Lost Art Press

Putting Down the Floor in the Store

Posted on by Lost Art Press

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I’m trying to do as much work on our storefront personally to save money, but there are some things I’ve decided to pay for. Installing the oak floor is one of them.

As you can see from the photos, they’re laying the floor at the same 45° slant as the original floor. And though it cost an extra half-day of labor, I’m glad we did it. When you walk into the front door, the floorboards direct your eye to the bar (which is where our books will be shown on a display I’m building) and the location of my workbench.

The crew should be done laying the floor tomorrow. Then comes the sanding and the finishing (also not by me).

Then I’ll get to jump back in with framing a new office wall and running new electric.

Next week I hope to buy a vintage door I spotted a few weeks ago at an architectural salvage place. It’s from about the same era as the building and has frosted glass and nice details. That will become the door that goes back to the office, bathroom, kitchen and almighty beer fridge.

Everything is on track for the March 12 book release party. We still have about a dozen spots left if you’d like to come. Details are here. And don’t forget the Lie-Nielsen Hand Tool Event that same weekend down the street at Braxton Brewing.

The line-up of demonstrators is pretty awesome. I hear there might be an addition or two….

— Christopher Schwarz

‘The Anarchist’s Design Book’ Shirts Now Available

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You can now purchase 100-percent cotton T-shirts emblazoned with the marriage mark from “The Anarchist’s Design Book” on the front. The back of the shirt is blank.

The American Apparel shirts are made and printed in California and are $30, which includes domestic shipping. The come in black with a white logo and grey with a black logo.

You can place your order here.

Please note that these shirts are made to order and don’t make us more than a few dollars each, so we cannot take returns (except of course in the case of damaged goods or a mistake by the printer). So please be careful in choosing your size and color.

American Apparel shirts have a slim fit. So we recommend you order one size larger than normal. Here are the chest sizes for the shirts:

Chest sizes

S   34-36
M    38-40
L     42-44
XL   46-48
2XL 48-50

— Christopher Schwarz

P.S. Next week we’ll be posting roach motels and Hester Prynne outfits with the logo.

One Way to Read ‘The Anarchist’s Design Book’

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I read magazines starting at the back page and work to the front. I’m weird that way. So I’d never presume to tell someone how to read something. Left, right, up, down, bedroom, bathroom, boudoir.

Several readers have commented that there isn’t a lot of design information in “The Anarchist’s Design Book.” That shocked me because I think there is more design information in there than I intended to include.

Perhaps my response is because of the way I design things.

There are 24 ways to approach design. I know four methods pretty well. One is an architectural approach that you will find in “By Hand & Eye” and “By Hound & Eye.” It’s a great way to design good-looking pieces. (If I didn’t think so, we wouldn’t have published these two important books).

There is a prototyping method that you’ll find in the people who like James Krenov. It also works as I’ve seen it first hand.

Jeff Miller – a highly talented designer – has a different approach that he’ll explain in a forthcoming book.

And there is simple Gothic geometry. Oh, and my approach, which is nothing like the above methods.

For those of you who are looking for the maximum amount of in-the-vein design information, here’s how I’d approach reading my own dang book. (First I’m going to sit on my hands for 10 minutes so that when I type this it will feel like a stranger did it.)

ADB_mockup_lo“The Anarchist’s Design Book” is organized with a few introductory chapters that explain my ideas. Then the chapters on building stuff are interspersed with short chapters that are jabs at furniture design and the way we go about it.

So let’s say you need the “Cliff’s Notes” to this book and you can’t find them at Waldenbooks. Here’s how to pass the final without reading the entire book.

Read chapters 1-5:

1: Don’t Make the Furniture of your Gaoler
2: A Guide to Uncivil Engineering
3: An Introduction to Staked Furniture
4: Staked Sawbench
5: Extrude This

That’s pretty easy. Now be sneaky. Skip ahead to read:

9: Heavy Buddhist Feedback
13: Seeing Red

Drink a beer. Read:

14: Bare Bones Basics of Nail Technology
15: Boarded Tool Chest
16: To Make Anything

That will get you familiar with boarded technology. Whilst you get a refill, consider reading:

20: Fear Not
99: Afterword

Finally, unlike most books I put a crap-ton of work into the appendices in “The Anarchist’s Design Book.”  Look them over and read what interests you.

And that’s it, you are done.

The test is next Thursday.

— Christopher Schwarz

Make a Moulding Plane this Weekend

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appliance

From Matt Bickford’s blog (Matt is the author of “Mouldings in Practice“)

This weekend I will be teaching a class at The Connecticut Valley School of Woodworking. The students attending this two day class will build a round and leave with the tools, material and understanding to make the matching hollow at home.

We will cover all of the essential elements included in the process: including making a proper fitting wedge, bedding an iron, profiling the sole, creating the matching iron and sharpening profiled edges.

Whether someone intends to make a series of planes for themselves or rehabilitate antique planes, these specific steps are the major necessities.

Come join us!

— Matt Bickford

‘The Woodworker: The Charles H. Hayward Years’

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I have stopped counting the hours and the years that we have been working on this huge project to revive hundreds of articles written and edited by the late great Charles H. Hayward.

Right now, only one number matters: I get the pre-press proofs back in less than 17 hours.

After years of technical and legal challenges, not to mention thousands of hours of work by a team of people all over North America, we are on the verge of publishing the first 888-page book of Hayward’s work at The Woodworker magazine from 1939 to 1967.

This first book will be split into two bindings: one on hand tools and one on hand techniques. Future books will focus on joinery, shop appliances, workshop furniture and historic drawings of important furniture pieces executed by Hayward.

These first two books will be sold as a set for $80, domestic shipping included. We’ll also offer them separately for $45 each if you aren’t sure you want to commit.

I can promise you this: No matter how awesome you are at handwork, no matter how much you know, this book will teach you lots of things that will make you better.

When will it go on sale? Good question. Because of the complexity of the project, we’re running a test signature on the press to make sure the images come out crisp. Once we get past that hurdle, we’ll offer pre-publication ordering.

Note, due to our contract with the copyright holder, we cannot offer a digital edition of this book.

— Christopher Schwarz

P.S. Stay tuned for excerpts from Hayward’s autobiographical series of articles.