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Honest Labour: The Charles H. Hayward Years
“Honest Labour” is a collection of essays from The Woodworker magazine while the legendary Charles H. Hayward was editor (1936-1966). This book will be the fifth and final volume in the Lost Art Press series from The Woodworker.
When Lost art Press started on The Woodworker project more than a decade ago they didn’t intend to publish “Honest Labour.” The series was...
The Woodworker: The Charles H. Hayward Years Vol. I - Tools
There is little doubt that Charles H. Hayward (1898-1998) was the most important workshop writer and editor of the 20th century. Unlike any person before (and perhaps after) him, Hayward was a trained cabinetmaker and extraordinary illustrator, not to mention an excellent designer, writer, editor and photographer.
Add to all that the fact that Hayward was, according to Robert Wearing, a "workaholic,"...
The Woodworker: The Charles H. Hayward Years Vol. II - Techniques
There is little doubt that Charles H. Hayward (1898-1998) was the most important workshop writer and editor of the 20th century. Unlike any person before (and perhaps after) him, Hayward was a trained cabinetmaker and extraordinary illustrator, not to mention an excellent designer, writer, editor and photographer.
Add to all that the fact that Hayward was, according to Robert Wearing, a "workaholic,"...
The Woodworker: The Charles H. Hayward Years Vol. III - Joinery
There is little doubt that Charles H. Hayward (1898-1998) was the most important workshop writer and editor of the 20th century. Unlike any person before (and perhaps after) him, Hayward was a trained cabinetmaker and extraordinary illustrator, not to mention an excellent designer, writer, editor and photographer.
Add to all that the fact that Hayward was, according to Robert Wearing, a "workaholic,"...
The Woodworker: The Charles H. Hayward Years Vol. IV - The Shop & Furniture
There is little doubt that Charles H. Hayward (1898-1998) was the most important workshop writer and editor of the 20th century. Unlike any person before (and perhaps after) him, Hayward was a trained cabinetmaker and extraordinary illustrator, not to mention an excellent designer, writer, editor and photographer.
Add to all that the fact that Hayward was, according to Robert Wearing, a "workaholic,"...
The Woodworker: The Charles H. Hayward Years Vols. I - IV
There is little doubt that Charles H. Hayward (1898-1998) was the most important workshop writer and editor of the 20th century. Unlike any person before (and perhaps after) him, Hayward was a trained cabinetmaker and extraordinary illustrator, not to mention an excellent designer, writer, editor and photographer.
Add to all that the fact that Hayward was, according to Robert Wearing, a "workaholic,"...
The Woodworker: The Charles H. Hayward Years Vols. I - IV & Honest Labour
There is little doubt that Charles H. Hayward (1898-1998) was the most important workshop writer and editor of the 20th century. Unlike any person before (and perhaps after) him, Hayward was a trained cabinetmaker and extraordinary illustrator, not to mention an excellent designer, writer, editor and photographer.
Add to all that the fact that Hayward was, according to Robert Wearing, a "workaholic,"...
''Family Tree of Chairs'' Letterpress Poster
The "Family Tree of Chairs" is an original piece of art made by Lee John Phillips of Wales that was first printed as the endpapers for "The Stick Chair Book" by Christopher Schwarz. The "Family Tree" shows the development of chair forms through the centuries – from a tree stump all the way to the more complex types, such as the high-style Chippendale chairs and a...
Cadi & the Cursed Oak
You can download an excerpt of this book here. An audio pronunciation guide to the Welsh words in the book is here.
By Kara Gebhart Uhl, illustrations by Elin Manon
"Cadi brought the cup’s silver rim to her lips. What she didn’t know was that buried deep in the cup’s oak sleeve were spirits’ stories, long forgotten tales of hobgoblins and demons and death and sorrow,...
Sharpen This
by Christopher Schwarz
Sharpening is not a sport.
If you want to be a better woodworker, you need to learn to sharpen. If you want to be a better sharpener, you need to stop paying so much attention to tertiary bevels and carbide formations in steel and start paying attention to the wood. If the wood is cut cleanly, then your tools are sufficiently sharp. If the wood is torn out and covered in...
The Belligerent Finisher
By John Porritt
One aspect of furniture finishing that has not been fully explained is how to achieve the gently worn, warm and human surfaces that you find on antiques. "The Belligerent Finisher" changes that. Furniture restorer and chairmaker John Porritt explains all the steps in taking a new chair and transforming it into something that looks like it’s 200 years old. The goal...
