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When I opened the French version of “Dans L’Atelier De Pepere” (“Grandpa’s Workshop”) to the title page, I was seized by a familiar feeling. Pictured there was red Dutch tool chest with all its tools arrayed in front of it – including a folding rule tweaked into a star shape.

I had to build that chest.

This coming week I’m going to buy the pine to build that chest (plus a few boarded chests and an English tool chest for a customer).

I am not alone in my deep affection for the tool chests shown in “Grandpa’s Workshop,” but I am definitely behind the pace of Archer Burbank, age 6, who just finished building the English-style chest shown on page 21 of the same book. His father, Graham T. Burbank, takes over the story from here:

“Attached are a couple of shots of the chest my son built after we read ‘Grandpa’s Workshop.’ Built from two pine 1x12s, the box is nailed together. In order to keep the project moving at a pace that would keep a 6-year-old focused, I processed the boards on a sliding table saw and wide-belt sander (Boo! Hiss!).

“Although we regularly practice sawing to the line, the number of cuts across 11-1/4” material would likely have spent his ambition. I marked out in pencil where he should pre-drill and nail. He held each board in the vise on his bench and nailed them together with white glue and wire nails.

“Most of his corners were reasonably flush, however, he did have to clean up the ends at the top and bottom for the skirt and lid with a No. 2 Ohio Tool smoother. One shot shows him using a Stanley steel block plane chamfering the edges. After softening the corners further with a sanding sponge and planing the top edge further to ease the fit of the lid, he has started a rainbow paint scheme. Perhaps we will finish up that on Sunday. He has asked to make lift-out trays and a ‘place for my saw,’ so we’re not done yet.

“Why the long, rambling description? You sent his book Express Mail, and it arrived the day after his birthday. He has had me read it to him over and over again. So, a bit more formal ‘thank you’ was in order.”

Here’s what keeps our company running: Anything that we publish that prompts anyone to build anything. To be sure, there is a lot of intellectual crap that leads up to transforming an idea into a book. But all we are after is to encourage you to build. Read. Then build. Think. Then build. Plan. Then build.

So thank you, Archer. And know that I am not far behind you in building my chest from “Grandpa’s Workshop.”

— Christopher Schwarz

Here’s a known fact about Christopher Schwarz: he enjoys beer. And here’s a little-known fact about me: I do not enjoy beer. (But I do love bourbon.)

With the 2012 Woodworking in America Midwest conference coming up in about two weeks, I suspect there might be a bar bill or three to cover. I suspect it will exceed my credit card limit. So, on eBay, I’ve up for auction two of the three copies of the long-sold-out 2008 hardcover “The Art of Joinery” I have in my woodworking library. (I’m hanging on to the last one … until I need money for a kidney transplant.) There is no reserve, and the starting bid on each is 99 cents.

Both of these books are signed by Christopher, and on one copy, Chris drew in a mustache on the frontispiece portrait of Joseph Moxon. I do not know why. There was probably beer involved.

All proceeds will be used to cover libations at Woodworking in America (and one bottle of ibuprofen). So if you win, you can be proud that your money is going to an excellent cause (Pappy van Winkle 15-year, and IPA).

Click here for the mustachioed Moxon auction. For the non-graffito version, click here.

— Megan Fitzpatrick

p.s. The image uploader at eBay is screwy at the moment; I’m told the auction pictures should show up within a couple hours.

The Society of American Period Furniture Makers (SAPFM) is looking for an editor to its prestigious annual publication, “American Period Furniture.”

The organization seeks an editor who is proficient in both the worlds of writing and woodworking. If you are selected for the job, you’ll be running all aspects of the magazine – both editorial and advertising – plus attending meetings of the organization.

“American Period Furniture” is an excellent magazine; I read the entire thing every year when it arrives in my mailbox. The journal, and the organization’s web site, are why I am a member of the organization. If you are interested in American furniture, it is worth joining – and this is from a person who isn’t a joiner (of organizations). Information on joining SAPFM is here.

If you are interested in applying for the position of editor, you can download the job posting here. Interested candidates can obtain additional information on the job or apply at: SAPFM@comcast.net.

I don’t have any vested interest in this process. I’m not on the search committee – I’m simply a member. And I don’t have any inside information on the position.

— Christopher Schwarz

“After he moved to Indiana, and from there to Ohio, Chester (Cornett) again held his raw materials in a gentle embrace as he shaped them, once more using hand tools which were extensions of himself and with which he caressed his loved ones. He could express his feelings and emotions in the things he made, but he seldom displayed affection for people or for those things in the world that seemed beyond his control and inferior in importance to his immediate concerns. The more strongly he attempted to dominate the objects in his environment, the more enslaved he became by them. Freedom was withdrawal. The day would come, however, as he mistakenly thought it had on several occasions in the past, when he might step forth in the world of men bathed in the glory of his brilliant creations. With his wife gone again for the third and apparently the last time, Chester had only himself and his work, with nothing to divorce the two.”

— “Craftsman of the Cumberlands: Tradition & Creativity” by Michael Owen Jones (University of Kentucky Press)