You never should attack a foe
Until his arms and strength you know:
And this we’ll clearly shew in
The tale that we shall here relate,
Of the catastrophe and fate
Of Mistress Bridgit Bruin.
One day, a saw-mill she came near,
Just at the time the sawyer’s cheer
Was brought him for his dinner;
It smells right sweetly, quoth the beast,
I’m hungry, and I’ll have a feast,
As sure as I’m a sinner.
Sawyer, do you be off, said she.
And leave your saw-mill here to me,
To learn the art of sawing;
And do you lay that dinner down
Upon the log there, or, you clown,
Your carcase I’ll be pawing. (more…)
The saying “A workman is known by his tools” is probably as old as “A workman is known by his chips,” and, while generally speaking it is true, there are exceptions to it. I have seen many excellent workmen who carried very complete sets of tools kept in excellent condition, and I have seen other men with sets just as complete and in as good condition who were not able to do a fairly good piece of turning in an engine lathe.
I have had in my employ men who hadn’t as much as a scale or a monkey-wrench, yet who could work all around some of the boys who had a chest full of the most modern tools. That is, they could for about three weeks out of the month; the other week they were either drunk or getting over it. They had sense enough to keep away from the shop, and the evening before they were ready to come to work they would come sneaking around to the house to see if they could “come in to-morrow morning.” promising all sorts of things if they were given just one more chance, and up to a limit this class generally succeed in getting the chance. (more…)
Orders received before May 13, 2015, will receive free domestic shipping. The first 1,000 orders will receive a nice commemorative postcard featuring a beautiful shot of the open tool cabinet shot by Narayan Nayar.
When you order, you will have the option to pick up your copy at Handworks in Amana, Iowa., on May 15-16, or have the book shipped to you. All shipping will occur after Handworks.
Retailers for ‘Virtuoso’ While we are certain that many of our retailers will stock “Virtuoso,” we do not know which ones yet will opt to carry it. When we have that information in the next couple weeks, I will definitely post it here.
Why No Digital Version? There will not be a digital version of “Virtuoso” at this time. We have experienced a significant amount of pirate distribution of our titles, so we have decided that for this book, the pirates will have to manually scan and assemble the book if they want to rip us off. Our apologies to our law-abiding customers for this difficult decision.
Other Studley Products We will have more news on other Studley-related products in the coming weeks, including posters, a feature-length DVD and toilet-seat covers (oh wait, no, those are for “The History of Wood”).
Thanks for all your patience during the last four years since we announced this project at Woodworking in America. A team of people has poured thousands of hours and tens of thousands of dollars into the research and production of this book. I think that effort will show in the book, and I hope you will be pleased.
At 5 p.m. EST on Wednesday, April 1, we will begin taking pre-publication orders for the long-awaited book “Virtuoso: The Tool Cabinet and Workbench of Henry O. Studley” by Don Williams with photographs by Narayan Nayar.
The book will be $49 with free shipping for domestic customers if ordered before May 13, 2015. That is the day the book will be released and shipped.
Also, the first 1,000 orders will receive a commemorative full-color postcard that’s perfect for pinning up in your shop. The front of the postcard will show the tool chest in all its glory; the rear face will have a short biography of Studley and note that you were one of the first 1,000 people to purchase “Virtuoso.”
The book is being released at the same time as the opening of the exhibit of the Studley tool cabinet and workbench in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on May 15-17. Information and tickets are available here.
Those who order the book before its release date will have the option of either getting it shipped to them (arriving after Handworks) or picking it up at Handworks, which runs May 15-16 in Amana, Iowa. If you plan to pick up your book at Handworks, please read the following paragraph with care. It is important.
You will need to pick up your book at the Lost Art Press booth in the Festhalle Barn in Amana, Iowa. While we will be selling copies of “Virtuoso” at the exhibit, the sales staff there will not have access to the list of people who pre-ordered the book. So to repeat (using slightly different words): You will pick up your pre-ordered book at Handworks.
So we recommend you come to Handworks first, pick up your book and then take it to the exhibit where you can get it signed by the people involved in the project.
Pre-ordering the book and picking it up in Amana will guarantee that you get your book there. We can bring only so many books to Handworks.
So spread the word to your woodworking friends: Studley is coming.
