Lost Art Press

Sold out: A Few Black-leather ‘The Anarchist’s Tool Chest’ Books Available

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After doing a complete inventory here at Lost Art Press, we found that we had five black-leather copies of “The Anarchist’s Tool Chest” still available. And so we are going to offer them for sale here on the blog.

Two of the copies are both lettered and signed. Three of the copies are signed but not lettered. Updated: We have two unlettered copies now. I am willing to sign them with a “silent Q.”

“Huh?” you might be asking yourself.

When we do a run of leather copies we send unbound book blocks to the bindery. We always have to send extra book blocks because some of the blocks are unacceptable to the guys at Ohio Book. So we will send 30 book blocks and hope to get 26 back – one for each letter of the alphabet.

This time we got 29 black-leather books back.

So we are selling these five off for the same price of $185 – that total includes USPS Priority shipping in the United States. First come, first serve. Just drop me a line at chris@lostartpress.com.

The first two orders will receive lettered copies. The next three will get the unlettered ones. Apologies in advance, but we can’t ship internationally yet. If you can supply a U.S. address, we can make it work.

— Christopher Schwarz

A Different Drawer

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Woodworking writers love to get to the end of the story where they can simply state: Build the drawers in the usual manner and apply your favorite finish. And enjoy!

This is, by the way, a bit of laziness or secretiveness. Some writers don’t want to reveal how they really finish a piece. Finishing is still a state secret for some professionals.

As to drawers, this morning I finished up work on the drawer for a Charleston table reproduction from the Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts. And let me tell you this drawer was a lot of fun to construct because it is not built in the usual manner.

What’s the “usual” manner?

1. Through-dovetails at the rear of the drawer.
2. Half-blind dovetails at the front.
3. The drawer bottom slides into the drawer box from the back and rests in a groove in the sides and drawer front.

For this early 18th-century drawer, here’s what we’ve got:

1. Through-dovetails at the rear.
2. Half-blinds at the front.
3. A drawer front that is wider than the drawer sides.
4. A bottom that is nailed onto the drawer’s sides and back.
5. The bottom edge of the drawer front is rounded over, on both the inside and outside corners.

I have a theory. Wanna hear it?

The rounded-over drawer front is the same profile used on the stretchers at the bottom of the piece. Perhaps it was a conscious design decision. Or perhaps the drawer front was originally planned to be a stretcher.

In any case, I had to be wary of wood movement with this drawer. If I’d simply glued the bottom on the drawer frame the bottom would likely split or ruin the drawer frame. So here’s what I did: (Man what’s with all these lists? It’s like I work for USA Today.)

1. Glued the drawer bottom to the backside of the drawer front.
2. Glued the bottom to the drawer sides – but only for the first 4” or 5”.
3. Nailed the bottom on with 4d cut headless brads.

(Edit: Robert Lang, who measured the piece, had Megan Fitzpatrick call me to tell me I forgot a rabbet in the backside of the drawer front. And yup, I did. There is a rabbet behind the drawer front that the drawer bottom rests in. Below is Bob’s drawing of how it should look.)

The glue will keep the drawer bottom tight at the front. The nails will flex and allow the bottom to expand and contract.

I hope.

Now I just have to apply my favorite finish (green or blue?) and turn a knob.

— Christopher Schwarz

How to Manually Add a Kindle Book to Your iPad or iPhone

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Several readers who have purchased the Kindle version of “The Anarchist’s Tool Chest” have asked how to add it to their iPhone or iPad and read it with the Kindle app.

This was once a difficult process, but with an update to the Kindle app in January it’s easy. So the first thing to do is make sure you are running the newest version of the Kindle app.

Now connect your iPad or iPhone to your computer and launch iTunes.

Click on your device in the left-hand sidebar of iTunes. Now click on the “Apps” tab at the top of the page.

Scroll down a bit and you will see a section called “File Sharing.” And your Kindle app will be listed. Click on the Kindle app.

