Fast Shipping
Most orders shipped within 24 hours
Made in the USA
All tools and books made in USA
Information You Can Trust
Authors & editors with decades of experience
Shop Collections
Customer Testimonials
'Favorite'
Lost Art Press has been my favorite woodworking site for more than a decade.
– Chris Quinn
'Made to last'
Lost Art Press books are like Shaker furniture – clear and boiled-down prose in utterly useful books made to last.
– Ryan van Nood
'Honest'
The quality and content from Lost Art Press is ceaselessly honest and can be totally trusted.
– Rob Machray
‘Good Eye:’ Six-board Chest End Panels
Both Chris and I have made and taught a lot of six-board chests over the years, and typically we lay out and cut a “boot-jack,” (inverted V”), simple arc or ogee on the ends. Those are easy to lay out and all three are ...
Mind Upon Mind: Improve Us
In a 1937 Chips from the Chisel column, which is also featured in “Honest Labour: The Charles H. Hayward Years,” Hayward wrote, “The influence of mind upon mind is extraordinary.” The idea being there’s often room for improvement. (You can read ...
For Sale: Comb-back Stick Chair in Figured Red Elm
This comb-back stick chair is built entirely in American red elm, with the seat, arm and comb made from figured red elm, some of the most difficult wood I have ever saddled. The chair is raked back for lounging, reading ...
Doormaking and Window-Making – The Introduction
As the Industrial Revolution mechanized the jobs of the joiner – building doors and windows by hand – one anonymous joiner watched the traditional skills disappear and decided to do something about it. ...
‘Layout Computer’ – Now with Casework
When Nick, a woodworker and LAP reader, first let us know about Layout Computer, his free digital chair design tool, I thought, “Wow – that’s nifty and would be awfully useful…if only I made chairs.” Well, now I ...
Mechanic's Companion
by Peter Nicholson
You can download an excerpt from this book here.
“Mechanic’s Companion” is one of the foundational English-language texts in woodworking and the building trades. First published in 1812, "Mechanic's Companion" is an invaluable and thorough treatment of techniques, with 40 plates that provide an excellent and detailed look at the tools of the time, along with a straightforward chapter on the geometry instruction necessary to the building trades.
If you work with hand tools, you will find useful primary-source information on how to use the tools at the bench. That's because Nicholson – unlike other technical writers of the time – was a trained cabinetmaker, who later became an architect, prolific author and teacher. So he writes (and writes well) with the authority of experience and clarity on all things carpentry and joinery. For the other trades covered – bricklaying, masonry, slating, plastering, painting, smithing and turning – he relies on masters for solid information and relays it in easy-to-understand prose.
There are, of course, print-on-demand (POD) versions of this book available, but none do the text the justice it deserves. Unlike a POD book, the pages in this edition will stay intact for generations. The text is printed on acid-free paper in signatures. These signatures are sewn and reinforced with fiber tape. The interior is then wrapped in hardcover boards and cotton cloth. The 416 page book is produced entirely in the United States.
In addition to the high-quality manufacturing, this edition features pages that were individually hand-scanned, cleaned up digitally and at times repaired to improve legibility. It was a months-long process for Megan Fitzpatrick, who originally published this edition under her Rude Mechanicals Press imprint. Lost Art Press has agreed to take over publication and distribution of this important text so that it remains available for future generations.
Contents
Publisher’s Introduction
Preface
Practical Geometry
Carpentry
Joinery
Bricklaying
Masonry
Slating
Plastering
Painting in Oil
Smithing
Turning
About the Author
Peter Nicholson (1765 - 1844) published “Mechanic’s Companion" in 1812. It was one of the first foundational English-language texts in woodworking and the building trades. Nicholson, unlike other technical writers of the time, was a trained cabinetmaker, who later became an architect, prolific author and teacher. He wrote (and wrote well) with the authority of experience and clarity on all things carpentry and joinery. For the other trades covered – bricklaying, masonry, slating, plastering, painting, smithing and turning – he relied on others for solid information and relayed it in easy-to-understand prose.