Lost Art Press

The H.O. Studley Tool Cabinet is a Masterpiece

Posted on by Lost Art Press

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Years ago I received a frantic phone call from a friend who needed to know who owned the H.O. Studley tool cabinet. He wanted to do a 3D scan of the cabinet so he could then program a laser-cutting machine to make all the parts of the cabinet for a kit.

Customers could then order the kit for $300 and build the Studley tool cabinet. In Baltic birch plywood.

I listened patiently to his pitch and then told him that I didn’t know who owned the cabinet. This was the truth, as it was many years before I’d met Don Williams and was taken to the secret Studley bunker in Kentuckistan.

As I hung up the phone, I remember thinking: People want to build the Studley tool cabinet?

After years of talking to woodworkers, the answer is: Apparently so.

So during the 10 seconds before I first saw Studley’s tool cabinet, I remember checking my bag to make sure I had all the measuring tools needed to create a mechanical drawing of the cabinet for the book “Virtuoso: The Tool Cabinet and Workbench of Henry O. Studley.” Tape measure? Rule? Caliper? Check, check and check.

When I saw the cabinet, however, I forgot about my measuring tools and any plans for measured drawings. Does a book on the Taj Mahal require 100 pages of blueprints so you can reproduce it in your back yard?

At that moment I knew we would be making a book that was unlike the normal woodworking book, the stuff I was accustomed to churning out 11 times a year as a magazine editor. I set my measuring tools aside and resolved to treat this object in a way that was foreign to me: As pure 100-percent high art.

This was not easy. As someone who has devoted his life to writing about tool chests, workbenches and handwork, my first urge was to dismiss Studley’s work as impractical and something that should not be imitated. But after four years of dealing with this chest (I think I’ve unloaded and loaded it at least four times) I have nothing but the upmost respect for the maker and his intent.

Henry O. Studley’s tool cabinet is not for us to copy. It is for us to decipher.

I defy you to stand before this chest and not be changed as an artisan. It is beyond language. I freely admit that as a writer. You need to see it.

So this sounds like an advertisement for the May 2015 exhibit of the cabinet and workbench in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. And to be sure, if you have two sheckels to rub together, you should be there. I have bought tickets for my friends, family and mortal enemies. You won’t get another chance in this life, so fly or die.

If you can’t be there, I urge you to check out our book on the cabinet. Last week I reviewed the digital proofs for “Virtuoso” and was on the verge of tears as I scrolled through the book’s 216 pages. (Full disclosure: I have all the emotions of a protist, so this is fairly unusual.)

Henry Studley, a slim, balding and upright member of his community, managed to make something for the ages.

See it. One way or another.

— Christopher Schwarz

Woods Used in Saw Handles

Posted on by fitz

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Although one is not apt to think of the apple tree as a source of timber, as a matter of fact at least 2,000,000 board feet of apple lumber is manufactured annually into saw handles. This, too, is about the only important use to which it is put, though small amounts are made into smoking pipes, and miscellaneous articles of turnery. The wood was formerly used for shuttles and gave excellent satisfaction, but has been entirely superseded by persimmon and dogwood. As a fuel-wood apple has few superiors.
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Trials with Tools

Posted on by fitz

saws-are-blind-as-batsUnder the above title a writer in one of the English building papers presents some rather caustic remarks concerning status of the carpenter in the country named and the way in which his tools are used by mechanics in other branches of the trade:

Of all mechanics, none seems to be so little regarded as the carpenter. No one can fail to notice that all the other trades expect everything to be made ready and convenient for them by the carpenter, no matter at all what inconvenience and extra work it is to do so for the carpenter. Make things convenient for the carpenter? Not on your cabinet.

In fact, the carpenter is considered legitimate prey for every other human being. Many a time have I had plasterers take a pair of trestles away from me when my back was turned for a moment, although it was plainly evident that I would need them myself in a little while. Plasterers and bricklayers seem to regard it as their rightful prerogative to help themselves to our timber and nails without so much as a thank you.

A saw can be picked out of our hand box and run on a nail just for the humor of it. The plumbers think they confer a signal favor on us by taking our 2-inch chisels and cutting them on nails until they resemble dung forks, or take a level and let it fall 10 feet, thus permanently disabling it.
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Fight the Urge

Posted on by Lost Art Press

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When I work with beginning woodworkers, I’ve noticed a strange and consistent tendency relating to the tidiness of their work.

When building something small – like a marking gauge or a dovetailed box – they fuss over every fiber, inside and out. That’s a good thing because small objects receive close scrutiny.

But when building something large – like a trestle table – they are much more sloppy and tolerate a surprising array of defects and mistakes. For some reason, the overall form is more important than the details.

I see the same sloppiness creep into projects that are simple. Because the thing is nailed together, it’s suddenly OK to have some tear-out on a show surface or to spelch a corner. Complex projects, on the other hand, tend to get a lot of love and attention.

The best woodworkers I know will build a crate with regularly spaced nails, flush surfaces all around and even chamfers where you grab it. They take the same care with building a shop jig as they do a veneered chest of drawers. There is only one level of quality.

This is a hard lesson to learn when you make furniture for money because you can starve. But if you put in the long hours doing everything the best way possible, you will quickly become swift at setting nail heads flush without damaging the wood, your show surfaces will be clean and your doors smartly hung on the first try.

Start small with this approach. The next time you have to hang a picture for your spouse or install some hooks for coffee mugs, aim for perfection. Then let it creep into all aspects of your work.

— Christopher Schwarz

Sweatshirts Now Available for International Customers

Posted on by Lost Art Press

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Lost Art Press hooded sweatshirts are now available for international customers with a reasonable shipping fee.

The mid-weight sweatshirts are made in the United States by American Apparel and the fit is a bit slim. So you might consider ordering one size larger than normal. The sweatshirts are available in sizes small to 2XL. We wish this product were made in larger and smaller sizes, but it is not.

All of our shirts are printed in California and shipped from there by a service that specializes in custom apparel. Because of the company’s volume, the shipping charge for international customers is reasonable – $10 to Canada and $11 anywhere else in the world.

You can order the sweatshirt here.

— Christopher Schwarz