Lost Art Press

Anarchist Gift Guide Day 9: Helix Angle and Circle Maker

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Call me Roman, but I use a lot of circles and arcs in my work. And while I have a bunch of compasses, they aren’t great for the small stuff – like a 1/8″-diameter circle. I also have some plastic circle templates, but they aren’t easy to center on my drawings.

Enter the Helix Angle and Circle Maker (here’s the Amazon link; I prefer to buy from Dick Blick). It’s about $5 to $6 and is a fantastic little tool for making all manner of circles. For the really small circles – 1/8″ to 1″ diameter – the Helix has traditional holes in the clear part of the tool. 

For bigger circles – 1″ up to 2″ – the Helix really shines. You place the centerpoint of the tool on your work. Then you choose a hole for the radius you desire – they are graduated in 1/16s. Then you inscribe the outside of the circle by spinning the clear disc in the middle of the tool. (It works like an old Spirograph, but more boring.)

The Helix also does some other cool tricks. It allows you to measure the radius of a circle easily, which is handy. And it works as a traditional protractor – the degrees are marked on the colored plastic ring.

I’m sure it does other tricks as well, though I have yet to find its bottle opener.

Yes, it’s a piece of plastic from China. But you can use its powers for good by building wooden furniture that lasts forever. (Ya know, using the tools of your oppressors and all.)

— Christopher Schwarz

Read other entries from The Anarchist’s Gift Guide here.

Anarchist Gift Guide Day 8: Wisdom Supply Co. Binder

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I’m no hippie, but I’ve never liked waste. It offends me to throw away something because it can’t be repaired. But that’s the norm in our society.

Take three-ring binders, for example. We use binders all the time to keep manuscripts organized as they move through the publishing process. But I also use binders to keep my furniture designs organized. With a three-hold punch, I can arrange all my drawings, supply lists, sketches and notes in one place where I can reference them again. 

Sadly, plastic binders are terrible. The plastic hinges wear out, and the covers become separated from the mechanism that holds the papers. You can fix it with duct tape, but that is usually a temporary solution.

Enter Wisdom Supply Co., a small company that focuses on eliminating waste with office supplies. They sell a binder “kit” that allows you to replace the parts that wear out. And you can easily recycle the worn-out bits.

Basically, the binder arrives disassembled. You screw the 1” binder mechanism to the exterior boards with post screws – a three-minute job. You also get some tabbed dividers and a pocket folder. The cardboard cover is made from recycled materials and can be recycled when it wears out. You can then buy a replacement cover for less than $6. 

And that is how all things should work – cars, tools, furniture, appliances.

Wisdom Supply also sells folders and planners that work on the same principle. I haven’t used them, but I hope to soon. As I love to both fold and plan. Ask anyone.

— Christopher Schwarz

Read other entries from The Anarchist’s Gift Guide here.

Use a Laser for Compound-angle Drilling

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Several readers asked how to use a laser for drilling compound angles in chairmaking after I posted my love letter to green lasers.

Here it is with some important caveats: 

  1. Yes, you can use two lasers like Greg Pennington does. If you have two lasers, go for it. I have only one.
  2. I use lasers as a teaching tool or when I am drilling weirdo angles that are unfamiliar to me. Once you get the feel for drilling routine mortises you might set the laser aside. You might not. Either way is fine by me and the portion of humanity that is kind and decent.
  3. Yes, alternately you can use a mirror. Or a spotter who holds a stick or a bar clamp or straightedge. Or the Force.

So here’s the deal: When you drill an angle – any angle – you can easily see whether you are tilted too far left or right. It’s difficult, however, to see if you are tilted too far forward or backward. The laser acts as a spotter to guide you forward or backward.

The driller can see if the drill needs to be shifted left or right. (Note the laser line passing through both mortises).

To do this, position the laser 90° to where you are standing. Shoot the laser so its line intersects both mortise holes in a chair (or tilt it to the desired angle, such as 81°). Now stand in position to drill the hole. Tilt your drill left or right until you are lined up with both mortises. 

