In some high technology circles there is an expression they use when engineers move too quickly to launch a project. They have “go fever” and are willing to overlook horrible mistakes in order to launch a product. When teaching woodworking – especially casework – I find that most students need to take down their protective netting, … Read more
Chris Schwarz Woodworking Classes
The Dumb Way to Teach Design
While I like and appreciate strict reproductions, I’ve always preferred to design my own stuff. How do I design a piece? In the only way I know how. It’s not easy. There are no formulas or rules or ratios. It is by a process I call “saturation and feedback.” Step 1: Absorb everything you can … Read more
Toothbrushes & Glue in Canada
When in Canada, you do need to be careful about what you use your toothbrush for. At woodworking schools in the United States, a lot of them use a wet toothbrush to remove wet glue squeeze-out from the inside corners of a carcase. But when teaching a tool chest class at Rosewood Studio in Perth, … Read more
Improvised Tools (Thanks Blue Tape!)
When I fly somewhere to teach, I usually have a luggage limit of about 50 pounds. Amongst my heaps of lacy underwear, I pack the tools I cannot live without – about 12 pounds worth. That means when I land at my destination, I usually need to make some tools to get through my classes … Read more
Beware of Australians Bearing Softwoods
Among us old-school newspaper cronies, we have a saying: If your mother says she loves you, check it out. Meaning: Don’t believe a word anyone tells you. So when I arrived in Australia earlier this month I inoculated myself against some of the most common Australian practical jokes. (Out of respect for this beautiful country, … Read more
Australian Woods? We’re Not There Yet
My biggest fear when traveling to Australia wasn’t the 16-hour flight, the change of hemispheres or the spiders that would make my *deleted* fall off. It was the timber I’d have to work with. Australian woods have the reputation of being the nastiest, hardest, most interlocked and silica-choked timbers on the planet. One stroke on … Read more
The Great Australian Tool Chest Experiment
I’ve been teaching classes on building “The Anarchist’s Tool Chest” for two years now, and with every class I find some way of goosing the students a bit further along. Last year at The Woodwright’s School we actually got two of the 12 students completely over the finish line. This week, I hope to shatter … Read more