Lost Art Press

Catching up with ‘Calvin Cobb – Radio Woodworker!’

Posted on February 13, 2014February 13, 2014 by fitz

Roy Underhill is a little under the weather – both literally and figuratively. We chatted last night, during which I found he’s on the mend from a nasty cold and also at the mercy of the nasty weather in the southeast. So assuming his electricity remains intact, he’s staying bundled up inside at his computer for the next several days as he continues revisions on his novel, “Calvin Cobb: Radio Woodworker!” – a novel with measured drawings.

The book is a delightful screwball comedy along the lines of such great Depression-era films as “His Girl Friday” and “Bringing up Baby,” complete with farcical situations, strong female characters, (seemingly) impossible romance and everything else you’d expect from that genre. It had me giggling on almost every page (perhaps you’ll be guffawing). And should you choose to read it thus, “Calvin Cobb: Radio Woodworker!” also incorporates troubling issues of historic revisionism and gender roles (but Roy doesn’t hit you over the head with the heady stuff). Of course it involves woodworking (there will actually be measured drawings of the plans Calvin shares with his listeners!).

So what gives with the picture above, you might wonder? That’s the Old Post Office Pavilion* on Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., where much of the book takes place. You’ll find Calvin’s shop behind those clock faces, which to me read as a metaphor for…well, you’ll have to see for yourself how the locations reveal truths about the characters (and reveal Roy’s love for and deep knowledge of the fascinating history of our capital).

If all goes as planned (and as the primary editor it’s my job to make sure it does), Lost Art Press will publish “Calvin Cobb: Radio Woodworker!” late in 2014 (with the high-quality paper and binding you’d expect, with printing in the United States). To that end, Roy is busy whipping the text into shape with a couple of revisions to enhance the plot and pacing; he’s promised me a new draft by the end of the month. We’ll then identify the seminal scenes and select the perfect illustrator to bring them to life in a style reminiscent of vintage Hardy Boys books.

I hope to be able to share with you some illustration treatments by late March – and I’ll be keeping you up to date as the project progresses. In a few weeks, I’ll introduce a couple more of the characters…without giving too much away, I hope. Until then, know that with “Calvin Cobb: Radio Woodworker,” the shit hits the fan. No really – Calvin’s day job is studying manure spreaders.

— Megan Fitzpatrick

* 1911 picture by Harris & Ewing, from Wikimedia Commons

Ready to Ship: Campaign Furniture T-shirts & Tribolts

Posted on February 12, 2014February 12, 2014 by Lost Art Press

While we’re a few weeks away from the release date of our “Campaign Furniture” book, we already have the related T-shirts and hardware in stock and ready to ship. Here are the details and links for these items. Both items are available for only a short time.

‘Stop Staring at My Chest’ Shirts
This shirt, like all our shirts, is made in the United States on soft 100-percent cotton. The front features a campaign-style chest of drawers from the 1909 catalog of the Army & Navy Co-Operative Society. The back features the phrase “Stop Staring at My Chest” and the new Lost Art Press logo.

The army green shirt is made by American Apparel shirts in Los Angeles. The shirts (4.3 oz. cotton) are printed by a small family-run firm in Noblesville, Ind. The shirts are $20, plus first-class shipping in the United States.

If you want one of these shirts, we recommend you order now. We usually carry a shirt design for about three months until they are sold out. Then we make a new one. Click here to order.

Tribolts for a Campaign Stool
The only thing difficult about building the camp stool from “Campaign Furniture” is finding an affordable tribolt that allows the legs to fold smoothly. The book offers a hardware-store solution, and it shows you how to make the tribolt pictured here.

If, however, you do not have a drill press or a proper tap to make the tribolt, buying one might be the best answer. So we asked woodworker Mike Siemsen (who came up with the idea for the hardware) to make 100 of these tribolts, which we are selling for $12 plus $3 first-class domestic shipping.

These bolts are ready to use with legs that are 1-3/16” in diameter, which is the size we recommend for these stools after testing several to failure. The tribolt is installed easily by drilling a 5/16” hole in each of the legs. Then you screw the three bolts into the center nut. You can lock them in place with thread-locking fluid if you wish, though we have not found it necessary.

