Sept. 14 Open Wire Reminder

Join us between 8 a.m.-5 p.m. for Open Wire on Sept. 14 on the LAP Blog

View this email in your browser LAP Open Wire: Sept. 14, 2024 Just a quick reminder that we're holding "Open Wire" hours tomorrow – Saturday, Sept. 14 – from around 8 a.m.-5 p.m. to answer all your woodworking/Lost Art Press/Crucible Tool questions (Ask Chris about the sexy new Exeter-pattern hammers! Ask me about the "Dutch Tool Chests" book!) You know the drill: Post your (succinct) question(s) in the comments field on our Open Wire blog post (which will go up Saturday morning at https://blog.lostartpress.com, and we shall do our best to answer. – Fitz Follow Us Copyright (C) 2024 Lost Art Press. All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you subscribed to the Lost Art Press blog. Welcome! We try our best to make this a good experience for both of us... Our mailing address is: Lost Art Press 407 Madison Ave Covington, KY 41011-1519 USA Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe

A Chair in a Weekend, New Classes & More: LAP Digest

We're prepping for a class next week, trying to get book to press, and trying to get a chair out the door. Busy, busy!

View this email in your browser 2025 Classes, Shaving Mules & More A quick look at all the stuff Lost Art Press published during the last seven days. This week, Chris is prepping for next week's Chairmaker's Toolbox class (last year's is – and I'm desperate to get "Dutch Tool Chests" to prepress on Friday (it all hinges on Roy Underhill's foreword). Plus, we have new classes to announce, a few tool reviews on Never Sponsored, and more. Here's what you might have missed…. Lost Art Press Blog Classes at the Storefront, Jan.-May 2025 We have a handful of new classes – including one from Welshman Chris Williams – scheduled for the first half of 2025. Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. Eastern on Sept. 16, 2024. Click here to find out who is teaching what, when – and get ready to register. Livestream Visit to the Jonathan Fisher House Join Joshua Klein, author of "Hands Employed Aright: The Furniture Making of Jonathan Fisher (1768-1847)" and editor of Mortise & Tenon Magazine, for a Sept. 21 tour of the Jonathan Fisher House in Blue Hills, Maine, and a look at the M&T headquarters, and more. Read more about it here. Shaving Mules In the "now" section of his book "Country Woodcraft: Then & Now," Drew Langsner discusses 21st-century developments in shaving mules and shavehorses. The American Peasant Substack 10 Biggest Mistakes Lost Art Press Has Made As Lost Art Press enters its 18th year of operations, Chris is amazed we are still here. We have made so many errors – some of them nearly fatal. Likely the reason we are still operating is that we are too dumb to quit. (Free for everyone) My Undeserved Confidence When it comes to furniture design – and design in general – Chris thinks that confidence is 49 percent of my process. When he has a good idea (or bad one), he lets it run through his brain until it becomes almost real. He can see the thing from all angles. There isn't much murk. Perhaps he'll leave a couple details to resolve during the construction process, but generally he knows what he wants. (For paid subscribers, with a free preview) The Anarchist's Apprentice Substack Selling Out We've been talking about business here in the shop. Chris has been sharing with Kale the prices that he gets for his chairs and how those have changed through the years. When he first sold chairs in the early 2000s, they were $600 to $700 apiece. Now the range is between $1,600 and $5,700. What is the difference between the expensive chairs and cheaper ones? Materials, yes. But also a knowledge of what people like. (For paid subscribers, with a free preview) Never Sponsored Substack Grizzly Remakes the Carver's Vise Last week Chris noticed that Grizzly had changed its carver's vise. The castings looked different. The base looked different. And the vise's wooden jaws were missing the urethane grippy stuff that usually comes on the jaws. (Free for everyone) Collapsible Crates for Furniture Parts Chris loves these restaurant industry standard for holding parts during a project. Sometimes he's juggling many projects at once, so keeping them each in a crate makes sure the parts stay together. The crates also help prevent the "shop rash" that occurs when you try to juggle 20 chair sticks with only two hands and end up dropping half of them on the floor. (Free for everyone) On Instagram This Week Can Chris build a chair in a weekend? (If nothing else "Build a Chair in a Weekend" is a magazine coverline that we'd have used at PW back in the day...) Visit Lost Art Press Copyright (C) 2024 Lost Art Press. All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you subscribed to the Lost Art Press blog. Welcome! We try our best to make this a good experience for both of us... Our mailing address is: Lost Art Press 407 Madison Ave Covington, KY 41011-1519 USA Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe

New Glue Movie (And Deals on Extra Bottles)

Piggly No Wiggly: How it's Made

View this email in your browser See How 'Piggly No Wiggly' Glue is Made And get a deal on multiple bottles. Hey all, Kale here. The other day when Chris asked me to document our Piggly No Wiggly glue-making process, I may have taken the task a little too seriously. I have no regrets. After receiving interest from readers about how our Piggly No Wiggly glue is made, we decided to share our operation. The video documents our glue procedure from beginning to end, with some words from Chris about how came to be. Watch the Movie Copyright (C) 2024 Lost Art Press. All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you subscribed to the Lost Art Press blog. Welcome! We try our best to make this a good experience for both of us... Our mailing address is: Lost Art Press 407 Madison Ave Covington, KY 41011-1519 USA Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe

Oops – Fitz Screwed Up

I lied in my earlier send about the new class (but not on purpose)

View this email in your browser Rudy's Class: NOW You Can Register Earlier, I said you could register for Rudy Everts' Learn How to Make Woodcuts class…but I didn't have the tickets live. Sorry! Now I do. So you can NOW register for the Sunday, Nov. 24 and Monday, Nov. 25 class. It's $525, including materials and lunches. The comic stylings of Rudy and Chris are also included. Visit Lost Art Press Follow Us Copyright (C) 2024 Lost Art Press. All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you subscribed to the Lost Art Press blog. Welcome! We try our best to make this a good experience for both of us... Our mailing address is: Lost Art Press 407 Madison Ave Covington, KY 41011-1519 USA Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe

New Class Added in November

Learn to make Woodcuts with Rudy Everts at Lost Art Press, Nov. 24-25.

