Lost Art Press

The Wedge

Posted on by fitz

wedges_1859273. The Wedge. Figure 105 represents a well formed iron wedge, and a is the head, b is one of the sides, and d is one of the edges, and e is the entering edge. A wedge will not rebound as readily when the corners, at the entering edge, are made flush, or square, like the figure, as it will when the corners are rounded off very much, like the edge of an old ax, the corners of which are well ground off. Sharp corners of an iron wedge make it stick when entering.

274. Figure 106 is a very ill shapen wedge but very like the iron wedges which many laborers use, and exactly like the wooden wedges which are often made with the false impression that they will be more effective of such a form than if they were like figure 105. But wooden wedges of such a form cannot possibly be as effective, for any purpose, as if they were like figure 105; because, small wedges of such an ill form will be crushed at the entering point before they are half driven in, and if large wedges are made of such a form, it requires a greater number of blows to drive one in far enough to open a log two inches.

275. Every author whose writings I have consulted on the subject of the wedge, has simply spoke of it in philosophical or theoretical terms, and the most important considerations which affect, directly or remotely, many of the operations of the farm, and which are all-important for the beginner to understand, have been entirely overlooked or rejected, and what has been penned in reference to the wedge, if put into practice, according to the strict letter of the various writers, will, in practice, lead the beginner into most egregious errors.
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The Mallet and Beetle

Posted on by fitz

beetle_1859267. A mallet should be made of some very hard wood, and, if it be not made of a knot, the ends of it should be banded, like the beetle, to keep it from splitting. That part of a tree, if it be tough wood, which grows just above the surface of the ground, what is called the crook, will make the very best mallets, which will require no hooping. I have a mallet which was made of the crook of a part of a white ash stump, which has been the only mallet in use, for framing all my buildings, and doing all my shop work, for sixteen years, and it is not half worn out, as yet.

A mallet should be turned out true, with the ends convex, or rounding, not less than half an inch from edge to edge. The handle should be put in true, so that the faces will be parallel with the handle, as shown in the fig. 104. Let it be well oiled to prevent its cracking. Never allow the faces of the mallet to be bruised, and dented on iron bolts and such like, but keep it smooth for pounding on chisel handles only. A tough piece of apple wood will make about as good a mallet as almost any other kind of wood. But if it is made of a round piece of wood, on account of its great liability to check, it should be treated as recommended for

Beetles.

268. Figure 104 represents a farmer’s beetle made in a workmanlike manner. Beetles should always be turned true, and the handle turned of an oval form (see Sledge Hammer), and put in very true, so that a line cutting the center of the handle will be exactly parallel with lines continued square across the ends or faces of the beetle, as shown by the dotted lines figure 104. The beetle should hang as nearly like the sledge hammer as possible, and the reader can refer to that paragraph for the information which seems to be lacking in this place.
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Apron Hook from a Reader

Posted on by Lost Art Press

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After a few blog about “apron hooks” (see here and here), reader Wendy Neathery-Wise decided to do something about it. She made me one.

The hook is her design. Though it looks a bit like the Masonic symbol, it’s not. The compass is the Lost Art Press logo. The square is from the cover of “The Anarchist’s Tool Chest.” And the hook contains the always mysterious letter “E.”

It works great. I attached it to my existing apron strings and there is one less thing I have to fumble with as I get ready to work in the shop.

Thanks Wendy!

— Christopher Schwarz

Learning a Trade

Posted on by fitz

It may be thought by some that this letter will appeal to a very small circle of readers, for the young men of the present day do not wish to learn trades; they consider it menial, and much prefer to be clerks or professional men. This is a fact. A New York carriage-maker, at a meeting of manufacturers in New Haven recently, said:

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“One of the serious wants of this country and of our trade is good boys. Our boys are deteriorating, as are our men. The greatest difficulty that we experience in New York is that of getting boys who have brains and are willing to learn a trade thoroughly. The example of men who have made millions in a few years is held up before our boys in school, and the boys become inflamed with the notion that they must make their millions and be able to found new crossroads colleges before they die. So they eschew trades and become poor professionals.”

Tell the average boy that he ought to learn a trade, and he will look up with wonder and, perhaps, contempt, and say, “No trade for me.” But for all that, I hold that of every three boys who become clerks, two would have done better in health, in pecuniary results, and in the long run in comfort and social position, to learn a trade. Good mechanics to-day are better paid than the average of clerks, are more certain of situations, and, when from accidental causes out of a situation, have less trouble in getting another. In many trades the best workmen receive $3 a day. In some they are able to make by piece-work $4 and $5, while the average salary of clerks and subordinate book-keepers amounts to less than $800 a year. Some excellent authorities affirm that, take the country through, it amounts to less than $600 per annum. The expenses of the clerk, also, are larger than those of the mechanic.
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Lost Art Press Letterpress Bookplate

Posted on by Lost Art Press

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Starting next week, all the books that I’ve written that we sell through Lost Art Press will be signed via a letterpress bookplate.

For the last six months, I’ve been signing the books via a simple adhesive label. We wanted something nicer. These bookplates are about five times nicer and 32 times as expensive.

These self-adhesive bookplates measure 2-3/8” x 2-3/4” and were printed at Steam Whistle Letterpress and Design in Cincinnati, Ohio. The bookplates are on acid-free Mohawk stock and were hand-set and printed on vintage equipment restored by Brian Stuparyk at Steam Whistle.

If you need some letterpress work (invitations, business cards, whatever), I highly recommend his shop. Brian has been obsessed with printing since he was a kid and has quite the collection of vintage machines and type.

As a convenience, we are also offering these signed self-adhesive bookplates by themselves for $2 (that price includes shipping). That way you can affix them in a book you have purchased from one of our retailers. Let me repeat that in a different way: All books sold by Lost Art Press that are written by Christopher Schwarz are already signed by him via this bookplate. You don’t need to buy this item if you are buying a book from us. This item is for people who have bought a book from another retailer and want to add his signature to it.

Here’s the link to the item in our store.

Here are some quick answers to questions we’ve received about signed books.

1. Why use a label or bookplate? Why don’t you just sign the book itself?

Our inventory is in Indiana. I am in Kentucky. There simply are not enough hours in the day for me to drive to Indiana and sign all our books. Until the day comes when we can consolidate all our operations in one city, this is the best that we can do.

2. Why don’t you offer these bookplates signed by other authors?

I suspect we will do that in the future. It’s a time-consuming process, and our first goal is to produce books, not get them autographed by the author.

3. Can I get you to sign my book with no bookplate?

Sure, just show up at one of the places I am teaching (my schedule is in the right rail of the blog). I’ll sign your book, your bare chest, whatever.

— Christopher Schwarz