Here’s the quick version: We won’t have any new stock on dividers or lump hammers until January at the earliest. We are working hard to build up inventory on these items, here are some details.
On lump hammers, we have moved some of the finishing operations to the shop in Covington, Ky. Brendan Gaffney and Megan Fitzpatrick will be grinding the machined hammer heads, finishing the handles and assembling them. They are working on their first batch now.
This change will speed up production greatly. But changing our manufacturing process (and the holidays) have slowed us down. We had to move equipment, build new jigs and train Megan and Brendan.
On dividers, we have a large batch that is machined but needs to be finished and assembled. These were also snared in the equipment changes. Raney is setting up a new belt grinder in the Lab to complete the dividers and some future tools.
As soon as we have any new information we will post it here and on the Crucible blog. Promise.
— Christopher Schwarz
Both will be worth waiting for
Two words: child labor.
So ya’ll have evolved from a shop to a lab?? Sweet. I’ll be looking for a tour next time I’m that way.
Thanks for the tool update. Wink
Grinding metal and cutting wood in the same space is really problematic, sparks and grit just get everywhere as I’m sure you know. It’s something I need to sort out for my own small shop. I hope you have a decent separate fireproof dust collector for the grinder. Best of luck for the new setup!
Yup. We are walling off the area with plastic curtains used in body shops. Plus a separate dust system. And a parts washer to remove oil, which encourages fire. We went though all this in setting up the Lab.
I must say, the lump hammer has become my favourite tool to hold and use. Not just hold and admire, hold and use. Holding and admiring is lovely, as it is it a wonderfully designed piece of kit. But the last couple of weeks I combined my admiration with use. I have laid down a sub floor in my shop. I used 2’x2′ prefab interlocking (plastic base, and OSB top) subfloor panels over concrete. Once I started using Lumpy to lock in the panels, it was love at first swing. Wow. How could such a simple tool morph into an extension of my body? I was amazed, and in love. Swing away boys……. swing away…….
Mr. Bill, your note about prefab subfloor panels may be just the thing I’ve been searching for my garage wood shop… thanks!