Lost Art Press

More of Katy’s ‘Soft Wax’ for Sale

Posted on by Lost Art Press

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My daughter Katy finished up another batch of soft wax that is now for sale on etsy. You can check it out here. The 4 oz. tins are $12 each plus $2 shipping.

Katy plans to continue to make the wax during her summer break while she isn’t working as a bagger at the local grocery store. This grocery job will be her first “corporate” gig, and I’ll be interested to see how she likes it.

She’s gotten a lot of questions about the soft wax via email, customers at the storefront and her older sister. Here is a sample:

Q. Is it a food-safe finish?

A. While all finishes are food-safe once the solvent has evaporated (according to the FDA), why take a chance ingesting some unevaporated turpentine? We don’t recommend it for cutting boards or spoons. Try a non-drying vegetable oil instead.

Q. Can I use it on my workbench top?

A. Yes. But it will reduce the friction between your workbench and your work. We recommend straight oil or no finish on workbenches.

Q. Can I use it over other finishes?

A. Absolutely, yes. It is like adding a wax barrier over the finish. It won’t be as hard as a paste wax or floor wax, but it is easy to apply and renew.

Q. Can I use it on my face and lips?

A. Please don’t. Turpentine will irritate your skin.

Q. Can I use it on tool handles?

A. Absolutely. It leave a nice finish on old tool handles.

Q. Is Katy going to make any other products?

Q. We have discussed making a “bench finish” using a recipe I’ve discussed here 100 times. But her sister, Maddy, wants a cut of the family business. We’ll see.

As always, thanks so much for supporting Katy’s efforts. She does it all of her own volition (I’ve got enough on my plate) and is thrilled that people buy it and like it.

— Christopher Schwarz

SketchUp Drawings for ‘The Joiner & Cabinet Maker’

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Our second book at Lost Art Press was “The Joiner & Cabinet Maker,” a rare and early 19th-century fictional account of an apprenticeship in a rural England shop.

It’s a fantastic little book, written by someone who obviously served an apprenticeship in the 18th century.

In addition to us reprinting the original, Joel Moskowitz (who found the book) wrote an excellent account of what woodworking was like in early 19th-century England. And I contributed several chapters on constructing the three projects that young Thomas made – a packing box, a schoolbox and a nice chest of drawers.

All in all, it’s an interesting introduction to hand-tool woodworking from an historical perspective. (And this might be the only book where I keep my sometimes-troubling tongue in check.)

We sometimes get asked if we have SketchUp drawings of the three projects in the book. And while the construction drawings in the book are all you really need, we make these files available free here.

Using the below link you can download a compressed folder with the three files in them.

JandCM sketchup files

While I work every day in SketchUp, I’m no expert on the compatibility of all the different versions out there. You should be able to open them with any version of SketchUp, but I can’t guarantee it.

— Christopher Schwarz

Roman Tools, Mouldings and Hardware at Saalburg

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In our research on Roman workbenches and holdfasts, Suzanne Ellison has turned up some images I’ve not seen before that are a remarkable reminder that our tools, mouldings and hardware haven’t changed all that much in 2,000 years.

Of particular interest has been the Roman fort Saalburg, which was built along the Roman frontier and later abandoned. The fort has been reconstructed and is part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site – check out the fort’s site here.

Saalburg has become a center of research into Roman material culture and houses many artifacts and volumes or research. Several of the artifacts have become the basis for the planing stop that blacksmith Peter Ross has made for my early Roman workbench.

One of the real gems that Suzanne has turned up is a two-volume set of 1897 books called “Das Römerkastell Saalburg” (The Saalburg Romans), which documents the excavation and artifacts found at the fort.

You can download the volumes for yourself. Volume 1 is an overview of Saalburg and a discussion of the architecture and artifacts. The second volume contains supplementary material, including all of the detailed drawings shown here.

I’ve been staring at these for the last couple days and fairly transfixed by the tools, mouldings and hardware in particular. If you’re into planes, definitely check out Vol. 1, which shows planes found at the bottom of a well.

And check out the nails….

— Christopher Schwarz

 

Another Twist (or Two) in the Holdfast Research

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Minerva

 

One of the important parts of my book on Roman workbenches concerns holdfasts. Likely a Roman invention, the origin of the holdfast and its early form remains a bit of a mystery.

Modern sources, such as Roger Ulrich’s “Roman Woodworking,” don’t shed much light on the tool. Instead these sources focus on what the Romans built more than the tools and processes used.

So Suzanne Ellison and I have turned to looking at Roman gravestones and monuments – hundreds and hundreds of them – to find clues about the Roman workbench and its workholding equipment.

We’d both dug up some drawings from this source – which is about 1,700 pages all told. Including one that looked like a holdfast. Probably.

But you have to be a little skeptical when you are looking at an old drawing of an even older monument that had been decaying for 1,500 years.

Then Suzanne found it. A photo (above) of the monument that clearly shows the holdfast with a curled-under proboscis – Suzanne calls it “the curlyfast.” (Shown is An altar to Minerva in the Capitoline Museum in Rome, erected by a ‘College of Fabri’ and dated 31 BC.)

Would this device work on the bench? If I were on an Internet discussion forum, on pain pills and in a particularly crotchety mood, I’d say: No way. And I’d make up some claptrap about the spring action of the curled-under front would resist the tensioning forces exerted by the shaft vis-a-vis. The point is moot. Lorum ipsum dolor.

But the truth is we don’t know. No, Gary, not even you know.

So I sent an email to blacksmith Peter Ross today….

— Christopher Schwarz

Here’s What’s Happening on the Forum

Posted on by meghanlostartpress

Tenon-Solution

The following topics of discussion are generating a lot of discussion over at the Lost Art Press 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.

Wooden Layout Square – Looking for Info
Steve Swantee had a photo of a large square he was curious to identify. Turns out it is the large square from “Book of Plates.”  Want to see what it looks like finished?

Waterstone Recommendation?
Martin Jones is looking to switch from oil stones to water stones and asked for some feedback. He has had a lot of info thrown back his way regarding products and technique. If you want to add to the mix or just see what others are doing, here’s the thread.

Staked Coffee Table
Joshua Krieger’s coffee table met its match in a three year old and he is now building a staked one. After putting up his original plans he is keeping us posted on his progress. See his journey and his solution for exposed tenons.  (photo at top)

Knockdown Nicholson Bench
Ouida Vincent built this bench from Popular Woodworking Magazine in the fall and it turns out a few others did and still are. Questions are still being asked about the process. Thinking of building one?

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Drawbored AND Wedged
Brian Clites is asked about the advantages and disadvantages of drawboring and wedging a joint. Was it done historically? Readers dug up a trestle table where Christopher Schwarz did just that. (see above) Other participants are looking for specific instructions on how to wedge a joint. Got any suggestions?

— MB