Lost Art Press

Update on ‘Mouldings in Practice’

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We are finishing up work on Matt Bickford’s “Mouldings in Practice” book this week. It should be off to the printer next week and – barring any wackiness – in stock by the end of July or early August.

First some details on the book and then a warning.

Details. We could have called this “Matt’s Big Book of Mouldings.” It is big. It’s going to be in a 7” x 10” format with more than 250 pages of text, photos and illustrations. And it’s the illustrations that are key. Matt drew more than 200 mouldings in process to show exactly what is going on at each stage.

The book is divided into two major sections. The first is on the moulding planes themselves – how to tune and sharpen them. Then Matt goes on to explain how to lay out and execute the rabbets and chamfers that will create the desired profile.

Wait, rabbets and chamfers? Indeed. We could have called this “Matt’s Big Book of Mostly Rabbets and Chamfers.” These two basic shapes are the key to creating consistent results. There are also chapters on plow planes, side rounds and snipes bills, and their role in making mouldings.

The second section of “Mouldings in Practice” takes eight high-style period pieces and deconstructs the mouldings on them and shows you how to make them, step by step. Matt studied these pieces at Nathan Liverant and Son Antiques in Colchester, Conn. This part of the book is nearly 80 pages long and is very cool. It’s one thing to talk about sample mouldings. It’s another thing to work with the real-deal stuff.

There are also some appendices on sticking boards, capturing moulding shapes from existing pieces and dealing with antique planes. And (wait for it) an index.

Like all Lost Art Press books, this will be produced and printed entirely in the United States. Acid-free paper. Smythe-sewn binding. Cotton-covered hardbound. All the drawings will be in full-color. The photos are black and white. We don’t have a retail price yet – probably less than $40. We will offer pre-orders with free shipping and a bonus digital download (more details on that later). We do not know which (if any) of our retailers will carry the book yet.

Now the warning.

If you’ve been looking for hollows and rounds in preparation for this book, you might have had some trouble. Ed Lebetkin, who runs the shop above The Woodwright’s School, reports that he cannot keep certain sizes in stock because of the high demand.

Likewise, there is going to be some strong demand to take classes from Matt himself. He’ll be teaching his methods at three places this summer. Here are some links. If you want to get a jump-start on this part of the craft, the book and some instruction from Matt are a fantastic way to go.

July 7-9: Using Wooden Moulding Planes at The Connecticut Valley School of Woodworking, in Manchester, Conn.

Aug. 18-19: Hand Planed Mouldings at Lie-Nielsen Toolworks in Warren, Maine.

Sept. 15-16: Molding Planes with Matt Bickford at The Acanthus Workshop in Pottstown, Penn.

— Christopher Schwarz

2 Spots Available in the ‘Hammer in Hand’ Class

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Because of a cancellation, there are two spots open in my “Hammer in Hand” class at The Center for Furniture Craftsmanship on July 16-20 in Rockport, Maine.

The class is $695 and we will build three (yes, three) projects: A Moxon double-screw vise in maple, a very useful shooting board and the dovetailed Schoolbox in Eastern white pine, my favorite project from “The Joiner and Cabinet Maker.”

For more details on the class, or to sign up, click here.

The class is during a particularly fun time to visit Maine because the awesome Lie-Nielsen Open House occurs during the Friday and Saturday before the class. The factory is a short drive from the Center for Furniture Craftsmanship. I’ll be at the open house, as will people far more talented, including Chuck Bender, Christian Becksvoort, Tico Vogt and Matt Bickford. (Speaking of Mr. Bickford, we will be showing off the galley proofs of his upcoming book “Mouldings in Practice.” Yes, it’s done.) Get all the details on the open house event here.

So do what I did: Blow off your job and come to Maine next month. Or as Evelle Stokes says in “Raising Arizona”: “H.I., you’re young and you got your health, what you want with a job?”

— Christopher Schwarz

October 1951

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For him there need be no looking back wistfully to days when the toil of workshop or factory or office desk perforce kept his life filled. He will have in his skilful fingers the power to recreate his life anew so long as the power to work remains with him, something in which he can be happy and absorbed and be for ever learning, something too which will enable him to add to the attractiveness of his home and give pleasure to his friends. For woodwork is indeed a homely craft, adapting itself to all sorts of conditions. It can be plain or decorative, it can range from indoor and outdoor furnishings to a child’s toy and the humble window wedge. It can embrace both the classical elegance of an inlaid cabinet and a strictly utilitarian kitchen fitting, and each thing in itself be so honestly and truly made as to be perfect of its kind. It can give a man scope for his fancy and every kind of ingenuity. It will both exercise his patience and add to his serenity, for there is something very kindly about wood. It can keep the spirit of creation alive in him till his tools are put away for the last time, since to us all “the night cometh when no man can work.” But at least he will have lived. And who knows what new possibilities will dawn for him when the night ends?

— The Woodworker, October 1951

Which Workbench? Whatever

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What is the best kind of workbench? It’s simple: Any bench that allows you to easily work on the edges, faces and ends of boards and assemblies. Everything else beyond that is tradition or personal preference.

Those of you who have read my first book, “Workbenches: From Design and Theory to Construction and Use,” might recognize that statement. It’s the core thesis of the book.

I’m repeating it here, five years later, because anytime I teach a workbench class I get asked by readers why I’ve changed my philosophy of constructing workbenches. Why have I abandoned the sliding dovetail joint? Eschewed the wooden spindle? Flushed my thoughts about using pine?

Truth is, I haven’t abandoned or changed a thing about what makes a good bench. Make it solid. Use the best joints you can. Use the cheapest material that is the stiffest and heaviest. Make it as long as your space will allow.

The rest is noise.

So why am I building old-world French workbenches without a sliding dovetail through the top? Because we had to make these benches in five days with limited equipment.

Why did we use French oak for the top instead of Scot’s pine or fir? Because that was what was stacked there when I arrived.

Why are the benches only 2 meters (6’) in length? Because that was the longest size that the students’ shops could handle. Many had to cut their tops down even shorter.

Why didn’t we use a wooden spindle for the face vise? Because we couldn’t find any in Europe that were reasonably priced.

And on and on.

Once you recognize the essence of the problem – the workbench is a 3-dimensional clamping surface – you just need to get there by the best route possible.

— Christopher Schwarz

SketchUp Plans for the Metric Roubo

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France was the first country to adopt the metric system, so a French-style workbench drawn in metric seems appropriate.

I’ve uploaded the SketchUp drawing for the workbench we just completed at the Dictum GmbH workshop to the SketchUp 3D Warehouse. You can download it (free, of course), from the warehouse here and play around with it.

The model includes nine scenes that show the construction process, step-by-step.

— Christopher Schwarz