Category: Crucible Tool

On Monday or Tuesday we will begin selling our Special Edition Lump Hammers that feature a machine engraving designed by artist Jenny Bower. We’re making 200 of these this year and hope to make another batch next fall.

These lump hammers have the same characteristics as our regular lump hammers with two differences: the floral engraving on one face of the head, and the octagonal hickory handles have all been hand-scraped by our own Megan Fitzpatrick.

Machinist Craig Jackson took Jenny’s drawing and translated it into fluid toolpaths that his CNC mills could follow. The process took many hours of work both for Jenny and Craig. And the engraving requires an entirely new machine setup to achieve.

We are delighted with the result. And I am simply working up the courage to start using such a beautiful tool. (Oh, who am I kidding – I immediately beat the snot out of some legs that I was driving into mortises).

If you already own one of our lump hammers, consider getting this one for formal occasions and weddings.

The special edition hammer is $165 and ships free to U.S. customers. If these special edition hammers do not sell out, we will see if there’s any interest from our international retailers in carrying a few. No promises.

We love working with Jenny (and you, too, Craig) on these joint projects and like the touch of floral sexiness they bring to our tools (check out our engraved Brass Center Finder for more).

— Christopher Schwarz

One aspect of woodworking that is difficult to explain to non-woodworkers are the physical and mental effects the tools have on us.

Sometimes I wonder if I should bring my Lie-Nielsen No. 3 in bronze to the doctor’s office with me. I can promise you that my blood pressure and pulse are lower when my right hand is gently curved around its tote.

When we set out to design our large Center Square in brass, I knew exactly how it should function. But we were also chasing something else that is much more difficult to achieve – an almost totemistic way that the tool looks and feels in your hand.

The size and heft of the tool were carefully considered to make it something that feels at home in your hands. Overall it’s 5-1/2” long and 2-3/8” wide, so it sits nicely in most palms. The Center Square is machined from solid brass and weighs a pleasant 5.6 ounces. All its edges have been eased after machining, so there are no sharp and unpleasant corners.

But the real stunning part of this tool is the machine-engraved pattern on its blade. I wanted woodworkers who might not be able to afford an engraved tool to be able to own something that is (almost) as perfect and beautiful. 

So I reached out to Jenny Bower, an engraver and maker in Michigan, to see if she would lend her hands and eyes to this project. You might remember her from our small run of engraved lump hammers. There’s no way we could ask Jenny to engrave hundreds of these Center Squares. They would be too expensive and it might burn her out.

But I was willing to bet that our machinist, Craig Jackson, would be willing to try to translate Jenny’s designs into something that one of his mills could engrave. Jenny drew up about a dozen designs for us. Then Craig selected the one best suited for his mill. It took many hours of work, but Craig managed to translate Jenny’s fluid and floral lines into something his machines could cut. 

The result is not something intended to fool an engraver. The lines are clearly incised by a machine. But they also retain the fluidity and life that Jenny put into them.

The Crucible Center Square is now in production and the first big batch is in our store. These tools are made in Kentucky with a little help from Michigan thrown in. Right now the price of metals such as brass is volatile. The price of this Center Square is $120 (domestic shipping is free). That might change as the price of brass fluctuates.

All thanks to Jenny and Craig for making a tool that exceeded my high expectations for it.

— Christopher Schwarz

Good news: We have Crucible GoDrillas and Center Squares back in stock and ready for immediate shipment. We assembled and inspected a huge bunch, so we hope they won’t sell out.

If you are wondering what a GoDrilla does, or why you would want a Center Square, check out the pages in our store, which have videos that (I hope) explain their utility.

— Christopher Schwarz

There are many ways to mark centerlines on workpieces that are square, round or octagonal. But we wanted a simple, compact, dedicated and beautiful tool for this everyday job.

The Crucible Center Square is based on a vintage tool owned by a bodger friend. His tool was compact but had a weight and shape that made it feel like a worry stone in your hand. The bodger wouldn’t part with his (we don’t blame him), so we decided to make our own.

Our Center Square comes in two versions. The smaller one (now available) is machined from a solid chunk of steel in Kentucky. It measures 3-1/4″ long x 1-5/8″ wide x almost 3/8″ thick overall. The working area of the blade is 2-7/16″ long and includes a 1/8″ hang hole. It is ideal for chairmakers or turners who need to mark the centers of spindles or sticks for turning or shaving.

The larger one will be available later in 2022.

Using the tool is simple. Press the workpiece against the 90° opening on the underside of the tool. Then scribe a pencil line or knife line along the tool’s blade. Rotate the workpiece and repeat.

In this video, Megan Fitzpatrick walks you through the process:

The Crucible GoDrilla extends the reach of your drill bits (and other tooling) without introducing any run-out or wobble. This precision-machined tool (made in Tennessee) allows you to perform many unusual boring and fastening operations with immense ease and accuracy. Home center bit extenders are cheap, poorly made and are designed for operations where run-out is OK. An oversized hole will be hidden behind drywall. In most woodworking operations, however, an oversized hole is an ugly, gappy disaster.

So when we sat down to design a bit extender, we wanted a tool that:

1. Holds a bit fiercely and concentric with the chuck
2. Can be tightened by hand, but also can be cinched with wrenches when you need it to stay put
3. Is able to extend the reach of a bit from 6” to 24”
4. Is repairable if the shaft ever gets bent.

So we made one: The Crucible GoDrilla.

The GoDrilla works like a router collet, but with two ends. By tightening the steel nuts (knurled with flats for wrenches), one end grabs a hex bar that’s chucked into a drill. The other end of the collet grabs 1/4”-shank tooling. You can put anything you like in the collet, from a spade bit to a screwdriver bit to a countersink bit to anything with a 1/4″ hex shank.

It basically extends the reach of any of the thousands of tools that have a 1/4” hex shank.

The collet locks great with hand pressure. But you can make the bond unbreakable with 1/2″ wrenches.

The GoDrilla includes a 12″ length of hex bar – a common length for chairmaking – that is easy to swap out for whatever length you need. The body of the GoDrilla is made from hard-anodized aluminum. The nuts are steel and coated in manganese phosphate for rust protection and to lubricate the threads.

— Christopher Schwarz