George Hart was five years old when he went to stay some months at his uncle’s house. He was very glad to be with his cousins, for he liked good rough games of play, and he did not cry at a knock or a fall.
At home he had no one to play with him but his sister Mary, and she was quite a little thing, and if he had played roughly with her it would have hurt her. George was a good-natured boy, and he did not wish to hurt any one.
When he got to his uncle’s, he thought he should never be tired of all the nice toys and useful things that his cousins were so kind as to shew to him. In the house there was a long room called the workshop, in one part of which was a large bench with saws, hammers, nails, and all kinds of tools. (more…)
I am going to tell you about a little boy who had scarlet fever, and about how he amused himself. He was quarantined in his own room for six weeks, yet he did not have a dull time, after all. He saw no one during those weeks but his father and mother and the doctor.
When Arthur was first taken sick and the doctor said that it was scarlet fever, every unnecessary article of furniture was removed from his room. His bed seemed very necessary, so that remained; also his bureau, washstand, a table, and two chairs. The carpet was taken away, as well as the book-case and all the books. The closet was emptied of all the clothes, and the drawers full of toys were stowed away in the attic.
When so many of his cherished belongings were gone Arthur thought it was a very queer-looking room, and the first time he sat up in bed and looked at the bare floor he said it seemed as if he were in prison. (more…)
On May 15-16, 2015, smack dab in the middle of Iowa farm country will be the woodworking event of the decade, if not the present century.
During those two days at the Amana Colonies, Handworks 2015 will take place – the largest gathering of hand-tool makers, practitioners and enthusiasts. The cost to attend is nothing. Handworks is a grassroots event organized by the good folks at Benchcrafted, and is about as far away from a high-pressure sale as Amana is from Wall Street.
A few minutes away, Don Williams of The Barn at White Run has arranged for a public exhibit of the H.O. Studley tool chest and workbench. This is the first time these objects have been on display since the chest left the Smithsonian (and it might very well be the last time they are on display for another lifetime). This exhibit is being arranged without any corporate or public sponsorship. Williams, who spent a life-long career at the Smithsonian, is personally arranging the exhibit. The cost to see the exhibit will be $25.
Lost Art Press will be at Handworks selling our full range of books, and many of our authors will be there to sign their books. Roy Underhill will be there to sign his new novel, “Calvin Cobb: Radio Woodworker!” and deliver the keynote address on Saturday morning. We also will have copies of Williams’ book on H.O. Studley. Chairmaker Peter Galbert and George Walker will also be there.
The list of hand-tool makers and woodworkers who will be at the Handworks event is like nothing I’ve ever seen since the first Woodworking in America in Berea, Ky. They are coming from all over the world. The following is a preliminary list and will likely change a bit during the next 12 months. Check the Handworks web site for the most current list.
Anderson Planes
Bad Axe Tools
Benchcrafted
Blue Spruce Toolworks
Blum Tool
Brese Plane
Claire Minihan
Czeck Edge
Daed Toolworks
David Barron
Elkhead Tools
Hamilton Tools
Hock Tools
Jeff Miller
Knew Concepts
Lie-Nielsen Toolworks
Lake Erie Toolworks
Lost Art Press & Friends
Eccentric Toolworks
Roy Underhill
George Walker
Lee and Lindsay Lee
M.S. Bickford
Old Street Tool
Plate 11 Bench Co.
Patrick Leach
Philly Planes
Peter Ross
Sauer and Steiner
Scott Meeks
Slav Jelesijevich
Tools for Working Wood
Veritas
Vesper Tools
Vogt Toolworks
This year, the Handworks event is expanding into a second barn and adding green woodworkers, blacksmiths and timber-framers into the mix. Here are some of the exhibitors there:
Jarrod Stone Dahl
Peter Ross
Claire Minihan
Lee and Lindsay Lee
Jim Sannerud
Peter Galbert
Tim Manney
Carl Swensson
Don Weber
Greg Pennington
Mike Siemsen
If you attended the first Handworks event in 2013, then you know that the 2015 gathering will be something special, if not extraordinary. Not only will you get to talk with fellow hand-tool enthusiasts and learn about the tools we use from the makers themselves, you’ll also get to wander around the beautiful and bucolic Amana Colonies.
During the last four months I’ve had some odd encounters with customers at shows, classes and the like.
Customer (holding a book): “I understand that you aren’t signing books anymore. But would you mind signing this one book for me?”
Me: “Huh? What? I’ll sign anything. Got a baby?”
I am happy to sign anything and with anyone’s name (I do a passable “Roy Underhill” and a crappy “Norm Abram”) on your books, DVDs, T-shirts and bare flesh when you see me. I’ve signed a man’s chest (and I have bad dreams still), and I’ve signed a dozen books in blood in Australia.
What I cannot do is personally sign every book we sell through the Lost Art Press web site. All of our inventory is two hours away, and it changes so rapidly that I would spend a significant amount of time driving, unpacking books and packing them again.
That is why I now sign books via a letterpress bookplate printed by Steamwhistle Press in Cincinnati, Ohio. These are printed on a treadle machine, one-by-one, on quality adhesive-backed paper. I have signed each one individually with an ink pen (non-treadle-powered).
These are not cheap. In fact, they cut into our profit significantly. But that’s OK because we like them.
So next time you see me, lift up your shirt and hand me a Sharpie.
Or, on second thought…. lift up your girlfriend’s shirt and…. Oh nevermind. I’m in so much trouble as it is.
Ghurka – the maker of fine leather goods – offers a couple of different Roorkee patterns for sale at its website: the officer’s lounger and the officer’s chair.
Both are made in the classic style in oak with nice leather details.
What caught my eye were a couple of construction details. One that I like, and one that makes me say “Hmmmm.”
The one I like is the way they attach the arm straps to the back of the legs. I assume there is a threaded insert in the leg. Then the strap is secured by a brass thumbscrew. Even better: the maker has punched holes in the arm strap so you can take up the slack. After studying a bunch of old Roorkees, the arms always go slack.
I’m sure I’ll try this method out on a future chair.
The other detail is the way the maker adjusts the straps on the reclining back of the chair. The adjustable straps use Sam Browne buttons and punched holes. It creates a clean look and requires less hardware than a buckle, but the straps cannot be adjusted as finely as a result. Perhaps it’s no big deal.
