‘Make a Joint Stool from a Tree’ Now Available for Order

Peter Follansbee was sitting next to me at some crazy high-end pizza restaurant I’d found for us in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., and we were waiting for planemaker Matt Bickford to arrive.

I had two goals for the night. No, three. One: Eat some good pizza. Two, seal the deal with Bickford to publish his forthcoming book on moulding planes (stay very tuned). And three, try to open the door with Follansbee so he might publish something with Lost Art Press some day.

My strategy: Get Follansbee totally high on beer and animal-flesh pizza.

Then Peter notified me in a kind way that he neither drinks nor eats animals.

Well, crap.

Somehow I was able to keep his attention during the meal and make my case for the way we publish books at Lost Art Press. It’s really quite bass-ackwards compared to the rest of the publishing industry, but that’s not the point of this story.

Within a month or so, we’d made a deal to publish the long-awaited follow-up to John Alexander’s “Make a Chair from a Tree.” This new book, “Make a Joint Stool from a Tree,” had been in the works for more than 20 years. Follansbee and Alexander (now Jennie Alexander) have been corresponding and visiting and traveling together for more than two decades to piece together how furniture was built in the 17th century.

When I entered the picture last year they had a preliminary manuscript and photos that spanned the years.

So the question at hand was: Could this be a book?

The answer: Holy cow. Absolutely.

“Make a Joint Stool from a Tree” is like no other woodworking book ever published. It breaks new ground with every page. It shows you things you’ve never seen before. It will change the way you think about wood and woodworking.

Follansbee and Alexander are as unlikely a pair as you will ever find. Alexander is a retired attorney who has been working wood as an enthusiastic woodworking amateur for a lifetime. Alexander’s first book, “Make a Chair from a Tree,” is a certifiable cult classic. Long out of print for reasons too insane to go into here, the book has inspired generations of woodworkers, including people like Brian Boggs, to become woodworkers.

It is almost impossible to overstate the influence of that book.

Follansbee was Alexander’s student who sold all his power tools and became a professional hand-tool joiner at Plimoth Plantation. He was a terminally shy man who became one of the most engaging public speakers I’ve ever seen.

Their work together has produced a book that we hope will be in print forever. The first printing is in the works now and will be shipping at the end of February. It is a different kind of book for Lost Art Press. It is oversized (9” x 12”), in full color and with a heavy dust jacket.

It’s is being printed at a high-end publisher in Michigan as I type, and it is going to cost some serious coin for us to make when compared to the printers in Hong Kong.

But we figured: What the heck? We might have only one chance to do this right so we might as well go all the way.

You can read more about the book in our store by following this link. If you order the book before the release date of Feb. 27 we will pick up the shipping cost. Some people would call that “free shipping for pre-orders,” but not us. What’s a pre-order?

One last thing: I hate to sound like a tool, but you might want to order now. In the last 24 hours we have sold one-third of the first press run.

Order “Make a Joint Stool from a Tree” for $43 with free domestic shipping.

— Christopher Schwarz

P.S. Other retailers that will be carrying this book include Lee Valley Tools, Tools for Working Wood, Lie-Nielsen Toolworks and ShopWoodworking.com – the store of F+W Media. We’ll announce more outlets as they sign on.

Fare Thee Well, Linda Watts

Linda Watts (left) and Megan Fitzpatrick.

This post might not seem like it’s about woodworking. But really, it is.

For almost 10 years, I worked with Linda Watts, who was the art director for Popular Woodworking Magazine and the ill-fated Woodworking Magazine. She came to us on the recommendation of Nick Engler, who had hired her for his company, Bookworks. It was Bookworks that published the Workshop Companion series of books, which were crazy runaway bestsellers in the how-to category of books.

Before that, Linda had been the founding designer for Hands On! magazine at Shopsmith.

Which is to say that no one I know has more experience with woodworking publishing than Linda Watts. She was publishing woodworking magazines and books when I was still in (ahem) puberty.

And I know why she has been in the business for so long. She is pure backbone – my highest compliment. (What does that make me? The spleen, I think.)

In publishing, it’s always the designers who have to make up for the late authors and the slow editors, photographers and illustrators. In the 10 years I worked with Linda, we never missed a press deadline as far as I know. And the reason was that Linda would work like a demon to ensure every story was laid out, looked good and was press-ready.

When I twice said I wanted to redesign the magazine, Linda didn’t blink or even raise her eyebrows. She just did it – without the help of expensive outside consultants. And every time she reworked her previous design work, she managed to make it look even better.

She is impeccably organized and neat – as is her design work. My cubicle was next to hers for many years, and I always felt like the Oscar Madison to her Felix Unger.

