Lost Art Press

100 More ‘Anarchist’s Tool Chest’ Posters in Stock

Posted on by Lost Art Press

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We have finally figured out how many letterpress “The Anarchist’s Tool Chest” posters we have left in stock after shipping out all of the last batch. And after replacing damaged ones. And replacing the damaged replacements.

We have 100 we can sell. They are now in our store for $25, which includes packaging and shipping in the United States. (I apologize that our Canadian warehouse does not have stock on this poster. If we have any left after this round, we will send some to Canada.)

All of the posters have been personally signed by me. The image was hand drawn by Randall Wilkins and converted to a polymer plate that Steamwhistle Letter Press used to make these old-school posters. They are printed on heavy #100 stock and, unlike on an offset printing job, you can feel the impressions left by the printing process.

Every poster is just a little different. Different ink spread. Different register on where the impression hit the page. Different signature!

You can order yours here.

— Christopher Schwarz, who is praying to the poster goddess (Cheryl Tiegs) right now.

The Roman Bench – 3 Legs Away from 11

Posted on by Lost Art Press

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The legs of this Roman workbench are on a sightline of about 30° with a resultant angle of 15°, numbers which I created by using a square with a protractor head and a long blade. Once the blade of the square looked right to my eyes – not too splayed and not too vertical, I measured the compound angles right off the square.

(A full treatise on working with sightlines and resultant angles is in “The Anarchist’s Design Book.”)

Then I drilled four 1-3/4”-diameter mortises to see how solid the bench felt with just four legs.

I don’t have an auger bit that’s 1-3/4”, so I cut the mortises with a Forstner and a corded drill. Megan Fitzpatrick spotted me during the process, and I showed her how you can use two inexpensive laser levels to monitor your progress as you bore.

Even with Megan’s sharp eye and the assistance of the lasers, it was a challenge to bore the mortises without the Forstner bit or its angle wandering a tad. Right now the legs look a bit cattywampus, but once they are level to the floor some of that will disappear, just as it does with chairmaking.

After boring four mortises, we inserted the legs and turned the bench on its feet. It felt completely solid, even when we jumped on the benchtop. I think four legs is definitely enough.

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But I wanted to be the first boy on my block with an eight-legged workbench. So I bored four more mortises, and today I fit the additional legs. The bench looks fairly unusual, all in all, but I like it.

— Christopher Schwarz

‘Woodworking in Estonia’ Ships This Week

Posted on by Lost Art Press

WIE_blue_cover_mockup1_1024x1024While I was playing with baby alligators and hugging pine trees, something important happened: “Woodworking in Estonia” arrived in our Indianapolis warehouse. The book arrived more than a week early, so we are scrambling to get an assembly line organized to ship everyone’s orders as soon as possible.

If you have ordered the book it should go out this week and will arrive within five to 10 business days, depending on where you are in the country. We’ll also be fulfilling orders placed by our retailers all over the world.

So the wait will be over soon.

I haven’t seen the printed book yet, which makes me a bit crazy. I’ll probably drive up to our warehouse this week and pick up a bunch of copies for the storefront, which will be open for business on Aug. 13.

— Christopher Schwarz

Grab a Coffee and Read the Forum

Posted on by meghanlostartpress

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It is Monday and we are all dragging. Time to brew some coffee, relax and let the week start off right. With the forum. Remember, if you have a question about our products, procedures in our books or anything related to Lost Art Press, the fastest way to get an answer is our forum. Check it out here.

Staked Table from Green Lumber
This question is similar to the question from last week about whether a workbench could be made from green wood. However, this week Jeremy wants to know if similar rules apply if he makes the staked table from “The Anachist’s Design Book.” See some of the responses and add your own feedback here.

Hanging Shelf Ethical Issue
Dennis has a vision that he is not sure how he wants to execute. He has provided images of his inspiration and his sketches for us to ponder and give feedback on. See what you think and let him know how you would proceed here.

English Cabinet Makers Tool Chests
Adam found some tool chests on E-Bay that are worth a look. One image is shown at the top of this page and the rest can be found here.

Visiting London
Know any places around London that a woodworker shouldn’t miss while there? Make sure to let Kris know.

Using Ash for a 6-Board Chest
Jacob is worried about the ogee feet and how they will work with ash. He has a plan to try to prevent the wood from cracking in the long run but is curious to see if others think it will work or if they have other suggestions.

Tool Collection from West Norway
Adam provided a link to a tool collection from a boatbuilders shop in Norway. (Two images are shown above) He points out the similarity between some of the tools in the images to those from Estonia. The link to the full collection is in his post.

— MB

A Rhode Island Furniture Exhibit, Regional Furniture Studies & Databases

Posted on by saucyindexer
Joint Stool or Table, 1720-1750, maker unknown. Metropolital Museum of Art, New York.
Joint Stool or Table, 1720-1750, maker unknown. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

“From colonial times and into the 19th century, every town and hamlet in Rhode Island supported woodworking shops along main streets and wharves and in farmstead backyards. The artisans developed regional styles; every few miles, different floral and striped patterns became popular designs for mahogany, walnut and pine furniture.”

That is the opening line of an article from the July 29th New York Times. It is a short article packed with information about regional furniture studies and work on databases, including Rhode Island, the Antebellum South and Boston. The article opens with a description of a new exhibit, “Art and Industry in Early America: Rhode Island Furniture, 1650-1830,” opening in August at the Yale University Art Gallery. You can read the article here.

The Joint Stool or Table (description here) is from the Rhode Island Furniture Archive. Although details and current locations for each piece are not always known, where available, you can get dimensions,  inscriptions, provenance, construction and a bibliography.

Slat-back Armchair, 1800-1825, attributed to Thomas Taylor. Photo by Cherry Fletcher Bamberg.
Slat-back Armchair, 1800-1825, attributed to Thomas Taylor. Photo by Cherry Fletcher Bamberg.

This armchair in the vernacular style still has traces of red paint. It is currently in the collection of Historic New England. The previous owner, Cherry Fletcher Bamberg received it through “descent in the family of Thomas Taylor.”

Pembroke Table, 1785-1790, John Townsend. Winterthur Museum.
Pembroke Table, 1785-1790, John Townsend. Winterthur Museum.

The Pembroke table description includes, “The gadrooned molding applied to the lower edge of the stretchers is held with screws.”

The main page of the Archive is here. Go explore. I’m going to look up “gadrooned.”

–Suzanne Ellison