For woodworking I prefer wooden layout tools – squares, straightedges, winding sticks and the like. They are lightweight and so much easier to keep in truth than metal tools.
While most woodworkers make their own layout tools, some don’t have the time or persnickety nature necessary to do it really well. If you are one of those people, you need to get to know Neil Cronk of The Cronkwright Workshop.
Neil was a student of mine at Rosewood Studios – he was a professional carpenter, drywaller and furniture-maker. Then he chucked it all to make layout tools and custom furniture (and make ends meet by working at the local bike shop).
Right now Neil makes winding sticks, a Benjamin Seaton try square and the Durer Melencolia square. You can see them in his store here. I purchased his winding sticks and a Melecolia square to help support him and check out his work.
And then last weekend I looked over all his wares at the Woodworks Conference in Perth, Ontario. Neil’s work is impeccable. Every joint in his squares is flawless. The winding sticks are superb – way better than my beat-up pair. Neil inlaid stripes of contrasting woods on the inside face of each stick. It’s not window-dressing. The stripes allow you to effortlessly see how far out of truth a board is.
In other words, I think most woodworkers I know would be humbled by this work and it would serve to inspire them to do better work. I am certain that some commenters will balk and grumble about buying wooden tools that can be made. But these small items will help support a truly talented woodworker with a young family and I promise you will be damn impressed by the tools themselves.
Even if you aren’t interested in Neil’s tools, be sure to check out his Hand Joinery Tutorials that he posts on Twitter via live Tweets. He tackles a wide variety of joints and shows each step, and his photos are in real time.
— Christopher Schwarz
Great to see this ~ as someone who was also there, Neils ‘tools’ were indeed impressive! ; o
Hey Tom,
Thanks for the thumbs-up on Neil. He’s a great kid. Well, 98 percent of him. I will not speak of the 2 percent that ended up in my poor, poor camera.
Let me go on record and say that is by no means a reflection of ‘all-dread-locked East-Coasters’ .
I was lucky enough to pick-up one of Neil’s mahogany Melencolia squares in Perth… beautiful work.
I do feel bad for that camera… Neil is nuts.
That is one way to put it.
Making a living at woodworking = Nuts
Neil is a great guy and fits right in.
I was fortunate enough to receive a mahogany Melencolia square for Father’s Day.. from myself.. A mixture of art history, woodworking, and using reclaimed materials – apparently I really know what I like!
As Chris says, it is amazingly well-crafted. It just begs to be used, so I do any time I get the chance.
Woodworking in a tuxedo…there’s confidence for you!
I tend to fall in the make it yourself camp. But then I put my crap next to something of this calibre and it looks like a truckstop impressionist painting print compared to one of the realism masters.
And, honestly, I have tried to make 4 wooden squares and none of them were true, or even good enough to use in my own work. So, there is still room for cottage makers like Mr. Cronk. 🙂