My first woodworking job was at Therma-Tru, a door-making factory in Arkansas. For eight hours a day, I cut rails and stiles for fireproof doors on a sloppy and unguarded radial-arm saw.
To say I hated that machine isn’t a fair measure of the word “hate.” I was scared of the machine, and I would have a close call almost every day when the saw would lurch or bind.
But when I inherited my grandfather’s tools and machines in 1993, I was thrilled to obtain his sloppy, unguarded Craftsman radial-arm saw (aka the “radical-harm” saw).
For me, whether or not I like a tool has nothing to do with whether it’s powered by hand or electricity. Instead, it is about whether the tool keeps me “down on the farm” or sets me free. I know it sounds like a dimestore Marxist theory, but it’s true. (And if you think I’m a Marxist, then we haven’t met.)
Despite my love for handplanes, chisels and handsaws, I will never speak ill of my thickness planer, jointer or table saw. All of the tools in the previous sentence have allowed me to squirm free of being employed by someone else. Because I own those tools, I am entitled to the fruits of my labor (and theirs).
When I crank up my table saw, I am grateful for its ability to rip hundreds of feet of stock for a woodworking class or for a customer. When I remove the burr from the back of a chisel, I am thankful for its ability to chop and pare dovetails to an airtight fit.
Most of all, I love the fact that all of my tools allow me to build things that suit my aesthetic, that use raw materials that are renewable and that will last well beyond my short life.
Bottom line: I dislike adjectives (not to mention the dirty, filthy adverb). When I say I’m a woodworker, I don’t want anything modifying the noun. Just “woodworker.”
— Christopher Schwarz
P.S. So why don’t I write much about power tools? Easy. There are tons of fantastic books, magazines and videos that cover the subject in exhaustive detail. Handwork is, for our generation, an undiscovered country.
I like this blog regarding power tools considerably better then an older one of yours:
If They’d Had a Biscuit Joiner…
Posted on September 13, 2012 by LostArtPress
‘I’m a woodworker, I don’t want anything modifying the noun.’ – THANK YOU!
Someone once said, “What I make is for my customers, how I make it is for me.”
“The Anarchist’s Table Saw”, I can see it now.
The Sears Radial Saws are the best kept secret in woodworking. The ones from the mid 70s represent the peak of quality and design. I have 2 of them in my shop and paid $50 each on Craigslist. If you know how to tune them and use them for cross cutting or mitering with the proper blade (0–5 degree hook angle), add an oshlun laser and they are capable of superb work. Kind of like my collection of Stanley Planes. Today both of these tools are bad-mouthed by people who are unaware of proper use. A few years ago I was building a house for my daughter and the carpentry sub asked if I would mind if the young quy working for him did the casings in the closets.
I told him yes, and the next day found the kid fitting miters with a file. I asked him if he had a block plane and his answer was “no I have heard that they are no good because you have to sharpen them all of the time”. I gave him my freshly sharpened Stanley 601/2 and showed him how to use it and the comment was ” wow I can’t believe how good this thing works”. I was thinking I could have given you my Lie-Nielson block plane to try, but as my grandmother that would be like giving strawberries to the hogs.
Ray Duffy
The killer app of that radial saw is using a dado head to produce angled doghole strips for square dogs (3 to 5 degrees, depending on dog design). The same setup does an admirable job of producing large tenons for timberframes (or workbench streatchers) in a jiffy. Minor fine tuning with a chisel at the shoulders, or a shoulder plane, makes this a quick job.
That should read “my grandmother would say,”
Ray
I have a 40 year old (at least) Craftsman table saw that scares the stuffing out of me. My goal is to replace it but it’s hard to get something that big down the stairs without my wife noticing (much less noticing the line on the credit card bill).
I have that same table saw, if you’re referring to the 50s/60s saws made by King Seeley, and after tuning it up, I find it to be an excellent little saw, within its limitations. I gave it a zero clearance insert (you can’t make one of these easily because of some design decisions, you’ll have to buy it), a splitter, and in a fit of genious/madness, a delta unifence. It came with a 1hp motor that I should probably upgrade, but it’s accurate enough that with appropriate jigs I can cut my joinery on the saw when I’m doing something bigger than a one-off piece.
Oh dear, I just did a little math, and realized that your saw was built during my lifetime, which means it is probably one of those regreatble Emerson Electric saws built out of sheet metal. The previous generation of Craftsman tool was significantly better.
Now that you are allowing wieners back, how about some more teasers on “Furniture of Necessity”.
Very well said! I have to agree with every word. I am proud of being called a woodworker. It encompasses many aspects about myself. Great post Sir! Marxist? wink wink …he asked him knowingly
Great job here Chris! This covers many points that the new and aspiring woodworkers, such as myself need to hear. Yourself and a great friend of mine Carl bilderback are two people that this world needs more of. What I mean by that are people who are not afraid to help someone by guiding them in what you believe to be the right way, ( which I believe is) in a genuine way. A lot of people think if they enlighten someone of their knowledge and experience that it may hinder themselves directly. I know you know this already, but this is less about this certain blog and more of your blogs and books as a whole. I just bought and finished the anarchist tool chest , and for me (the young aspiring woodworker) I would feel misguided if it weren’t for you and Carl. I wanted to give you a figurative pat on the back, and keep up the good work. -Dale
I could not agree more! My father heard the term hybrid woodworker and asked me about it. He then went on to say that is nothing new and has been the way he has worked for over 60 years, why do people think that is a big deal? We are woodworkers how it gets done means nothing.