The drill bit is in the correct position when the laser shoots up the shaft of the drill bit.

Then tilt the drill forward or back until the laser line shoots up the middle of the drill bit. Drill – and keep the laser line centered on the shaft of the bit. After you drill through the arm, position the lead screw of the bit on the mortise location on the seat. Again, line up the laser. Use your fingers to keep the bit centered in the mortise in the arm. Drill the mortise in the seat.

Move on to the next hole, moving the laser so it is always 90° to your drilling position.

And that’s it.

— Christopher Schwarz

Use your fingers (and the laser) to guide the drilling into the seat.

Anarchist Gift Guide Day 7: Leatherman Skeletool

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When Leatherman released its first multi-tool, I immediately bought one. I can’t tell you how many times I have been stuck somewhere without a set of tools. The Leatherman seemed to be a great stop-gap for when you needed some makeshift pliers, or a screwdriver, knife or file.

But after using it a few times, I found it insanely uncomfortable (among its other limitations). So I threw it in a drawer and instead filled a small Klein canvas bag with essential tools and stashed it in my truck.

Fast-forward more than 25 years. I’m at the farm of my friend Narayan, and he is using one of these tools in the field. Really using it. Carrying it on his belt every day. I asked to take a look.

It was the Leatherman Skeletool, and it was nothing like my old boxy Leatherman. The handles are ergonomic, the build quality is much better and all the tools work well, if not superbly.

Gone are all the oddball tools that you won’t need unless you are fishing on an asteroid. Instead, you have heavy-duty pliers with wire cutters. There’s a good knife that locks in the open position – like a traditional locking folding knife. Plus a hex-bit chuck (a Phillips and straight driver are on board) that will take standard hex bits Leatherman’s flat bits. You can buy lots of these flat bits from Leatherman (I did).

Plus there is a carabiner that works as a bottle opener.

The Skeletool comes in three colors (I got it in green so I could easily find it). And there are some customizable options for the fancy lads. The base Skeletool is $65, made from stainless steel and is made in Portland, Ore. I’ve been using mine regularly and am so glad I gave the company a second chance.

— Christopher Schwarz

Read other entries from The Anarchist’s Gift Guide here.

Pencils Back in Stock (Plus Noodling!)

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First, Lost Art Press pencils are back in stock. Made in the USA to our specifications, these pencils are robust shop companions and come in a nicely fitted box.

Second, here’s why they’re back in stock, despite these dark days.

When I got my first taste of corporate publishing in 1996, I learned all about the print brokers in Hong Kong. These wizards managed every aspect of your book’s production and delivered a very high-quality print job – plus they did it for half the price of any domestic printer.

The only disadvantage to the system was that your book could take six months to make its way from China to your warehouse.

When we started Lost Art Press in 2007, it would have been easy to call my contacts at Regent Publishing Services Ltd. and crank up book production cheaply and quickly. But John and I decided to do everything in the USA. Why? The toolmakers we admire – especially Thomas Lie-Nielsen – manage to manufacture things here. And one morning before sunrise, I watched Thomas lead his employees in stretches and then hand out everyone’s paychecks – thanking each employee as he handed them a check. That image stuck in my craw. Or was it my gizzard?

We have nothing against the Chinese – I promise. But we feel we have a responsibility to help our neighbors. And keeping the money here in the States certainly does that.

OK, back to the pencil story. We’ve had problems getting paper and cotton cover cloth during the last 18 months. But our problems are nothing compared to other publishers. In Europe and the UK, some publishers are completely out of paper and won’t be printing again until next year.

Because we make everything here, we don’t worry about container ships lined up at ports. Sure, things are a little slower than years past, but it’s a small miracle to call up your pencil supplier, order 1,000 and see them arrive – just four weeks later.

To which I say: Thanks, neighbor.

— Christopher Schwarz