Lost Art Press

‘Cricket Tables’ – Order Today for Free PDF

Posted on by fitz

Order “Cricket Tables” by 11:59 p.m. tonight EDT (Dec. 4, 2023) to get the free pdf of the book at checkout.

Derek Jones’s book is about the three-legged cricket table, where it came from, what the different variants are and construction details. And the search for the history of the table is also intertwined with the history of the author, who had a long and twisting career in the furniture and publishing world.

And, at the end, Derek shows you how to build three great examples of this vernacular table and sets you off with the basic geometry and hand skills to do the task.

“Cricket Tables” is 112 pages, full color and printed on white, 70# matte coated 8-1/2″ x 11″ paper. The pages are sewn, glued and taped for durability. And the whole thing is wrapped with 98-point boards that are covered in lime cotton cloth! Like all Lost Art Press books, it is produced and printed in the United States.

Derek, helping a student to drive the tenons through a cricket table top.

You can read more about Derek in this profile by the late Nancy Hiller.

Jerome Bias’ Six-Board Chest Class

Posted on by Lost Art Press
Seven very happy (and tired) woodworkers.

Last week, Jerome Bias led a woodworking class of six black woodworkers as they built a six-board chest by hand in our workshop. It was one of the more memorable and enjoyable classes here at our storefront.

In addition to woodworking, every day of class was filled with explorations of the past led by Jerome, who worked as a tradesman at Old Salem Museum & Gardens and now explores African-American foodways by preparing open-hearth historical meals at plantation.

The chests were made entirely by hand, and each student personalized their chest with the decorative cutouts, the mouldings and the milk paint they applied on the last day.

Jerome at work.

This remarkable class was possible because of Jerome’s fearlessness and desire to encourage young black woodworkers. And it was possible because of your donations of cash and tools. Thanks to your help, the wood, the food and the kits of tools we prepared for the class (which they took home) were all covered, gratis.

I feel certain you are going to see these faces again, both here at Lost Art Press and in the world at large. The enthusiasm and drive of these students was infectious.

Thanks to everyone who helped. We hope we can do this again. First we all have to rest, but not for too long. Tomorrow at 10 a.m., Megan and I begin a new project that we hope will plant a seed for future generations. More details to come.

— Christopher Schwarz 

Final Day: 50 Percent off All Videos

Posted on by Lost Art Press
A still from our “Virtuoso” video.

Today is the last day you can purchase any of our Lost Art Press videos for 50 percent off. The sale ends at midnight Dec. 2. You can see all our videos here.

All our videos were made by working woodworkers. We’ve been making these videos for years with basic equipment. This sale will help fund new audio and video equipment for future videos. Though books will always be our first love, we know that many woodworkers learn best with the help of video.

Our current videos cover a wide range of topics, from turning to sharpening to building workbenches to building chairs. All the videos are easily portable from device to device. You can stream them on our website. Or download them to any device. We don’t add any digital rights management (DRM), so you’ll be able to put them on all your devices without any security or password aggravation.

One final note: We don’t do “fake sales.” This is our first-ever sale on videos in 16 years. After midnight, these videos will return to full price and remain that way.

Check out the entire collection here.

— Christopher Schwarz

Updates on Posters, Lump Hammers, Squares & More

Posted on by Lost Art Press
Almost ready….

First, if you are in the area tomorrow (Saturday, Dec. 2), I hope you can stop by our shop at 837 Willard St. for our Open Day. We do this only twice a year, and it’s a great way to catch up with other woodworkers and snag some bargains on blemished or discontinued products (basically 50 percent off – cash only).

Second, here are some quick updates on some products.

The Anarchist’s Square Kit: We had some problems holding the parts as we were milling the joints – the tolerances are a bit crazy. But we have it under control now and are in full swing with production. We hope to have the first batch for sale next week (if we’re lucky).

Crucible Lump Hammers: We are still waiting on handles. And our hopes are diminishing that we will have hammers before Christmas. Lee Valley still has stock. As does Highland Woodworking.

Crucible Engraving Tools: I just finished assembling 145 of these on Wednesday with the new round cutter. As of this morning we are down to 113 in stock. As I type this Megan is sending out replacement round cutters to those customers who received the too-pointy ones.

‘With Hammer in Hand’ Posters: We are down to our last 150 posters from the run of 500. The good news: We turned a profit on this poster. The bad news, at this rate we will run out of these posters by January.

‘Lost Art Press Workbook’: We’ve sold half of the 1,000-unit press run. We have just gotten into the black with this project, which allows me to unclench various organs.

— Christopher Schwarz