View this email in your browser New Class: Nov. 24-25 with Rudy Everts We've added a 2024 class: Learn How to Make Woodcuts with artist, woodworker and Chair Chatter Rudy Everts, Nov. 24-25. Registration is open now on our ticketing site – and you can read more and see more of Rudy's work on our blog. Plus, new entries on: The Anarchist's Apprentice Substack Humbled Kale visits Shaker Village at Pleasant Hill with Christopher Schwarz and Jögge Sundqvist, and shares the first tool they've earned as part of their apprenticeship agreement. (For paid subscribers, with a free preview) Never Sponsored Substack You Need Only 2 Rasps (for the Rest of Your Life) Chris has tried many rasps during the last 20+ years, and he's settled on two. As a furniture maker, you do not need any fancy-shaped rasps. Here's the two you do need. (For paid subscribers, with a free preview) Painter's Pyramids: For & Against Megan has a goodly stash of the colorful bits of polyethylene, and they've seen a lot of use over more than a decade. Chris makes fun of her every time she uses them. She does not care. (For paid subscribers, with a free preview) Visit Lost Art Press Copyright (C) 2024 Lost Art Press. All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you subscribed to the Lost Art Press blog. Welcome! We try our best to make this a good experience for both of us... Our mailing address is: Lost Art Press 407 Madison Ave Covington, KY 41011-1519 USA Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe

Plus: Feral Woodworking

View this email in your browser Cheap Kits for Stick Chairs; You Need Only 2 Rasps; & Free Videos on the Swedish Tool Chest A quick look at all the stuff Lost Art Press published during the last seven days. Apologies, apologies. I skipped a week of sending out this digest. It won't happen again. This week I'll train Megan and Kale on how to use this mailing service, so I'm not the only one with the keys to the car. Last week was wild. We had Jögge Sundqvist here to teach two classes, and I spent as much time as possible with this magical creature. Lost Art Press Blog Saws: The Story So Far Matt Cianci, the author of "Set & File: A Practical Guide to Saw Sharpening," discusses the historical texts on saws – what they got right and what they totally whiffed on. It's a great piece and will make you laugh. 2 Bonus Videos on the Swedish Tool Chest We filmed a couple bonus videos to accompany the "Make a Swedish Tool Chest" video, and you can watch both of them here for free. I discuss the history of the chest and how the tool-holding works. One commenter on Instagram said I give off "community college professor" vibes in these clips. LAP 2024 Holiday Open Day We are opening our doors in a big way on Nov. 23 for our annual holiday party featuring some fun give-aways, lots of blemished merchandise on sale and – as always – The Clock. A Reluctant Chair Jig I found a way to make chairmaking a little easier with a two-piece jig. It eliminates drilling errors in the seat and arms. Check it out. It works. Handy-works Suzanne Ellison's tribute to handworks, as shown through historical images. Good stuff, as always. Wood Kits for Stick Chairs If finding the right wood has been holding you back from building a stick chair, check this out. Alexander Bros. in Virginia is now selling stick chair kits in several species. And at very good prices. The American Peasant Substack My Service Station An early experience as a crossing guard led me to a life of service in journalism and woodworking. Plus, one weird trick that allows you to do woodworking after your joints fail. (Free for everyone) The Line Between Grace & Disaster I think of skill mostly as speed. When you are skilled you can do something in minutes that would take someone else hours or days. Anyone can cut dovetails as well as Frank Klausz can – given a long enough timeline. But how do you get to the correct speed? (For paid subscribers, with a free preview) Earlywood: The Fancy Lad & Lasses Here we have mashed together two snarky essays I wrote about Fancy Woodworkers, and how to spot one. No. 17: Your business card features two of these terms: bespoke, artisanal, handmade, crafted, maker, "and wedding DJ." (Free for everyone) The Truant Woodworker Though I'm a formally trained writer, I learned woodworking the slowest and most difficult way possible. It shaped my work, and for the better. You might also be a "feral woodworker." Check it out. The Anarchist's Apprentice Substack Spray Lessons Learned Learning to use a spray gun forces Kale to grapple with some of the weird aspects of the craft that we all take for granted (like shellac – bug excretions?). Plus tips on using a spay gun for beginners. (For paid subscribers, with a free preview) Proof If you are an apprentice, how do you prove it? If you studied under someone for years to learn the craft, what is the proof of your work? The answer might be a brass token. (For paid subscribers, with a free preview) Never Sponsored Substack Soapstone Pencils Need to mark dark wood with a fine line? Use the same inexpensive tool that welders use: soapstone pencils. (Free for everyone) Dual-layer Nitrile Gloves & No-shed Chip Brushes Stop buying the "rip-when-you-look-at-them" gloves for finishing. Spend a few more pennies for dual-layer nitrile gloves. Plus, our new favorite chip brushes. (For paid subscribers, with a free preview) You Need Only 2 Rasps (for the Rest of Your Life) Rasps are essential tools in our shop. But you don't need a lot of them. We think you need only two. Plus, this brush to clean them. On Instagram This Week More tool chest videos, plus an upgrade that we are making to our Brass Center Squares. Visit Lost Art Press Copyright (C) 2024 Lost Art Press. All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you subscribed to the Lost Art Press blog. Welcome! We try our best to make this a good experience for both of us... Our mailing address is: Lost Art Press 407 Madison Ave Covington, KY 41011-1519 USA Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe