Just in time for the holidays, we have received our first shipment of our USA-made canvas tool rolls, which are available for immediate shipment. The tool rolls are made by the same factory that makes our workshop waist apron, so the build quality and stitching is immaculate. The price is $39 plus domestic shipping. Also, …
Let’s play a game I call “Stupid or Ethical?” The first time I interviewed Robin Lee, president of Lee Valley Tools, I asked him a few questions that readers had been asking me for years. Robin’s answers are paraphrased below, though I’ve heard him say them so many times in the last decade I could …
I spent yesterday in Hay-On-Wye for the first of many field trips for the John Brown book. Picturesque Hay, home to the renowned book festival and equally renowned (if somewhat more niche) spoon festival, is halfway between the village where Chris Williams’ (my co-author for the project) lives and Birmingham, so it makes for an …
Swimming Into Focus — The John Brown Book – Read More »
Every time I build a tool chest for a customer or during a class, someone asks me this question: Why are you going to paint over all those beautiful dovetails? My answer: Because it’s the best finish for a tool chest. Historically, most tool chests were painted. I think I’ve seen only a dozen that …
To develop the curves in the various brackets – here the support for the back fence on the lid of a desk – I followed the ancient practice of melding arcs of a circle along a straight line. I begin by making a few concept sketches …
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A small but mighty important section. Christopher Schwarz might disagree, but I’d say this is the formative section of the collection: books on workbenches and tool chests – two things that are not only of importance in any shop, but of great importance to Chris’ woodworking history (and now mine – at least on the …
Mechanical Library: Workbenches & Tool Chests – Read More »
Editor’s note: One of the ridiculous and wonderful things we did for Joshua Klein’s book “Hands Employed Aright: The Furniture Production of Jonathan Fisher (1768-1847)” is to commission a painting of Fisher in his workshop. Klein came up with the idea as a way to show Fisher in his habitat, surrounded by many of the …
And I do it for you. Details on the Crucible blog here. — Christopher Schwarz Share this: Print Email Facebook Tumblr Pinterest Twitter Like this: Like Loading…
No trespassing. I like to go places that haven’t been interpreted by museum personnel or academics (nothing against these people, but I like to draw my own conclusions). This unrestored coastal artillery facility is nothing like the touristy one down the road. This is an excerpt from “Ingenious Mechanicks” by Christopher Schwarz. Sometimes I wonder …