The Handcrafted Life of Dick Proenneke
by Monroe Robinson
Millions of North American TV viewers first met Dick Proenneke through the programme “Alone in the Wilderness,” which documents Dick’s 30 year adventure in the Alaskan wilderness. On the shores of Twin Lakes, Dick built his cabin and nearly all of the household objects he required to survive, from the ingenious wooden hinges on his front door to the metal ice...
Shop Tails: The Animals Who Help Us Make Things Work
By Nancy R. Hiller
In this singular collection of essays, Nancy Hiller relates the ways in which non-human animals – some companions, others wild or raised on farms – have provided warmth and comfort, prompted laughter and offered examples of courage or composure in the face of distressing events.
“Shop Tails” is a loving tribute to the animals whose lives have been intertwined...
Making Things Work: Tales From a Cabinetmaker's Life
By Nancy R. Hiller
Furniture making, once a basic way to earn a living through an arrangement between makers and clients, has been discovered, like a rosy-cheeked girl plucked from a dairy farm in Devon and made over into a London model
For many of us, making furniture and cabinetry is still a way to earn a living, however marginal. We may do what we love every day, to paraphrase the marketing...
The Difference Makers
by Marc Adams
Thanks to the internet, you can see a lot of interesting work with ease. But it’s easy to forget that the vast majority of the images on your screen are of pieces that are derivative, merely acceptable in their craftsmanship and were made by people at the beginning of their journey.
When you encounter true greatness it is shocking, inspiring and a bit humbling. The hair on...
James Krenov: Leave Fingerprints
By Brendan Bernhardt Gaffney
James Krenov (1920-2009) was one of the most influential woodworking writers, instructors and designers of the 20th century. His best-selling books – starting with “A Cabinetmaker’s Notebook” – inspired tens of thousands of people to pick up the tools and build things to the highest standard.
Yet, little is known about his life, except...
Hands Employed Aright
By Joshua A. Klein
Jonathan Fisher (1768-1847) was the first settled minister of the frontier town of Blue Hill, Maine. Harvard-educated and handy with an axe, Fisher spent his adult life building furniture for his community. Fortunately for us, Fisher recorded every aspect of his life as a woodworker and minister on the frontier.
In this book, author Joshua A. Klein, the founder of , examines...
Stanley Catalogue No. 34
More than 100 years ago, Stanley Tools printed handsome catalogues that illustrated the company's woodworking and carpentry tools with detailed illustrations and descriptions of how the tools worked.
Though few of these catalogues survive, they are an invaluable source of information for hand-tool users, offering exploded parts lists of complex tools - such as the No. 45 plane - and advice on...
Crucible Dividers - Type 2
The Crucible Dividers, Type 2, allow you to quickly adjust the tips with one hand and easily lock in an important setting with a common No. 8 screwdriver. Made from alloy steel in the United States, these dividers are designed especially for woodworking - chairs, dovetails, shelving and other furniture-scale tasks.
Why are they called Type 2 dividers? The first-generation dividers were excellent,...
Crucible Dovetail 1:4 Dovetail Template
The Crucible 1:4 Dovetail Template marks out dovetail joints – both the tails and the pins – and allows you to easily and accurately lay out the angled and straight parts of the joint. This template marks out Christopher Schwarz's favorite dovetail slope: 1:4 (about 14°). The square end of the tool allows you to also use it as a saddle square (and to not get turned around by two...
Crucible GoDrilla
The Crucible GoDrilla extends the reach of your drill bits (and other tooling) without introducing any run out or wobble. This precision-machined tool (made in Tennessee) allows you to perform many unusual boring and fastening operations with immense ease and accuracy.
DIY store bit extenders are cheap, poorly made and are designed for operations where run out is OK. An oversized hole will be hidden...
Warrington Pattern Hammer
Words from Christopher Schwarz......
''Small cross-peen hammers are incredibly useful in furniture making. We've used them in our work for more than 20 years.
Americans don’t have much of a history with this form of hammer. It’s a British thing, just like the lump hammer we make. We don’t know why that is the case because Warringtons are quite useful.
This small...
Crucible Dovetail Template
The Crucible Dovetail Template marks out dovetail joints – both the tails and the pins – and allows you to easily and accurately lay out the angled and straight parts of the joint. This template marks out the two most common dovetail slopes, 1:6 and 1:8 (9.5° and 7.1° respectively).
