We will start selling Crucible Lump Hammers at noon Eastern on Wednesday. You can read all the details here. If you have questions or need assistance with Crucible, please use the help@crucibletool.com address. Sending questions to Lost Art Press will only delay the response.
— Christopher Schwarz
Joshua Klein of Mortise & Tenon Magazine is coming all the way from Maine to celebrate the release of his book “Hands Employed Aright.” He’ll be around the shop during the day for the Open House, then from 7-10 p.m., we’re hosting Joshua and his wife, Julia, for a reading and celebration – and you’re invited!
“Hand Employed Aright: The Furniture Making of Jonathan Fisher (1768-1847)” is a rare peek into the life of an early American woodworker through his extensive diaries, his tools and the furniture he left behind. The book is gorgeously illustrated with Klein’s photographs, plus historical paintings and letters.
Come hear Joshua discuss this intimate portrait of Jonathan Fisher as he built his life on the frontier in the 18th century.
We’ll supply the snacks and beverages (we’re thinking 18th-century-style cool ranch mutton bites along with small beer and cider…but we’ll likely come to our senses); you help to supply the fun!
Click here to register (the event is free – we just need to know how many mutton bites to make).
— Fitz
Since June, I’ve been working on a book-publishing project that has ripped up my insides. I can’t talk about it yet – maybe in the next week or so – but the fallout has been odd. Each day, after 10 to 12 hours of editing, processing photos and designing book pages, I have been coming home to write like a madman until I fall asleep on the couch.
As a result, I’ve finished two chapters for the expansion of “The Anarchist’s Design Book” and have just three more to go. Today I finished designing the pages for the short chapter on the Staked High Stool and now offer it up for a free download for people who already own the “The Anarchist’s Design Book.”
You can download the chapter via this link:
At this stage, I’m operating on the honor system. If you own the book, please download the chapter. If you don’t own the book, know that I have instructed a hedgehog with Comic-Con breath to gnaw your danglies at some point in the future.
You can order the book via this link and save yourself an embarrassing trip to the ER.
Note that this chapter is not polished. There are typos. The construction drawing is not the crazy beautiful copperplate etching from Briony Morrow-Cribbs. It’s just my working drawing. But the information is there. I hope you like it.
— Christopher Schwarz
I get asked to promote crowdfunding efforts all the time. I almost never say yes because most of the campaigns are ridiculous, ill-planned or just bad ideas. But this one is different.
Auriou (Forge De Saint Juery) is fighting for its future after 162 years of operation. Business it good – as it should be because Auriou rasps are the best – but the company’s equipment is outdated. They need new equipment and training to survive.
You can read all about it here. The page is in both English and French.
I know it’s not a sexy cause – like a gun that shoots salt at housefies – but it is an investment in the future of our craft. A set of good rasps is essential to curved work – I discuss them in “The Anarchist’s Tool Chest.”
If you love Auriou rasps, please consider making a contribution to help this fantastic company. I am making my contribution today.
— Christopher Schwarz
P.S. For those of you who are experts on running light industrial factories in France, you might want to hold off on your critiques unless you know the whole history of the company, the labor challenges it has faced during the last decade and its financial book. For those of you who are *not* experts on French manufacturing, you *definitely* should keep your trap shut.
Editor’s Note: For those of you who have purchased “Hands Employed Aright,” you’ll note that we also used Jessica Roux’s illustration as endsheets. It was more expensive than typical endsheets, but worth it in every way. And now you can purchase a poster of this gorgeously detailed work of art.
— Kara Gebhart Uhl
When I got home from work yesterday, the long-anticipated shipment of the Jonathan Fisher workshop posters was sitting on my front porch! This poster features the incredible illustration that was commissioned for my new book, “Hands Employed Aright: The Furniture Making of Jonathan Fisher (1768-1847).” The image is a recreation of a typical Jonathan Fisher workshop scene, in which the parson is hard at work making furniture for his and his community’s homes. Everything from the barn he worked in, the tools hanging on the walls, the partially assembled desk in the foreground, to the sheep inside and pigs outside are all based on surviving artifacts or documentation. Little in this illustration is conjecture.
When I pitched this idea to Chris during the book editing process, he said “yes” without reservation. We agreed that this rare opportunity to see the pieces of this story come together seemed too good to pass up.
Because I’ve long admired the folk whimsy of artist Jessica Roux, having her do the artwork was a no-brainer. And we couldn’t be more pleased with how it came out. It is rich in detail, color and texture, and is something we knew folks would want to hang on their wall.
This 18″ x 22″ poster was printed in the U.S. on 100-lb. matte-coated paper. Jessica’s super high-res work means this poster was printed with crisp detail. Mike and I are now beginning to ship these posters out into the world. The poster is $15 and can be ordered here. (Yes, we take international orders.) We’re only doing one run, so if you want one now’s the time to order.