Now you can add your Kindle version of the book to the app. Simply click “Add” and navigate to the file. The next time you sync your device, the book will be waiting for you in the Home section of the Kindle app.

— Christopher Schwarz

Download Jacob Abbott’s ‘Boy’s Own Workshop’

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“Ebenezer,” continued John, ” I have come to ask you a question for my mother. I want her to buy me a chest of tools, and she says she will, if you think it is a good plan. And I knew you would think it was a good plan.”

“No,” said Ebenezer, “I don’t think any such thing.”

“Why not?” asked John, much surprised.

“Because boys can’t do anything with carpenter’s tools,” said Ebenezer.

“Why, yes,” said John, “I could make a great many things with them. Think how many things you can do with your tools.”

“What you need most,” said Ebenezer, “in making things is skill, not tools.”

“Skill!” repeated John, much surprised. “We could not do anything if we had ever so much skill, unless we had tools to work with.”

“That is possible,” said Ebenezer; “but still, if you have skill, you can do a great many things with very few tools, but without the skill you cannot do anything, if you have all the tools in the world. To give a chest of tools to a boy who does not know how to use them, is like giving a pair of spectacles and a telescope to a blind man.”

Jacob Abbot’s “Boy’s Own Workshop” is a fine little book about a boy named John Gay and his driving passion to build things from wood – everything from a workbench to a pond for his little brother, Benny. Though your 21st-century eyes might find the language stilted and the lessons a bit on the Victorian side, I urge you to give it a serious look. (Dude, it’s a free book.)

If you can look past the 1866-era mores, you will find that John Gay has the heart of a true craftsman. He wants to learn how to do things right – he is willing to sign on as an apprentice with a local carpenter. And he takes great pains to do his work neatly.

And while John Gay is someone we might all identify with, the real hero of the book is Ebenezer, the 18-year-old carpenter who guides John’s education as a woodworker. Despite his young age in the book, Ebenezer dispenses the kind of wisdom that 21st-century woodworkers need.

His patience for the craft rubs off on John. His maxims for workbench design are in line with mine, for the most part. Ebenezer doesn’t think John should build a tool chest – his reasons are interesting. And his lessons on layout are worth the price of the book (dude, it’s free).

If Google Books didn’t have such an excellent scan of this book, I’d would consider republishing it. But there is no need. Go and get this book for your computer or portable reader. It’s just the thing to read as the nights get colder.

Download “Boy’s Own Workshop” from Google Books.

— Christopher Schwarz

Kindle Version of ‘The Anarchist’s Tool Chest’

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“The Anarchist’s Tool Chest” is now available in a completely DRM-free format for Kindle for $16.

This is exactly the same book – same words, photos and drawings – we have been offering since June 2011. But with the ePub version you will be able to search the entire book, write electronic notes in the margins, change the font size and (of course) carry it with you anywhere on any Kindle or Kindle app.

This Kindle version of the book is served by Lost Art Press – not Amazon – so you will be able to easily backup the file and freely move it among your electronic devices.

Unlike many electronic book files, we chose to make ours without DRM – the acronym for “digital rights management.” Many Kindle files with DRM are a pain to use. You might be restricted from copying the file for backup, or even simply copying and pasting passages from the book.

Frankly, DRM doesn’t jibe well with the philosophy of the book, the author or Lost Art Press.

Because you will download the Kindle version from us and not Amazon, you have to move it onto your Kindle manually. This is an easy process (even easier than adding a book to the iPad). Amazon offers this tutorial:

Transfer Files to your Kindle via USB

To purchase this electronic book, simply add it to your shopping cart. After you check out you will immediately be given the link to download it. If you are an international customer, the process is different. Send $16 U.S. to john@lostartpress.com via PayPal and we will send you the link manually.

Click here to visit our store and order the Kindle version.

— Christopher Schwarz