Core77 has just published my latest column, which details how I generate ideas for books, furniture, tools and such. It’s free to read, as always.
Generating buckets of ideas (both good and bad) is an important part of my business. Plus, having a long list of future projects is what keeps me happy and motivated.
My methods, however, are odd. The way I generate ideas is a rejection of almost every “guide to being creative” that I’ve read.
Thanks, as always, to Core77 for publishing these columns, which allow me to stray a little further afield from woodworking.
There are occasional times in the shop I gash myself pretty good. I know that I don’t need stitches, but I also don’t want to wait for an hour for the wound to stop bleeding and set up enough that I can go back to work.
Enter WoundSeal – a fantastic powder that will seal up a gash instantly and create a scab that protects the area from further damage. You can buy it at any good drugstore.
First clean out the wound with soap and water. Let the blood well up again (this is important) and then apply the powder. The powder reacts with the blood and bam – the wound is sealed.
WoundSeal says that the stuff doesn’t burn or hurt when you apply it. I haven’t found that to be true. The stuff hurts – briefly. But that’s a small price to pay for the excellent results.
Don’t pick at the scab. I like to cover the scab with a bandage to prevent it from getting caught on something, though WoundSeal says that’s unnecessary.
Buy some today and keep it on hand. You’ll be glad the next time you slip with a chisel.
— Christopher Schwarz
Disclaimer: We buy all of our tools. We don’t accept advertising or sponsorships. We are not part of any affiliate program. We don’t make any money if you buy these items. We just like these tools.
You can now place a pre-publication order for the expanded edition of “The Anarchist’s Design Book.” The book is in the hands of the printer and should be complete in early January. If you place a pre-publication order before January, you will receive a free pdf download of the book at checkout.
The expanded edition is 200 pages longer than the first edition and includes six additional projects, plus new chapters on the design and philosophy that is the backbone of the book.
The new edition is $49 – that’s only $2 more than the first edition. We’re also sewing in a red bookmark ribbon in each book. I’ve always liked bookmark ribbons, though they add some expense to the manufacturing.
What hasn’t changed: The book is still produced and printed entirely in the United States. The 656 pages are casebound, the pages are sewn for durability and the book is covered in a tough hardback cover. We want our books to outlast us.
You can order your copy from our store via this link. As always, we hope all our retailers will carry the book, but it is entirely up to them. Please contact your local retailer for information.
The Chapters
Below is the table of contents for the expanded edition. I’ve set the new chapters in italics.
Preface
1: The Furniture of Your Gaoler
2: A Guide to Uncivil Engineering
STAKED FURNITURE
3: An Introduction to Staked Furniture
4: Staked Sawbench, Plate 1
5: Extrude This 6: Staked Low Stool, Plate 2 7: Staked High Stool, Plate 3
8: Drinking Tables, Plate 4 9: Furniture in the Water
10: Worktable, Plate 5
11: Staked Bed, Plate 6
12: Trestle Tables, Plate 7
13: Seeing Red 14: Chairs! Chairs! 15: Notes on Chair Comfort
16: Staked Backstool, Plate 8
17: Staked Chair, Plate 9 18: Staked Armchair, Plate 10
BOARDED FURNITURE
19: All Aboveboard 20: Bare Bones Basics of Nail Technology 21: Low Boarded Bench, Plate 11 22: Boarded Tool Chest, Plate 12
23: To Make Anything
24: Six-board Chest, Plate 13 25: Mule Chest, Plate 14 26: Boarded Settle Chair, Plate 15 27: Boarded Bookshelf, Plate 16
28: Aumbry, Plate 17
29: Fear Not
30: Coffin, Plate 18 31: The Island of Misfit Designs Afterword
APPENDICES
A: Tools You Need
B: On Hide Glue
C: On Soap Finish
D: On Milk Paint E: Tenons by Hand F: Machine Tapers
G: Seat Templates
Acknowledgments
Supplies
Index
— Christopher Schwarz
P.S. If you have a print or pdf copy of the original edition, you can download the new contents for free – no matter where you purchased the book. Here’s how.
P.P.S. Also, several people have asked why we didn’t simply publish a “Volume 2” of the design book containing only the new material. Two reasons: You need the information from the original edition to make sense of the new material. I dislike books that cannot stand on their own. Second: A second volume of 200 pages would have cost about $35 retail (the printing business is complex). So owning both volumes would have cost readers $82. The way we’ve done it is (I think) the most fair and the least wasteful. But that’s me.
You need good tweezers (and sometimes a sharp X-Acto knife) to remove difficult splinters.
I’ve tried a lot of brands. I’m sure there are some really high-end ones out there that I haven’t used, but the best commonly available ones are the Tweezerman brand. I get these from the drugstore and pick the “precision point” tip versions with the most outlandish colors so I can spot them easily in my tool chest.
These tweezers have sharp tips to dig into your flesh (this is a good thing) and they grip like crazy so you can pull the offending sliver from deep inside your hand (or wherever…).
— Christopher Schwarz
Disclaimer: We buy all of our tools. We don’t accept advertising or sponsorships. We are not part of any affiliate program. We don’t make any money if you buy these items. We just like these tools.
I wrote about these in August. They are still awesome and I still use them every chance I get.
Why am I writing this, then? To tell you not to bother ordering them from the Two Cherries website. I ordered some, they charged my card but the pencils never arrived – Pencilgate. So if you want them, I recommend Tools for Working Wood. They won’t let you down (and the pencils are the same price when purchased direct from Two Cherries).
Fantastic pencils. Great lead. Great wood. Perfect balance and feel in the hand.
— Christopher Schwarz
Disclaimer: We buy all of our tools. We don’t accept advertising or sponsorships. We are not part of any affiliate program. We don’t make any money if you buy these items. We just like these tools.
You can now place a pre-publication order for the expanded edition of “
