) and take photographs of the chest with Studley’s workbench. And later this week, we are going to film a video about the chest. More details to come.
In the afternoon following the presentation based on my upcoming book, “Virtuoso: The Tool Chest of H.O. Studley” during the HandWorks extravaganza at the Amana Colonies in Iowa, I received many compliments on the talk along with the occasional, “Why did the other guys get all the good stuff?”
Huh?
Sure, I assigned Chris and Narayan the onerous task of providing the tool porn peep show accompanied by silent heavy breathing, but I got to present my burgeoning research on the life history of Studley as best we know it, recount the progress of the project to date beginning with that fateful phone call four years ago from the present owner, and explore one of the great mysteries surrounding the whole toolaholic soap opera.
What’s the deal with those vises?
I must not be the only one interested as the Saturday afternoon at HandWorks found a non-stop stream of attendees examining closely the vise loaned to me for the project by woodworker Tim Cottle.
I have become so enamored of Studley’s bench and vises that I often find myself seduced by their Siren Song. In laying the foundation for ongoing book research, I have been gathering information on the 11 known vises of similar design and function. In one correspondence exchange, an owner indicated a willingness to part with his. He had purchased a bench with two Studley-esque vises at a defunct piano factory auction in 1985. That purchase had provided a robust platform for his furniture design and construction endeavors for almost three decades, and now he was trying to reduce his footprint. In the end he agreed for me to become the next steward of this treasure, and on my way home from Amana I picked it up. He noted it being a bittersweet day, sad at parting with a beloved tool, but excited at finding the perfect new home for it. As we parted he said something like, “There isn’t anyone who should have it more than you.” I am truly honored.
Having spent the intervening week with Jameel and Father John Abraham, much of the time ogling tool pictures on each others’ laptops, my brain was in hyperdrive about the vises as I drove last Monday from Canton, Ohio, to Rochester, N.Y., to Monterey, Va., wearily pulling into the driveway after more than 16 hours on the road. I slept well that night, but I dreamed of heavy iron.
I fully intend to combine the best features of each of these 11 vises into a near-perfect new prototype; each one (or each pair) has unique features that impart wondrous utility. Will my new version be good enough to replace my Emmert K1s in my heart? Who knows. But the potential is spectacular.
I will continue to chronicle the firing-on-all-cylinders research for my Studley book and the pedal-to-the-metal progress of the Roubo volumes here at the Lost Art Press blog (I signed off on the final galleys of Roubo on Marquetry on Saturday morning), while this new part of the adventure will be addressed over at donsbarn.com. At the moment I am even contemplating the acquisition of some mahogany slabs for a new workbench as a new home for these new (to me) vises, but that might seem a pathetic desperate measure to emulate the insane brilliance of the Studley Ensemble.
But isn’t imitation the sincerest form of flattery?
Several weeks ago I made the long journey to Iowa for the HandWorks tool event being held at the Amana Colonies. Because many woodworkers were unable to attend the event, I have assembled a gallery of photographs to help document everything that transpired. I’d like to thank Jameel Abraham and his entire family for putting together one of the best woodworking shows I have ever attended.
I would suggest asking any questions about the content of the photos here in the Lost Art Press comments section. Since many of the show presenters are also readers of this blog, you may actually get an answer. The presenters are welcome to make free use of these photos at their discretion.
Our H.O. Studley T-shirts are now for sale in our store for $20 plus domestic shipping. The front of the shirt features the engraved nameplate fastened to Henry O. Studley’s famous tool chest. The back of the shirts have the name of the forthcoming book by Don Williams: “Virtuoso: The Toolbox of Henry O. Studley.”
These T-shirts are made from 90-percent cotton/10 percent polyester by American Apparel in California. The screen printing is done in Indiana. Sizes available are medium, large, x-large and XXL.
Don Williams (left) and Narayan Nayar (Mr. Spock) during the Studley presentation Saturday morning.
We just wrapped up two days at the Handworks show in Amana, Iowa, and loaded almost nothing back into the van for the return trip – except for some T-shirts and one box of books.
Dang it was a good show.
With about 31 minutes left until my bedtime, here is a quick rundown of some of our current projects and their status.
Our new ‘corporate’ sign, carved by David Bignell. Details to follow.
‘To Make as Perfectly as Possible: Roubo on Marquetry’
The layout and editing is complete, with us just cleaning up some typographical errors. Our goal: To get the deluxe book to the printer by the end of June. If we succeed, it will ship out at the end of July.
We are planning on printing 600 and we have sold more than 400 already. If you would like to place a $100 deposit on one, there is still time. Send an e-mail to john@lostartpress.com to get on the list. We hope to have a final price in early June.
The trade edition (which will cost about $60) will follow shortly behind to the press. More details on that as we know them.
Vintage register calipers that Jeff Burks gave me at Handworks. Yes, I suck a turd.
‘Virtuoso: The Toolbox of H.O. Studley’
At Handworks, we made our first presentation that discussed this project in detail with an entire hour of photos, commentary and details on the tools in the chest and the life of H.O. Studley. If you weren’t there, I’m afraid you will have to wait until we publish the book for full details.
When will that be? Don’t hold your breath. Author Don Williams needs to complete the two Roubo volumes before the Studley book will come out. It will be at least two years before this book is in print. So save your pennies (it will be worth it).
Other updates on books:
‘By Hand & Eye’ by George R Walker and Jim Tolpin has arrived. It looks great and is entering the mail stream now.
‘Art of the Saw: Making Sharpening & Use’ by Andrew Lunn will be released in 2014 – Andrew is scheduled to turn the book over to us at the end of 2013.
‘Campaign Furniture’ by Christopher Schwarz will also be complete at the end of 2013 and released in early 2014.
‘Art of Joinery’ by Joseph Moxon. Megan Fitzpatrick is smoothing over the text a bit to make sure we have all the long “s” characters correct. I really want to get this out before Christmas.
Joiner’s Hats: Yup. We are making these and will have some more details in the coming weeks. If you don’t like baseball hats, you might like these. Or not.
That is the news on the latest products. I’ll post more about our new corporate sign and upcoming projects in the coming weeks.
— Christopher Schwarz
Dave Jeske of Blue Spruce Toolworks builds (again) a workbench to use during the Handworks show.
