All my books that you buy through Lost Art Press will be signed by me through 2024. It takes a few hours of my time each week, but we are thrilled we can offer this small personal touch now that we have our fulfillment center up and running in Covington, Kentucky. We also will offer…
Read moreVesuvius erupted on this day in 79 C.E. To commemorate the event, here’s the introduction to Christopher Schwarz’s book on ancient workbenches: “Ingenious Mechanicks.” Why? The earliest workbench depiction that we yet know of is in a fresco in the House of the Vetti in Pompeii, which was buried in the volcano’s explosion and remained…
Read more“Ingenious Mechanicks” is my worst-selling book. Since it was released in 2016, we’ve sold about 4,000 copies. But I don’t care. That book changed my workshop life more than any other project I’ve been involved in. Roman workbenches are insanely useful creatures. The only operations I don’t use them much for are dovetailing large casework…
Read moreThe following is excerpted from “Ingenious Mechanicks,” by Christopher Schwarz. This book is a journey into the past. It takes the reader from Pompeii, which features the oldest image of a Western bench, to a Roman fort in Germany to inspect the oldest surviving workbench, and finally to Christopher’s shop in Covington, where he recreated…
Read moreBecause I have written books on workbenches and chairs, I am regularly asked what sort of workbench is best for making chairs. Here’s my answer: the same bench you use to make cabinets, boxes and snake toys. Unless you are a professional chairmaker who makes chairs and only chairs in a tiny space, there is…
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