Category: Anarchist’s Gift Guide

I can’t remember a recent project where I didn’t pick up a bird-cage awl. From marking the location of spindles or screws to actually drilling holes for tiny screws, a bird-cage awl is essential for installing hardware, deepening marks left by your dividers and even cleaning out junk from the corners of deep mortises.

I’ve used a lot of bird-cage awls, and this year I finally found the one I like the most: The 803 from Matthias Fenner Toolworks. This awl is – best of all – easy to use, skillfully made and sharp. But it is also gorgeous.

The business end of the tool is a round O1 shaft that’s 8mm in diameter. And it ends in a 7/8”-long tapered tip. It’s a great shape for drilling holes (just rotate the handle as you press the tool into the wood). The solid ferrule strengthens the tool and fits seamlessly onto the shaft. The walnut handle meets the ferrule smoothly, continuing the inside cove shape on the handle.

The handle itself is quite ergonomic. The crisp point on the lower end of the handle allows you to exert downward pressure as you drill. And it fits neatly right outside your thumb and index finger when you grip it.

Matthias makes these tools to order, and it can take a little time for him to make them and for them to arrive from Germany. But they are worth the wait. If your awl can’t make it here for Christmas, perhaps it can be a Groundhog Day gift instead.

The awls are 49.90 € (about $58 U.S. today). They are well worth the price.

— Christopher Schwarz

Read other entries from The Anarchist’s Gift Guide here.

I know I’m going to get some flack for this entry, but I’m already over it. Yes, I am about to recommend a surge protector that costs $200. No, I’m not crazy. And yes, I like the pretty colors that they come in.

We don’t have a lot of electrical outlets in our workshop. When we tore out the old bar equipment, we removed miles – literally miles – of electric cabling. And speaker cables. Coaxial. Wire for security cameras. Stuff I couldn’t identify.

I probably went overboard in removing outlets from the building. Megan and I each have an outlet in the floor by our workbenches. It is what powers our task lights, charges our phones and spins the occasional drill. It’s enough, except when we have six additional students and another instructor working in the room.

So last year I decided to upgrade the cheap plastic surge protectors we use to help divide the electricity equitably. I did some research, and I ended up with a few of these Conway Electric surge protectors. Though they’re made in California, they’re built like Soviet tanks. The bodies are stout steel plate. The switches make a hugely satisfying “click.” And the cord is cloth wrapped and nicely flexible.

If I built surge protectors, this is exactly how I would build them.

My only complaint about the product is the ordering is a bit weird. You get a confirmation of your order, but it can take weeks before you hear anything more about your shipment. It always comes (I’ve ordered three times). You just have to be patient.

— Christopher Schwarz

Read other entries from The Anarchist’s Gift Guide here.

I’m always looking for better drill bits because my work involves making a lot of holes. My dream bit would make a clean hole (entry, exit and every surface in between), it wouldn’t clog and it would make a hole that is the exact dimension stamped on its shaft.

In my experience, you can only get two of those three characteristics in a drill bit.

The WoodOwl Overdrive bits are likely the best bits I’ve encountered so far. They aren’t perfect, but they come closer than any other bit I’ve encountered. Here are some details.

Hole cleanliness: The Overdrives are as good as I’ve seen. The bits cut rapidly and leave a clean hole – even if the exit hole isn’t backed up with a sacrificial board.

Bit cleanliness: The Overdrives don’t clog. They have large flutes that pull the waste away rapidly. And waste doesn’t get packed into the flutes like on some other augers.

Accuracy: Here is where the bits fail me a bit. When used in a handheld drill, the flutes of the bit can cut the round hole into an oval. This is, of course, user error – I moved the drill. But the Overdrives have very sharp flutes, and it can be difficult to avoid making the hole a little bit oval-shaped.

This isn’t a big deal in many applications. In fact, most woodworkers won’t notice it. But if you drill an oval through-mortise and have a round tenon, the error will show.

But other than that detail, I love them. The Japanese-made bits have the added benefit of having a hex shank, so they won’t spin and gall in your drill’s chuck. And they are remarkably inexpensive for what you get. They are outstanding bits for your drill press.

If you live in the U.K., get the Star-M F-Type bits (they’re made by the same manufacturer). They have a little different bit geometry, but that have all the same excellent characteristics of the Overdrives.

— Christopher Schwarz

Read other entries from The Anarchist’s Gift Guide here.

Here’s another item that you might have seen coming. When we started selling pencils of our own design, we investigated making a simple pencil sharpener. We immediately gave up when we used the Mobius+Ruppert “Grenade” 602 pencil sharpener. Note that some sites call this the “double round” sharpener.

These German-made, inexpensive (less than $10) and hard-working pencil sharpeners are all you could ever want. The Grenade has a brass body and offers two holes. One for standard-diameter pencils, and a second that fits the oversized pencils that we make.

The Grenade comes sharp. And the company offers replaceable blades (10 for about $8), so this little beauty never needs to go in the trash.

Mobius+Ruppert make a number of pencil sharpeners. We have a few of them, and they are great. But for a single sharpener that will handle almost all of your pencils, the 602 Grenade is the one to get.

— Christopher Schwarz

Read other entries from The Anarchist’s Gift Guide here.

When you start exploring the world that exists outside of 90°, it helps to have a couple tools to help you navigate the journey. One of those tools is a sliding bevel. The other nice one is a “tilt box” or “digital inclinometer.”

These little boxes allow you to set your machinery to a precise tilt angle (most people use it on the table saw’s blade). The magnet on the bottom of the tool grabs the steel saw blade. Then you tilt the blade until you hit the right angle.

But I use these tilt boxes in other ways. When I want to investigate a chair in the wild, I pack a camera, a tape measure and this tilt box. I can zero it to the floor to get the rake and splay of the legs. And I can zero it to the seat to get the angles of the spindles/sticks/backrest etc. It is a miracle tool for investigating chairs in antique stores or museums.

Oh, I almost forgot. The Beall version also has a “hold” button, which allows you to hold the last measurement on the screen. It’s great for people who forget little things – such as a handy “hold” button….

A couple people have complained that these devices are not accurate. I’ve confirmed mine 10 ways from Sunday against my drawings, my sliding bevel and my finished pieces. I suspect the user error is not holding the tilt box on the true front elevation or true profile.

The other complaint that I hear about these gizmos is that they eat batteries. To that I say: I suppose? I’ve used mine almost every week for two years, and I have replaced the batteries once. That seems like some slow digestion to me.

I like the Beall version because it has a rugged metal case. There are other versions out there, but I can’t speak for them. We had a bunch of these tools at our old shop at Popular Woodworking Magazine, but they always had dead batteries or dead electronics. The Beall has been a real survivor.

— Christopher Schwarz

Read other entries from The Anarchist’s Gift Guide here.