Lost Art Press

The State of Joinery in England

Posted on by Lost Art Press

The latest French work which treats of joinery is Rondelet’s “L’Art de Batir.” It is also the best foreign work on the subject that we have seen; but it is not at all adapted to the state of joinery in England. In practice, the French joiners are very much inferior to our own. Their work is rough, slovenly, and often clumsy, and at best is confined to external effect.

The neatness, soundness, and accuracy, which is common to every part of the works of an English joinery, is scarcely to be found in any part of the works of a French one. The little correspondence, in point of excellence, between their theory and practice, leads us to think that their theoretical knowledge is confined to architects, engineers, &c. instead of being diffused among workmen, as it is in this country.

In cabinet-work the French workmen are certainly superior, at least as far as regards external appearance; but when use, as well as ornament, is to be considered, our own countrymen must certainly carry away the palm.

— Encyclopaedia Britannica 7th Edition 1842 Joinery Article by Thomas Tredgold C.E.

So Many Dolls

Posted on by Lost Art Press

It must not be forgotten, however, that tools are for use, not for show. The man – and such, though scarce, are to be found – who regards his tools as if they were so many dolls, and is never weary of counting them, polishing the handles and arranging them, simply makes himself ridiculous.

On the other hand, the tools of some carvers might well complain of “offended dignity” (if they were entitled to any) on account of the careless manner in which they are thrown about the bench. They lie in every conceivable position, and present an appearance which (bar the horrors) might be taken to represent a deserted battlefield.

— The Cabinet Maker, Jan. 1, 1881, from the column “The Workman’s Corner.” This was a series of articles on tools, particularly carving tools, featured in the magazine. You can read the complete excerpts by downloading them from Jeff Burks’s web site via this link. All thanks to Jeff, who has been digging up and organizing some excellent material of late.

‘Make a Joint Stool’ Available in the U.K.

Posted on by Lost Art Press

“Make a Joint Stool from a Tree” is now available for sale at Classic Hand Tools Ltd. in the U.K. You can purchase the book (and other Lost Art Press books) using this link.

The price is £34.95.

In other foreign distribution news, Highland Hardware in Atlanta is also selling “Make a Joint Stool from a Tree.”

— Christopher Schwarz

165 Hours

Posted on by Lost Art Press

One of the biggest benefits of leaving my job at Popular Woodworking Magazine – the best job I’ve ever had – is that I don’t have a 45-minute commute each day to the office.

I have not squandered that dividend of time. I have spent almost every minute of free time during the last 44 weeks in my workshop, building stuff or trying stuff.

Since December, I’ve been focused on finishing this Campaign Secretary for an article in Popular Woodworking. Yes, I see the irony. But the truth is that I couldn’t get much woodworking done while sitting in traffic. So I welcome the trade-off. Heck, I embrace it.

As I shot this short video this evening I couldn’t feel the irony, the fatigue or the loss. All I could feel is gratitude. It sounds sappy, but without the support of the 4,000 Lost Art Press customers I’d be heating up cans of beans by the railroad track.

So to everyone who has bought one of our books since 2007, let me say thanks. You are the ones who have given me an extra 165 hours of time since June 2011. And your dollars have also gone to directly support the craftsmanship of Robert Wearing, Jennie Alexander and Peter Follansbee.

So this video is for you.

— Christopher Schwarz

A Joint Stool Comes to Greenbriar

Posted on by Lost Art Press


The two most difficult things to photograph in woodworking are plow planes and joint stools.

With plow planes there is not a single good angle that shows everything about the tool: the fence, the tote, the skate and the cutting action. With 17th-century joint stools, the problem is of parallax.

The four legs (or stiles) are angled in one direction but not another. As a result, when you take a photograph of the stool, the laws of parallax and perspective conspire to make the joint stool look all kinds of wrong. Sometimes the front legs look straight and the rear legs look hopelessly angled. Other times the whole stool looks like it is going to fall off the edge of the earth.

With a standard camera, it takes a lot of fussing and fooling to turn this gorgeous three-dimensional object into an equally gorgeous two-dimensional object.

Today I received a joint stool that I had purchased from Peter Follansbee. Wait, let me restate that. I purchased the awesome joint stool that is on the cover of “Make a Joint Stool from a Tree” by Jennie Alexander and Follansbee. I bought the stool for two reasons. One, I really like to support craftsmen I admire. Two, I wanted to have a joint stool to show customers when we are out selling the new book “Make a Joint Stool from a Tree.”

I’ve had a hard time explaining how cool joint stools are to customers when showing them the book. Having a joint stool makes that easy. This thing is awesome. If you are coming to the Lie-Nielsen show in Chicago on April 20-21 then you can experience this for yourself. I’m going to bring the joint stool so you can get your hands and eyes on it.

After I unwrapped the joint stool today, my daughter Katy was all over it. She’s actually sitting on it right now while playing Rock Band. While she was looking it over, I pulled out my camera and shot the following short video segment.

It’s hard to impress a 10-year-old girl. But Peter’s joint stool really did. And when you see this thing in person I have no doubt you’ll want to build one for yourself.

— Christopher Schwarz