{"product_id":"ingenious-mechanicks","title":"Ingenious Mechanicks","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cspan\u003eEarly Workbenches \u0026amp; Workholding\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cspan\u003eby Christopher Schwarz\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eWorkbenches with screw-driven vises are a fairly modern invention. For more than 2,000 years, woodworkers built complex and beautiful pieces of furniture using simpler benches that relied on pegs, wedges and the human body to grip the work.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eWhile it’s easy to dismiss these ancient benches as obsolete, they are – at most – misunderstood.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eFor three years, Christopher Schwarz built these ancient workbenches and put them to work in his shop to build all manner of furniture. Absent any surviving ancient instruction manuals for these benches, Schwarz relied on hundreds of historical paintings of these benches for clues as to how they worked. Then he replicated the devices and techniques shown in the paintings to see how (or if) they worked.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThis book is about this journey into the past and 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 his shop in Kentucky, where he recreated three historical workbenches and dozens of early jigs.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThese early benches have many advantages:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003col\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThey are less expensive to build\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThey can be built in a couple of days\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThey require less material\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eYou can sit down to use them\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThey take up less space than a modern bench and can even serve as seating in your house\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eIn some cases, they perform better than modern vises or shavehorses.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ol\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eEven if you have no plans to build an early workbench, “Ingenious Mechanicks” is filled with rediscovered ideas you can put to work on your modern bench. You can make an incredibly versatile shaving station for your bench using four small pieces of wood. You can create a hard-gripping face vise with a notch and some softwood wedges. You can make the best planing stop ever with a stick of oak and some rusty nails.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eFor a chapter-by-chapter discussion of the book, go \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/blog.lostartpress.com\/2018\/02\/22\/ingenious-mechanicks-chapter-by-chapter\/\"\u003ehere\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Ingenious Mechanics” is 8-1\/2” x 11”, 160 pages and printed in full color on beautiful coated paper. The binding is sewn to last for generations. The pages are surrounded by heavy hardbound boards that are covered in cotton cloth. Like all Lost Art Press books, “Ingenious Mechanicks” is produced and printed entirely in the United States.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eSorry, but signed books cannot be personalized.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eContents\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eIntroduction VII\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e1: Why Early Workbenches?\u003cbr\u003e2: Workbenches Old \u0026amp; Modern\u003cbr\u003e3: The Pleasures \u0026amp; Problems with Paintings\u003cbr\u003e4: Workbenches: Where, When \u0026amp; Why\u003cbr\u003e5: Early Workholding Devices\u003cbr\u003e6: Herculaneum Workbench\u003cbr\u003e7: Sallburg Workbench\u003cbr\u003e8: 'Auf Widersehen' to Your Dollars\u003cbr\u003e9: Holy Roman Workbench\u003cbr\u003e10: 'Experto Crede'\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAcknowledgements 147\u003cbr\u003eIndex 149\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Lost Art Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47565543735514,"sku":"300-1001","price":44.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0053\/4098\/7482\/files\/ingenius.mech.webp?v=1770388002","url":"https:\/\/www.woodenboatstore.com\/products\/ingenious-mechanicks","provider":"The WoodenBoat Store","version":"1.0","type":"link"}