Category: Anarchist’s Gift Guide

Some woodworkers scoff at owning a level because it is regarded as mostly a carpenter’s tool. Furniture doesn’t have to be level and plumb, does it?

A small level – about 12″ long – is a great thing to have in the workshop. You can use it to level your workbench. And then you can learn a lot of things about the chairs, stools and boxes you build there. 

For me, a 12″ level is indispensable when leveling the legs of any piece of furniture – including a chest, table or chair. You can buy a cheap aluminum or plastic level from the home center. Or you can spend a little more and buy a vintage Starrett machinist’s level for $20 to $40. (Yes, there will be a temporary shortage and price spike because of this blog entry. But it will go away because Starrett made tons of these.)

These cast-iron Starrett levels are gorgeous. The three vials are replaceable. The tool’s underside is relieved so it sits nicely on a round surface, such as a chair stick. This level will remind you of how things used to be made for people in the trades.

There are fancier levels out there (Davis Tool and Level for starters). And there are some modern makers out there who do stunning work that is worth supporting, too. So get a level. And get one that makes you want to take care of it.
One more thing: If you want to get fancy, buy an inclinometer, too. These can help you precisely dial in the pitch of a chair seat, for example.

— Christopher Schwarz

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

When I design a new piece of furniture, I start on paper, but I almost always mock things up before committing my ideas to joinery and glue. And a big part of mocking things up involves arranging parts temporarily then physically stepping back from the mock-up to give it a gander.

For this step of the process, I use a removable adhesive that goes by a lot of names, including Sticky Putty. It’s basically the stuff that you use to hang posters on the wall without push-pins. You can get it at any well-stocked grocery store for $2-$3 for a lifetime supply. It’s reusable, and it’s valuable for a wide variety of other workshop tasks.

In addition to holding furniture parts in place temporarily, I also use it to temporarily secure tools while I work. A dab can hold a square or sliding bevel as I sight against the tool to drill a hole (note: apply the putty to the side of the tool’s handle, not the base). The putty doesn’t leave residue behind or interfere with gluing, finishing or mind-control waves.

I keep my putty in a zippered plastic sandwich bag to keep it fresh and clean, though I don’t know if that’s necessary. The putty says it never dries out, but “never” is a long time.

— Christopher Schwarz

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

Earlier this year I wrote about these rules after conceding defeat in making our own versions under the Crucible brand name. If you haven’t bought your own, what the heck are you waiting for? Are your eyes getting younger?

The black rules with white marking are extremely easy for older eyes to read when it comes to the quarters, eighths and 16ths on one face of the rule. Turn the thing over, however, and it’s a white smeary mess of 32nds and 64ths. Basically unusable for woodworking or machining. So ignore that face of the rule and just use the quarters, eighths and 16ths.

We use three rules in our shop. The typical 4R 6” rule, the flexible 6” rule and the 12” 4R rule. All are useful in a woodworking shop, but if you have to buy one, get the 6” rigid 4R rule. As of today it is $6.90 – a huge bargain.

We asked SPI if they could make us a couple thousand 4R rules without the 32nds and 64ths. They said no. Then we asked to become a retailer, and the wholesale price wasn’t any cheaper than the retail price at MSCDirect (which owns SPI). 

So just buy them from MSC and be done with it. 

The rules are fairly durable. The only problem I have found with them is that the white paint in the engraved numbers gets a little yellow with use. But you don’t notice it until you compare it to a new rule.

No it’s not a Starrett. But you can read it with old eyes and it’s durable enough for the long haul.

— Christopher Schwarz

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

In high school, my favorite things to wear were my gas-station shirts from the Goodwill store. I could pick up these shirts for about $5. They were comfortable, breathable during the Arkansas summer and were incredibly well made.

Yes, they were all blue (light blue, dark blue, blue with light blue stripes). And they had the former owner’s name and employer stitched to the chest, but there was nothing else to complain about. Pockets? Yes, both sides. They had durable buttons and they were cut long enough for my awkward high-school body. Plus, when I worked at the chair factory or door factory, I didn’t mind if they got messed up – I could easily buy another one for $5.

Last year I decided that I missed my old work shirts, which were swiped by a college girlfriend. Instead of going to a thrift store, I decided to see if I could find an online retailer. I settled on Walt’s Used Workwear. The company offers tons of selection, low prices and quick shipping.

You can find work shirts for as low as $2.50 apiece. You might have to buy six, but at those prices, you might as well buy 12. You can pay extra to have the patches/emblems removed, but why bother?

The shirts arrive clean and broken-in. No stains. In fact, I can’t believe the shirts I received were ever discarded.

I typically wear them over my T-shirts to prevent dyes, glue and other shop nastiness from getting on my street clothes. But honestly, they are so comfortable that I wear them around the house and to our local bar. And hey, if you call me Mike and want me to pump your gas, I’ll do that too. It might be a raise from the woodworking trade.

— Christopher Schwarz

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

If you’ve read our gift guide before, you can skip this preamble. There’s nothing new here.

The Anarchist’s Gift Guide is a small attempt to focus on the little things – mostly inexpensive – that make life in the workshop a little easier. It’s stuff your kids can afford to give you for Christmas and that you will be glad to receive. 

Most gift guides are utter s&$e. A company pays some boob to squawk that he LOVES a bunch of silicone-covered tools (which the company ordered too many of from China). The company hopes to ensnare your spouse when he or she Googles “gifts for woodworkers.” 

Next, your spouse watches a video of boob-boy offering up chisels with a silicone glue brush on one end. “It tickles!” And then you receive a full set of those lovely tools on Christmas morning.

Our gift guide doesn’t give a crap about selling anything. We bought these items for ourselves, and we used them. We didn’t contact the manufacturers to tell them “Ooooh – you’re in the gift guide!” We don’t have affiliate links or make money on this guide. None. I do it only because… damn, I’ve forgotten why I do it. Just inertia, I guess.

If you have complaints about the gift guide, let us know and we’ll offer you a full refund for your gift guide subscription (and you can keep the sanding sponge and drilling chart). So without further grumpiness, I offer you our 2021 Anarchist’s Gift Guide.

Day 1: Merterks Green Laser

We use a laser level for a lot of things related to both woodworking and home improvement. I’ve burned through a lot of laser levels in my career. Most of the reasonably priced ones are so dim they are three Smurfs short of a village.

Then one day a fellow chairmaker suggested I try a green laser level (instead of classic red). I did, and it made a huge difference.

Our workshop is filled with daylight, so lasers have a hard time competing against the sun coming in from the huge east- and south-facing windows. But even in full sun on a July day, the green laser is easy to see – even for an old man like myself.

The laser we use is a Merterks, which we bought from Amazon. I looked all over town for one locally, but couldn’t find a decent green laser for less than $100. So you win this one, Amazon. (Yes, you can find this tool via sketchy retailers.) Other similar laser levels include this one, this one and this one. (The message here is to spend less than $50, get a green one and make sure the self-leveling mechanism locks.)

This laser on the Merterks is bright. So bright. Even from 20 feet away the light is crisp. 

The Merterks has far more features than you need for chairmaking. But I haven’t found a simpler laser for less money. All in all, it’s more durable than other lasers I’ve used, and it comes with a protective carrying case, which will slide onto any belt and complete any outfit. So it’s a sartorial win.

Most of all, go green. You’ll never go back.

— Christopher Schwarz

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