The Mid-West Tool Collector’s Association (mwtca.org) printed up a nice profile of us in their March issue of The Gristmill. Editor Jay Whittington drove here for a visit (along with his wife) and we talked for most of a day about the craft, tools and how to get them in the hands of the next generation.
The article is a whopping eight pages long and features some nice photos of our buildings, workshop, storefront and fulfillment center. Plus, my blather!
During the last couple years I’ve returned to the membership rolls of the M-WTCA. I had been a member for more than a decade. Then, during the pandemic, I let my membership lapse (as well as my personal hygiene).
I’m so happy to be back. And during my absence, the M-WTCA has taken on lots of younger members and has upgraded The Gristmill’s paper, design and content. Whittington and a lot of the new members are trying to focus on using old tools as much as collecting them.
YouTuber James Wright epitomizes the drive of this younger generation. If you want a taste of life in the organization, then you should absolutely follow his Instagram feed. He attends a lot of the meetings and posts mouthwatering videos of the tools on display and for sale at the meetings.
I’ve missed those meetings. The coffee, the donuts and the tailgating. I hope I can find the time to attend some of the regional meetings near us this year.
If you dislike buying tools on eBay, joining M-WTCA is the best solution. The members of the club sell user tools at extremely fair prices. And you get to pick up 100 or 300 smoothing planes to find the one that speaks to you.
— Christopher Schwarz
The Area F tool meet in Spencer Indiana (at McCormick’s Creek State park, just west of Bloomington) is coming up on March 14th and 15th. Since it is 2 days, it is nice that you don’t have to get there at the crack of dawn, plus it’s inside (we get the upstairs conference room and the whole basement) and since it is 2 days, there is plenty of time to visit and shop.
The annual Area F meet in Spencer, Indiana at McCormick’s Creek State Park will be on March 14 and 15th. It’s great because we have the very large conference room and the entire basement for 2 days, so there is plenty of time to shop and visit without worrying about the weather or having to get there at the crack of dawn with a flashlight to find great tools. On Sunday at 10:00 we have an auction to raise the stake for next years meet, which is always a fun time.
There are always lots of user and collector tools, and several sawyers bring wood for sale.
Yay you! LAP does important work.