Day 11: Milwaukee 50-piece General Purpose Utility Blades
We use utility knives all the time around here, and they get dull quickly. There is little more frustrating than trying to cut with a dull blade – plus it’s dangerous. But it’s a pain to go searching for that pack of blades you know is in the shop somewhere. Or fighting with a blade dispenser that is bockety (we’re looking at you, Stanley). That’s why we default to the Milwaukee blade pack. It’s easy to get a new one out of the dispenser, and the dispenser is large enough to hang on the wall. Also, it’s red, so it’s fairly easy to spot even if it’s in the bottom of your tool chest.
My current bench: a Benchcrafted ‘Classic’ 84″ (with custom hub bling).
A few years back, we decided we had too many benches in our shop, so I hired movers to transport and get my “Gluebo” into my basement. (Its weight almost killed us moving it from my former workplace to Lost Art Press in 2017.)
Then we decided we had too few benches, and that we should have a commercial bench on site so that we could try it out and perhaps recommend it to those who didn’t want to (or have time to) make their own bench. (And OK… we did the math, and realized our time was better spent on editing and things other than making a new bench.) So we asked Benchcrafted to make me a 30″-tall version of the 84″-long “Classic” (the standard height is 34″). At 5’6″ (OK…I’m a little shorter these days), 34″ is too high for me to comfortably plane atop for long periods of time – and I spend a fair amount of time at the bench. So I was happy that Benchcrafted agreed.
And it is an excellent bench; we do recommend it – though I wish it were about 2″ wider. (It would be easy to add a piece of maple to the back edge…I just haven’t done it.)
Now we need to move a bench over to our new storefront, so folks have one handy on which to try out Crucible tools (and so that we have one on site for photography). Kale is a couple inches shorter than am I…and I must have had on Birkenstocks the day we measured for that bench height. In my work boots (which I wear about 10 months out of the year), 31″ is a better height. So Kale is taking my Classic, and we have once again begged Benchcrafted to make a custom-height bench for me. We’re moving Kale’s current bench, the Holtzapffel, to the Anthe building
This time, we’re getting the Split-top Roubo, because people ask about it a lot. And having worked on one for only a couple weeks on and off while teaching at the Florida School of Woodworking, I don’t have an informed decision about it. So I’m about to find out.
It’s easier for Benchcrafted to do a run of benches at one time – and they don’t typically do custom. So if anyone else needs a 31″-high bench, get your Split-top Order in ASAP (I’d say by no later than Dec. 11), and send the Benchcrafted guys a note immediately afterword stating that you want the shorter height.
– Fitz
p.s. How do you know the right bench height? The way we figure it is to stand straight and let your arm hang down loosely by your side. Have someone measure the distance from the knuckle joint on your dominant hand’s pinky to the floor. That’s the ideal height for the top of your bench, if you do a lot of handplaning with metal planes; those who use wooden-stock planes might prefer a slightly shorter bench. To raise things to a comfortable height for sawing, I use a twin-screw vise.
p.p.s. We also plan to film a video in 2025 on making the Anarchist’s Workbench at 31″ tall. That one will likely become my bench (unless I fall in love with the split top), then I’ll take home my “petite Roubo” that found its way over here when we were still a bench short. I miss having that one at home. It is white pine – no need to hire movers (which is why we brought it here instead of bringing back the Gluebo). Then we’ll have enough benches for all our classes, and at various heights so that we can more easily match them up to people. Plus, lots of different styles so that folks can try out the different “models.”
I can’t tell you how often I grab this thin pry bar from Chris’s tool chest in a panic to remove moulding and other small pieces without damaging them, and I don’t know what else. But I grab it a lot. I have one at home that I should bring into the shop…except that I use it a lot at home. It’s less than $10; I really should just get one for my own LAP chest.
Collection of Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec.
Several weeks ago I came across an illustrated collection of tools held by Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec (BAnQ). The approximate date of the collection is 1740, which pre-dates Roubo’s “l’art du Menuisier.”
The collection, acquired in 1970, includes 84 illustrations. In the BAnQ’s description it is noted the illustrations may be from a catalog as there are prices and the number of tools noted on each page.
The tools were used by French military forces working on fortresses north of the Rhine. The construction of the fortresses began in the 17th century and were originally led by Marshal Vauban, famed military engineer.
As the tools were used to build and maintain military battlements, not all were used for woodworking. The gallery below has 20 illustrations, but there may be a few more (I was kicked off the website after falling to prove I was human).
You can view the entire tool collection held by BAnQ here.
If you want a fantastic logo stamp, contact Infinity Stamps. The company’s designers will create a stamp for you based on a sketch or whatever else you have, or you can send a vector file. Infinity is fast and great to deal with. Chris has three (or it is four?) stamps from them, and I have two. They are excellent.
