During the last five years, I’ve had more than my share of intimate contact with the famous H.O. Studley tool cabinet. And so wherever I travel I get asked this question: “What’s it like?”
So I lie.
“I hate it,” I say. And then I talk about how stressful it is to unload and load all the 245 tools from such a precious artifact without dropping them or harming the chest.
The truth is, my encounters with the chest have changed both me and my woodworking. (And I’m sure that Don Williams, the book’s author and team leader, and Narayan Nayar, the photographer, would concur.)
The chest mocks us. It is a piece of craftsmanship and design that is virtually faultless, no matter how close you get to it. It’s an experience you don’t get from looking at the poster of the chest or a picture on a screen. It is something that is best experienced in person.
If you start with your eye about 2” from the chest you can see that the interior surfaces are exquisite. The inlay is seamless. The grain has no defects.
As you step back, you can see how each grouping of tools is organized. They are stepped and scaled in an orderly fashion, some of them looking a bit like a military formation.
You step back again. And again. Until it is at the back of the room. At no point does it become imperfect.
We are finishing up our shooting and filming of the chest (and Studley’s workbench) this week for the forthcoming book “Virtuoso.” I promise the book will be incredible on every level we can manage. But what I also recommend that you – as a craftsman – make a pilgrimage to see the chest in person in May 2015 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Details at www.studleytoolchestexhibit.com/.
It will humble you, as it has me. And it will inspire you to be a better woodworker or toolmaker. The only reason not to go is if you are already a better woodworker than H.O. Studley.
— Christopher Schwarz
I’ve never seen it in person. My first glimpse was on the back of a magazine years ago, when I had zero interest in woodworking. My first impression was along the lines of ‘steampunk heaven’.
I’ll take your advice and see it in Amana.
Is that a Stanley number one in the fancy plane garage pictured above?
I guess it is a #1: http://www.phoenixmasonry.org/masonicmuseum/tool_chest_made_by_studley.htm
Ooh. Last picture there in poster resolution, pretty please? *That* is one I would love to print and hang over my DTC. If you don’t have it in large rez though, no worries 🙂
Chris. Already got my tickets and reservations, made months ago. My thanks to you, Don and all involved in making Handworks and the Studley Tool Chest viewing a reality. Mike O’Brien Valley Head, AL
Sent from my iPhone 5s
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I can’t wait for the book to come out. Have thought about offering the pictures in an electronic form as well… I for one would be very interested.
I have several pics I heve collected through these months, if interested I can send them to you.
These posts are killing me. I so wish I was going but I can’t. 😩😫😥
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You are going to sell ALOT of books.
Does “filming of the chest” imply a future video?
Yup. There will be a documentary on the chest in HD in addition to the book.
“The chest mocks us.” How perfectly stated!
Will the book include plans?
No. It will not include plans. Considering the individualistic nature of the chest, plans are a bit useless. The book will contain lots of construction information on the chest and the swinging panels. But not measured drawings or a cutting list.
I see that as a forthcoming LAP publication, “The H. O. Studley Cutlist”: Twenty-two photocopied sheets (double sided!), stapled together in the upper left corner.
Not sure how this post told us anything about the “importance” of the chest . If indeed the chest is important all . Yes it looks great and the workmanship is of the very best ,but does it tell us anything new or indeed anything other than its an well exicuted one off . ?
To me it says this person was not making a living using these tools on a daily basis.
“Humble me” I dont think so . Its just a nice collection of tools expertly packed into a expertly made box, that would be difficult and realy annoying to use on a day to day basis . My question now is still the same as when I first saw it ilustrated many years ago what was the point ?
I sort of have to agree with you. I mean no disrespect and I have the utmost reverence for the chest and it’s craftmanship, but I guess it just doesn’t do much for me. To each his own I suppose.
As a woodworker, I am inspired when I encounter true greatness. Sitting in a Sam Maloof chair, for example.
It’s an experience that few woodworkers get – I have been crazy lucky in my life to see these things. I have found that I don’t get it from photos or video or reading.
It has nothing to do with liking the style of the piece. Or the utilitarian aspects of it.
It is, to quote Jeff Tweedy, an “illiterate light.”
If I looked at the chest through a utilitarian lens, I’d probably be disappointed. It definitely violates the “one movement” guideline for grabbing a tool. And the ornate work serves no purpose beyond visual appeal. Why inlay something with ivory and mother of pearl if the ultimate goal is everyday use?
The chest is a departure from the form-follows-function mantra so many of us adhere to. But let’s not forget that wood degrades over time without proper care. Combine this with the propensity of a woodworker to live the craft inside his or her head and not on paper, and it’s not hard to see why we have limited examples and first-hand words to lift the veil and shine light on the past.
The chest is remarkable in part because it survived so long in such good shape. It gives us some insight into the man who spent decades perfecting it, but it doesn’t reveal all its secrets. And that remaining mystery is alluring. The chest is an almost flawless marriage of craftsmanship, engineering, and art, and therein lies its unique beauty.
I agree with everything you said except I think the ornamentation may have had a purpose. You have to put it in context with the time period. Ornamentation was a way for a craftsman to show his skills to a potential customer. Kind of like a resume or portfolio.
Two guys show up to bid on your fine woodworking project one with this chest and one with a more utilitarian chest. Without having seen anything else done by these guys, who are you going to trust to execute your vision to your standards? Just another way of looking at it.
Good point. I’d imagine the perception back then was that piano repair/building required more intricate skill than joinery, so showing off a little couldn’t hurt business.
I think it was made by aliens…
For those not impressed… I think the importance and the way it humbles us is just as Chris stated: “It is a piece of craftsmanship and design that is virtually faultless”. You have to look past the nice tools in a nice box to see it. Its execution gives us something to aim for. If you think it is perfect, you strive to match that perfection in your own work. If you think it looks cool but is impractical, then you strive for your work to look as cool, but be practical. Either way, it is a very important artifact, and I look forward to reading and seeing more about it.
I think that the criteria that a piece must ‘make sense’ is one I reject absolutely and instinctively.
I have seen far too many things which disappointed in person (as opposed to photos) and precious few which exceeded my capacity for understanding. I can think of three, and all three will remain etched in my memory forever. I generally refer to them lovingly as ‘alien technology’.
And without those three astonishing works, I’m not sure I’d have continued ”making’ with the same passion. I KNOW I wouldn’t be as good a woodworker or toolmaker without them.
I have no use for the chest as a tool chest. As a windmill to be tilted at, however, and a statement of man’s eternal striving just for the sake of the attempt — well, I’m hoping to be humbled in Amana again.