But most of all, Linda was always unflappable. She took withering criticism without as much as a twitch. She never complained about her work load, the fact that editors rarely met deadlines or our questionable grammar (she’s a damn-good copy editor, too).

So today was a hard day for all of us who know Linda.

F+W Media Inc. laid her off during a company reorganization. Her last day is Friday, so a bunch of Popular Woodworking employees and alums took her out to lunch today. Through most of the lunch the group kept up with some lighthearted chatter. But as we neared the end of the meal, the table fell silent for Linda to speak.

She couldn’t. She started a couple times and managed to say: “When I moved down here you guys became my family. I feel like I’m losing my family.”

My drive home from that lunch was tough. I can’t believe that someone as skilled and easy to work with could ever be laid-off, dismissed or fired. If it weren’t for Linda, Popular Woodworking Magazine would not be the fine publication that it is today. It might not have actually come out seven times a year if it weren’t for Linda’s hard work. And it definitely wouldn’t have looked as good.

So thank you, Linda. You will be missed at the artistic helm of Popular Woodworking Magazine.

But this story does have a hopeful ending. I think you can look for Linda Watts’s name on several upcoming Lost Art Press books.

— Christopher Schwarz

From left: David Thiel, Megan Fitzpatrick, Kara Gebhart-Uhl, Linda Watts, Brian Roeth, Al Parrish, Steve Shanesy, Bob Lang and Glen Huey

That Nasty Nut

I love black walnut (Juglans nigra), but walnut does not love us.

Sure, we all know that walnut is bad for horses – stables will not accept the shavings for bedding. Plus, walnut sawdust is not so good for mulch or bedding for plants.

It can be used with malice. I know a furniture maker who makes cooking spoons with walnut for customers – a gift! – who have been extreme pains in his tukus. Walnut can have laxative properties when it comes in contact with food.

Me, I dislike walnut from the inside. My insides.

Some time during the summer I got some nasty walnut splinters in my left hand. I don’t remember the trauma, but the surgeon had the proof. The walnut got under my skin and a bunch of scar tissue formed around the fragments.

A hand surgeon took out the splinters and scar tissue on Wednesday. Now I have to learn to cut dovetails with a massive splint and bandage around my finger. Stupid walnut.

— Christopher Schwarz

Female Dress

“Furniture which is strictly useful, should be of good quality; strength and durability being generally the chief points to be regarded… it is therefore little affected by fashion, whereas the style of drawing room furniture is almost as changeable as fashion in female dress.”

— Mrs. William Parkes “Domestic Duties” (London, 1825)

‘Handplane Essentials’ Back in Stock

We have just received a new load of “Handplane Essentials” from the second printing of this book, which I wrote in 2009. All the backorders for this book have been filled – so if you were on that list, your book will go out in Tuesday’s mail.

Thanks for your patience.

— Christopher Schwarz

Your Stuff

“Your stuff tends to look like other people’s stuff because you have the same machines.”

— Jim Tolpin, Woodworking in America, 2009

Hardware for ‘The Anarchist’s Tool Chest’

There isn’t a lot of hardware for “The Anarchist’s Tool Chest,” but I definitely don’t recommend you buy the poorly made brasses at the home center. Unless, of course, you want to.

I purchased almost all my hardware from Horton Brasses Inc. with the exception of the chain and the casters. I bought the casters, somewhat ironically, from Home Depot.

Let’s talk about each element of the hardware for the chest and why I did what I did.

The Hinges
The hinges are the most important bit of hardware. I hate cheap hinges, and so I knew before I even began building the chest that I was going to use the Horton PB-409 brass hinges with slotted screws and a “dark antique” finish. These hinges swing without any of the annoying slop in cheap hinges. I use them all the time.

At first I thought that two hinges would be enough to keep the lid secure, and I was probably right. But after installing two hinges on the lid, I looked at the chest and decided to add a third. I don’t regret the extra purchase.

The Lock & Escutcheon
I ordered a lock from Horton and had second thoughts about installing it (I have an aversion to locks). But the chest looks wrong without a lock and an escutcheon. I used the CL-5 Chest Lock from Horton, which is a half-mortise lock. After installing some full-mortise locks in chests, I’m a half-mortise guy. The Horton example is nice. The only disappointment is the finish on the key. My key is shinier than the one shown in the photos and looks too shiny.

So I’m gonna sandblast the sucker. Some day.

The escutcheon is the FE-8 Keyhole Escutcheon in “dark antique” from Horton. It’s sweet. I love it so much I put it on the dedication page of “The Anarchist’s Tool Chest.”