This solid steel template is based on a discontinued version from Woodjoy Tools. We contacted...
Crucible Iron Holdfast
The Crucible holdfast. Made from ductile iron in an Illinois family foundry that’s been in business for more than a century. Based on a French design salvaged from a barn. The last holdfast you are likely to need.
Since Roman times, the iron holdfast has been an essential piece of workbench equipment for carpenters, joiners and cabinetmakers. Yet many of us struggle with holdfasts that work...
Crucible Pinch Rods
Please Note: Wood is not included.
While there are many ways to determine if an assembled carcase is square, the easiest method is to use “pinch rods” to compare the corner-to-corner measurements.
Unlike using measurements to compare the diagonals, pinch rods do not depend on reading and remembering dimensions. So they are much less prone to error. Also, pinch rods allow you to bring...
Crucible Planing Stop
We have always loved blacksmith-made planing stops, which are embedded in the end of a block of wood that is about 3” x 3” x 12”. The block is friction-fit into a mortice in the benchtop and moves up and down with mallet taps.
In our experience, the planing stop is as important as the workbench’s face vice and has almost-endless uses.
The main problem with a blacksmith...
Crucible Sliding Bevel
For some woodworkers – particularly chairmakers – a small sliding bevel that locks tightly is an essential tool. Most inexpensive sliding bevels can be knocked off their settings with little effort, and the results can be a disaster. Because sliding bevels guide most of the joinery in a chair, being off by 1° or 2° can ruin a workpiece.
The Crucible Sliding Bevel is designed...
Workshop Waist Apron from Lost Art Press
Shop aprons that cover the torso are great in cold climes, but they are impractical during the summer or in heated shops. For years, we tried using tool belts for carpentry, but those are designed for a ridiculous amount of equipment and a 50’ tape measure.
The solution that we love is a waist apron. It is compact and won’t leave a giant sweat stain behind like some shop aprons. And...
Crucible Bench Square
The Crucible Bench Square is a handy, lightweight and accurate tool that's useful for many woodworking operations. Based on an 18th-century square in A.J. Roubo's masterpiece, "l'Art du menuisier", this version uses modern technology to ensure it is accurate and stays that way.
The Bench Square is great for checking a board's edge when planing joints for a panel glue-up....
Lost Art Press - 5 Woodworking Pencils
Traditional school pencils aren't ideal for woodworking. The pencils and lead snap too easily in use. And the eraser is a joke (Lost Art Press have a recommendation below).
After Lost Art Press tested many different combinations of lead (called the “core”) and diameters, this pencil became their shop favourite. It is robust because of its diameter and the fact that it is round....
Crucible Lump Hammer
The Crucible lump hammer has a 2.2lb. hardened steel head and is ideal for assembly, mortising, setting holdfasts and dozens of other chores. Comfortable octagonal hickory handle with a waxed finish.
The late, great furniture maker Alan Peters often said that one of his favourite tools was his “lump hammer,” a British term for what Americans might call an engineer’s hammer or a small sledge....
Crucible Bevel Monkey
The Crucible Bevel Monkey is a bevel setting gauge for woodworkers, chairmakers, carpenters and joiners, in fact anyone who needs to quickly and accurately set a sliding bevel.
The tool is marked in 0.5 degree steps from 0 to 50 degrees. All angle markings are set out from the same origin, meaning the tool is well suited for chairmakers wishing to use the direct reading method for leg rake and splay...
Crucible Card Scraper
Card scrapers are usually sold as rectangles or squares. What has been lost to time is that the woodworker is supposed to shape the tool to his or her needs – much like the cutting edge of a jack plane or smoothing plane.
So woodworkers of the last 50 or 60 years have found ways to make a rectangular scraper work. Most of us bow the tool with our thumbs to present a curved cutting edge to...
Crucible Chairpanzee Analog Computer
Chairmaking is complex enough without having to worry about the trigonometry used to calculate the drilling and sighting angles for a chair’s legs and spindles.
The Chairpanzee does all the maths for you with its simple, no-maths-needed interface. Simply slide the tool’s interior card so the splay you desire appears in its top window. Choose the rake you wish in the window below. The...
Crucible Design Curves
While a compass and straightedge can design simple pieces of furniture, you also need curves that have a varying radius to draw smooth shapes that connect three or four points – the accelerating curves that give motion and life to furniture.
The tools for these important curves are commonly called French curves or Burmester curves. And they are the starting (and ending) point for any designer...