I wrote once before about the generous gift I received from Kori Capaldi, Operations Manager of the Gamble House. I met Kori when I was in Pasadena for Pasadena Heritage Craftsman Weekend in October. Because I spent quite a bit of time at “THE house” for various tours and receptions, I got a chance to talk with Kori for a while. I told her about the chest I was building and that the lid would be restrained by a leather strap. A month or so after I returned home Kori sent me an email and asked if I’d like a piece of the leather that was used in the Gamble house when the leather straps on the lighting fixtures were replaced several years ago.

Of course I said “No” and that was the end of it. OK, maybe I said “Yes” and tried not to appear overly anxious in the process. You see, the Gamble house is tantamount to a religious shrine for those of us afflicted with serious cases of Greene-itis. It is indescribably beautiful. I mean that literally. No attempt to convey, using words, that amazing vision can end in anything but utter failure. Thus, to have a tangible link between the core of the G&G universe and one of my pieces of furniture is very special indeed.

Though I’ve had the leather for some time now, I’ve just completed installing it. I didn’t want to be hasty -- it had to be just right. I spent hours scouring the internet for the perfect rivets to use to attach it and the search paid off. I found a product even better than I had hoped for. Screw posts are similar to rivets but because they screw together they are removable. So if I ever have to remove the lid of the chest I won’t have to cut the leather (Actually, I wouldn’t have been able to cut the leather I would have asked my wife to do it. When I wasn’t home.). And with persistence I was able to find them in solid brass with an oil-rubbed bronze patina. With that final piece of the puzzle in place, the installation is complete. And it was worth the wait. Thanks Kori.

By the way, this chest is the subject of an article to appear in the April issue of Popular Woodworking (available early March). Unfortunately, I didn’t have the Gamble leather when photos were shot for the article -- in the magazine you’ll see a piece of upholstery leather leftover from a Morris chair project.

If you’ve read Woodsmith and ShopNotes magazines for any length of time, you know that we’re a fan of threaded inserts. They make it easy to build jigs and fixtures and knock-down furniture or projects. They’re a great way to add machine threads for attaching screws and bolts.

E-Z Lok is a manufacturer of threaded inserts for a variety of industries and applications. And I’ve recently discovered that their web site is a valuable resource of information you can use when building projects that make use of threaded inserts. Their web site contains PDF documents that contain detailed dimemensioned drawings and complete charts listing dimensions and recommended hole sizes for their inserts. (They caution you to try out the insert on a scrap piece to get the exact hole size.)

Click here for a chart of their inserts for hardwood.

Click here for a listing of the knife-thread inserts for softwood.

I like to use press-in “Finserts” whenever I can (see photo at left). I don’t have to thread them and risk not getting them in straight. You can simply press or tap them in place. Click here for more information on finserts.

If you scroll to the bottom of these pages, you’ll see links for PDF documents of drawings and charts.

E-Z Lok’s products are sold through a variety of distributors like McMaster-Carr, Reid Tool, and MSC.