Ring Pulls
A minority of tool chests use ring pulls on the sliding trays, but I really wanted them on mine. I’m glad I added them. For the top two trays I used the 1-5/16” RP-4 ring pull in “dark antique.” For the bottom tray, I used the 1-7/8” RP-6 ring pull in the same color.

The Lid Stay
I agonized over this for a few weeks. Ultimately I bought a couple brass eyelets and some brass chain from some jewelry supplier. I stripped them of their lacquer and dyed them to match the other hardware. It was a pain. One internet blogger called my chain “too twee.” I’d like to see a better alternative that really works and is as simple.

And the Casters
I didn’t want to buy rubber casters. Why? I don’t know. Sometimes I make these decisions after a couple beers. So I searched and searched and finally found the casters of my dreams at Home Depot. They are somewhat crude, but they look right.

So there you have it. The only other metal bits are cut nails from Tremont Nail Co. and slotted pyramid-head screws from Lee Valley Tools.

— Christopher Schwarz

Awesome Tool Chest Modification With – Cough – Scraps

Peter Follansbee has built a tool chest that shames us all when it comes to adding a little flash. No, he didn’t opt for the airbrushed Thundarr the Barbarian on the lid that I suggested. Instead he used “odd bits” guides for his tool trays.

These “odd bits” – pieces of oak he used in carving demos – are gorgeous, and especially fitting for a chest designed for a joiner, as Peter calls himself.

Visit his blog, Joiner’s Notes, for the whole story and more pictures of his fine piece of work. Peter, the joiner at Plimoth Plantation, says he’s not much for dovetailing; I think he’s being modest.

In any case, get a good gander at his carving – I think you’ll be seeing a lot more of that in the coming months with the release of the long-awaited book from Peter and Jennie Alexander, “Make a Joint Stool from a Tree: An Introduction to 17th-century Joinery.”

The book goes to the printer next Friday, and right now we are finishing up work on the index, the dust jacket and a few minor typos. When will it be on sale? We will start taking pre-orders in about a week. The book will ship in late February or early March, barring some disaster.

I’ll have complete details on the book next week, including pricing and (joy) an excerpt for you to download.

— Christopher Schwarz

The Dirty Secret of Woodworking Publishing

If you want to make good money writing woodworking books, you don’t need a lot of skills, tools or primo wood. You don’t need to know a lot of joinery or be a particularly good finisher. You don’t even really need a workshop.

During my 14 years at F+W Publications, I did a long stint as a contributing editor to the now-dead Woodworkers Book Club. As part of the job I had to read about 70 woodworking books every year and review them for the club’s bulletin. And I learned an awful lot about what makes a woodworking book sell by poring over the monthly financials.

Beautiful furniture projects do not sell. Books on building your skills don’t sell much. Books about wood and its properties – no sale. Books on hand work? Nope.

The woodworking books that make real money are birdhouse books. They outsell other kinds of woodworking books about three-to-one.

While this surprised me at first, it makes a lot of sense. Birdhouse books appeal to the non-woodworker, the dead-nuts beginner, the Boy Scout troop leader and the birder, to name a few. And they appeal to me as well.

I’ve seen a lot of crazy birdhouse books. Sure, there are lots of books out there that try to build houses actually intended for birds that pay attention to wood selection, house placement, opening size, etc. And then there are the ones that look like Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater or a giant uterus.

I’ve always wanted to write a birdhouse book – one of the crazy ones, of course. My first inclination was to build birdhouses while channeling a famous furniture-maker:

“James Krenov Crafts Houses for Birds” – All the birdhouses would be chests on a stand, have gorgeous dovetails and be made from olive wood. And they would be too nice to put outside.

“G%$#@& Birdhouses by Gary Knox Bennett” – All the birdhouses would be covered in bent nails and roach clips.

“Sam Maloof, Birdhouse Builder” – All the birdhouses would be rocking chairs.

And so on.

Well one night my wife, Lucy, and I had a little too much wine to drink at dinner and we started brainstorming ideas for the most ridiculous birdhouse book we could think of.

The title: Killer Birdhouses
The concept: Birdhouses made to look like things that normally kill birds.
The projects: Birdhouses in the shape of a…

Blender
Frying pan
Sliding-glass Door
Oscillating Table Fan
Cat Mouth
Shotgun
Jet Engine
Stump and a Hatchet
Worms with a Cannon (my favorite!)
ICBM
Oven
Bucket of KFC Chicken

That reminds me, I need to get Lucy a fresh box of wine. We need to come up with some more book ideas.

— Christopher Schwarz

Harder to Kill

“Technical knowledge is harder to kill than any other kind, and is seldom subjected to religious, political, or military persecution.”

— John Gloag, “A Social History of Furniture Design: From B.C. 1300 to A.D. 1960”  (Crown)