Highly Recommended: 'The Chronicle' on DVD

This blog post is long overdue.

Late last year I purchased volumes 1-60 of “The Chronicle” on DVD from the Early American Industries Association, of which I am a card-carrying member. “The Chronicle” is the association’s quarterly journal, and if you love traditional tools and history, then this DVD is like a giant black hole of your free time.

All 60 volumes of “The Chronicle” are on the DVD in .pdf format (Update: Now the DVD contains volumes 1-61). They have been professionally scanned and indexed so that you can search the entire DVD by keyword to find anything your tool-grubbing heart desires.

Last night I was digging up information on traditional tool chests, their sizes, joinery and inventories for a future project of mine. After five minutes of searching on this DVD I had an overwhelming wealth of information on the topic, including details on several excellent chests that I was unaware even existed.

You can then print out the pages you want (in high resolution) and do with them what you please.

You also can search though the DVD by year, or browse through an index of articles arranged by author (hey look, it’s Jay Gaynor) or by subject (seven articles on adzes). Or you can just look for the book reviews.

This DVD makes hundreds of articles available that most woodworkers would never see, including pictures and details of tools that you’ll not find on the Internet. And the price is right: $25 for members of EAIA and $35 for non-members (plus $5 shipping).

The DVD works in any computer with a DVD drive and uses Acrobat Reader 8 and 9 (which are free and are also included with the DVD).

This DVD is an immense resource for woodworkers who like traditional tools. I highly recommend it. Visit the EAIA’s web site for more information.

– Christopher Schwarz