Smalls: 18 Well-designed, Easy Projects for an Afternoon in the Workshop

Our latest pocketbook, “Smalls,” offers 18 projects that make good use of all those little pieces of wood that are too good to throw away, but too small for full-size furniture projects.

Each project includes a photo of the finished piece, of course, plus a short explication of the steps, a cutting list plus complete construction drawings, including scaled and full-size drawings of the decorative parts.

You’ll also find chapters on technique basics so that even if you’re new to woodworking, you’ll learn what you need to cut the rabbets, dados and grooves, how to use cut nails, how to fair curves and more. In short, all the instruction you need to build these projects.

The editorial staff of Lost Art Press created this book from start to finish. Here’s who did what:

Megan Fitzpatrick wrote the chapters on the basic techniques at the front of the book, plus she built the Cat-ear Box, the Key Box, the Folk Bookcase, the Hanging Bookshelf, the Mailbox, the Marker Box, the Salt Box and the Spoon Rack.

Christopher Schwarz created the construction drawings and built the Walnut Wall Box, the German Plate Rack, the 6-board Chest and the Love Birds Cabinet.

Katherine Schwarz took many of the opening photos of the finished projects and built the Rabbit Box and the Crab Box.

Kale Vogt built the Pipe Box, the Staked Stool, the Trug and the 3-tier Shelf.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction    v
2. Glue    1
3. Nails    5
4. Rabbets, Dados & Grooves    13
5. Curves    27
6. Finishes    33
7. Walnut Wall Box    43
8. Rabbit Box    49
9. Crab Box    55
10. Pipe Box    63
11. Staked Stool    71
12. Trug    75
13. Cat-ear Box    83
14. Key Box    89
15. German Plate Rack    95
16. Folk Bookcase    101
17. Hanging Bookshelf    107
18. Mailbox    113
19. 3-Tier Shelf    119
20. Marker Box    125
21. 6-board Chest    133
22. Salt Box    139
23. Spoon Rack    145
24. Love Birds Cabinet    151
Project Credits    165

About the Physical Book

“Smalls" is one of our pocket books – inexpensive but well-made books that are printed and bound in the United States (this one was printed in Tennessee). Measuring 4” x 6.5”, this book has 176 pages. The text is printed on #70 matte-coated paper (acid free). The book’s pages are gathered into signatures then sewn together – a step few publishers bother with today. The book block is then glued and reinforced with fiber tape and covered with heavy cloth-covered boards, plus colorful headbands. This is a permanent library-grade book – designed to last a couple centuries.