The center hexagonal nut is not visible in the finished stool unless you get your face right up in the stool. However, if you do not like the nut, we recommend turning a small wooden finial or cap that can screw into the nut.

Please note: This is not a stock item for us. We have 100 tribolts. Once they are gone, we will not restock. Click here to order.

— Christopher Schwarz

Wayne Anderson’s Newest Plane, $600

Posted on February 11, 2014 by Lost Art Press

Planemaker Wayne Anderson has developed a beautiful infill smoothing plane that is – for custom work – remarkably affordable at $600.

I ran into Wayne this weekend at the Mid-West Tool Collectors Association meeting in Medina, Minn., and he showed me his latest tool. It was purchased immediately at the meet, but Wayne said he had another one just like it with cocobolo infills ready at the shop and was happy to build more.

The reason the plane is only $600 is that Wayne eliminated some of the time-consuming work that doesn’t improve the cutting performance. Instead of making the sidewalls curved, Wayne makes them straight on this plane. Also, he eliminated the “overstuffing” on the the sidewalls. Overstuffing is where the wood is rabbeted away so the wood is flush to the exterior of the sidewalls.

Each one of Wayne’s planes is a little different in the details, but all of them perform magnificently. I have owned one of his small smoothers since 2006, and even though I have been trying to cull my tool set down to the bare bones, I cannot bear to get rid of my Anderson plane. It just works too well and looks too nice.

If you’ve always wanted a new infill but couldn’t manage the price, this is your chance. Get in touch with Wayne at AndersonPlanes.com.

— Christopher Schwarz

A Cabinet Maker of the Old School

Posted on February 10, 2014 by fitz

There are some men in London who have not travelled far, nor seen many workshops, whose ideas of the importance of the Metropolis and the excellence of everything done in it might be corrected by hearing the opinions of master craftsmen in the quiet towns of England and Scotland. There are men in the provinces who have a strong suspicion that furniture made in London has not been well made: it may be fashionable, they admit, but it is likely to be flimsy; it may be cheap, but it is not durable; for they know that good material cannot be procured at the price, and cabinet makers in the country do not work for nothing.

They smile when you tell them that large transactions can pay for the great rents charged for warehouses and workshops in the City, and ask you if living is cheap, and what percentage is given for commission. They put their hands in their pockets and say, We can buy wood in the same markets with your manufacturers, we employ no middle-men, our rents are not so high, our profits are not too great, and we cannot compete with you in cheapness.

They may be too polite to hint that London furniture is dear in the long run. They confess that they have a personal interest in the welfare of their friends; they dislike accidents, and nurse a strong prejudice against chairs that need repairing in twelve months and tables liable to paralysis in the legs. Their customers do not believe that everything excellent comes from the Metropolis; and as they desire solidity and durability, they are prepared to pay a fair price to cabinet makers in their own town. A good reputation is the best advertisement in the country; for friends tell their neighbours where they can have value for their money.
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After Six Hours of Bench-building….

Posted on February 9, 2014February 9, 2014 by Lost Art Press

John Hoffman and I are at Mike Siemsen’s School of Woodworking this weekend to film the first ever Lost Art Press DVD. This project, which yet to have a title, is basically “Fear and Loathing in Minnesota.”

There has been semi-automatic gunfire, some alcohol and peanut butter on hamburgers.

On Saturday, we took a wad of cash to the Mid-west Tool Collectors Association meet in Medina, Minn., and purchased almost all the tools we needed to build a workbench and a sawbench (we had to buy a couple buckets, a framing square and two clamps at a hardware store). Saturday afternoon we fixed up all the tools to get them into working order – including filing the saws, restoring the planes and sharpening the chisels.

Today, on Mike’s birthday, we filmed him building a sawbench and a 7’-long Nicholson workbench. Mike has figured out some really great tricks to get started with little money, few tools and almost no skills. The bench is almost building itself. I think Mike’s philosophy is going to help a lot of people get started building a bench entirely by hand.

Here’s a quick timeline of the morning and afternoon.

— Christopher Schwarz