Lost Art Press

The No. 1 complaint we get these days is from people who are impatiently waiting for a book or tool that we’re still working on. While we try to answer as many of these questions as possible, I thought it time to update our readers on why things seem slower than usual.

Printing Plant Woes
We use two printing plants, and both are experiencing difficulties. Our Tennessee plant has been purchased by new owners (a private equity firm) and they threw out the printing schedule for the first half of 2019. Our Michigan plant is dealing with a different challenge. Because of the closure of other printing plants, the Michigan plant has been slammed with work, slowing all the jobs.

We have been looking for alternatives, but finding the right quality at the right price takes time. Switching printing plants isn’t as easy as changing your underwear. It’s more like changing spouses (or so I hear).

Changing House
Both John and I are in the midst of selling our houses and moving to new digs. Lucy and I are getting our Ft. Mitchell home ready for sale and are working to make the apartment above the Lost Art Press storefront livable (or at least not completely like camping). So patching, painting, dealing with contractors, real estate agents and the like have slowed me and John significantly.

Other Family Stuff
I try not to let my personal life leak into the blog, but the last two years have been a trial. Taking care of my father until his death last February was part of it. But just as significant has been trying to settle his estate, sort out all his possessions and take care of my duties as the executor and a trustee of the trusts he set up. I spend a significant amount of time each week working with attorneys, bankers, tax accountants and money managers. The estate and trust do not represent a lot of money, but they are a huge black hole of time and energy. And I don’t see that black hole closing up soon.

So all this is to apologize. Projects that should be done (“Make a Chair from a Tree,” “The Anarchist’s Design Book” expansion and the other 21 active book projects in our queue) are moving at a slow pace. And things will be slow until John and I are settled in our new homes, the printing plants get their schedules evened out and the lawyers stop sending me emails every day asking for form 27B/6.

I suspect this blog entry will generate a host of comments along the lines of: “Any word on Andrew Lunn’s saw book….” and the like. My answer is going to be: Please re-read this entry.

I hope this helps explain why we’re behind schedule and allays any concerns that we are losing interest in the business. Nothing could be further from reality.

– Christopher Schwarz

You can now buy “The Book of Plates” by A.-J. Roubo for just $49 – a significant savings from the regular $120 price. This the first sale we’ve had since we started Lost Art Press in 2007, and it likely will be the last.

This is a huge book – 11” x 17”. Printed in the United States on #100 Mohawk paper. Sewn and bound in Michigan. Beautifully made.

The book features all of the drawings (called “plates”) from André Roubo’s masterpiece “l’Art du menuisier.” There are detailed drawings of every kind of furniture form, plus tools, interior trim and architectural woodwork, carriage making, marquetry and garden furniture. It’s a fascinating and illustrated look into the 18th century world of material culture and woodwork.

Why is it on sale? We ordered way too many – a huge mistake. And the storage fees are significant for this book because of its size. Our choice: recycle the books for pulp or try to sell them at a crazy low price. We chose the latter because we hate to see such workmanship destroyed.

This is the last chance you’ll have to buy this book new. We won’t be reprinting it. So order now (or email us in 10 years begging us to reprint it….).

— Christopher Schwarz

Recently I wrote about the vintage chalkboard protector I use for laying out precise angles in woodworking. Now Ed Sutton at FirstlightWorks makes a version that is far nicer than my old screen-printed tool.

The Firstlight protractor is laser cut from 6mm birch ply and is 12” long along its baseline. The large size is what gives these tools their advantage. Suddenly, marking an angle to a third of a degree is child’s play.

Ed sells them to customers inside the UK plus those in Europe and the U.S. After the currency conversion, the protractor cost me a bit more than $40 (which includes shipping). It’s a small price to pay for the precision.

I ordered one today. Full confession: This is a tool we had considered making for Crucible. Ed beat us to it. Nice work, Ed.

— Christopher Schwarz

Derek Jones, the editor of Furniture & Cabinetmaking Magazine in the UK is making his first trip to the U.S. this summer to teach classes at the Marc Adams School of Woodworking.

I haven’t mentioned this fact on the blog because I assumed his classes would sell out in an instant. Derek’s classes in the U.K. and Germany fill up very quickly. But I was surprised last week to hear there are still spaces in these classes.

Derek is a great teacher – incredibly knowledgeable, skilled and experienced. I’ve worked with him during several teaching assignments in the U.K. and he is top-notch. What is most notable (for me) is how Derek manages to squeeze some great craftsmanship from woodworkers of all skill-levels.

Here are details on the two classes. If you have the time and inclination this summer, I promise that you will not be disappointed.

On July 15-19, Derek is teaching a class in building a half-size English tool chest. These are gorgeous little chests, and the class teaches you a ton about hand-cut joinery (especially dovetails). Derek has taught this class all over Europe and the results are impressive.

Then, on July 20-21, Derek teaches a short course on building a deluxe Moxon vise. Derek’s version includes a benchtop behind the rear jaw that makes transferring the shape of the tailboard to the pinboard an easy operation. Plus, you get to cut some very cool dovetails.

I’ve known Derek for many years – as a competitor and a compatriart. He’s an A+ woodworker who came up from the professional ranks in the UK. He is incredibly skilled, funny (my daughters adore him) and really knows how to teach.

Really, honestly and truly, take a class from him if you can.

— Christopher Schwarz

During the last few years I’ve sought out images of vernacular stick chairs from places other than Wales, Ireland and Scotland. Unsurprisingly, stick chairs can usually be found in any place where there was hardship and a strong desire to sit upright.

These chairs are likely user-made. And they are almost always dismissed by furniture historians as “crude,” “rudimentary” or “rough.”

This week I hit the jackpot and found some nice Canadian stick chairs in “The Furniture of Old Ontario” by Philip Shackleton (Macmillan of Canada, 1973). Most of the book celebrates the glossy, curvy, carve-y stuff that makes me feel dead inside. But there are several pages of really good stick chairs.

The captions on the photos mostly discuss how roughly the chairs were built. Or they deliver a backhand compliment such as “Despite the crude qualities of the chair, its elm seat has been shaped somewhat in the saddle tradition.”

Oh well, thanks for the photos. (And thanks to John Porritt – I first found this book in his chair library.)

— Christopher Schwarz