UPDATE: The contest is over. We have a winner. Announcement to come.
One of the factoids we want to include in Don Williams’ forthcoming book “Virtuoso” is the weight of the H.O. Studley tool chest – both loaded and unloaded.
Today we weighed the unloaded chest on an analog scale. Yes, we know it’s not as precise as (add your type of scale here). But it is what we have.
Before we put the chest on the scale, we all took a guess as to the weight. Now it’s your turn.
Guess the weight in pounds of the unloaded tool chest before midnight on Wednesday, Oct. 24, by leaving a comment below. The closest or exact guess will win one Studley T-shirt.
Please note:
1. The chest is fully unloaded of all its tools and drawers. Nothing more could be removed from the chest.
2. If two people guess the same weight, the first person to guess that weight is the winner.
3. No, we’re not answering any more questions about the chest for this contest. Guess, and be done with it.
4. Please guess in whole numbers. Our scale does not read fractions of a pound.
5. Do NOT send me an e-mail with your guess. The only valid entry is in the comments below.
During the final photo shoot of the Studley tool chest we removed all the tools (no small feat), lifted it off its cleats on the wall (it was surprisingly lightweight) and moved it across the room to photograph the back of the chest.
I have not been this nervous since making out with Kym Harper during “E.T.”
The great migration went smoothly. No hiccups. Don Williams, the author, cleaned the exterior of the case and then Narayan Nayar photographed the back. Me? I ate a scone.
Tomorrow we will reload the chest (no small feat) and take photographs of the chest with Studley’s workbench. And later this week, we are going to film a video about the chest. More details to come.
In the afternoon following the presentation based on my upcoming book, “Virtuoso: The Tool Chest of H.O. Studley” during the HandWorks extravaganza at the Amana Colonies in Iowa, I received many compliments on the talk along with the occasional, “Why did the other guys get all the good stuff?”
Huh?
Sure, I assigned Chris and Narayan the onerous task of providing the tool porn peep show accompanied by silent heavy breathing, but I got to present my burgeoning research on the life history of Studley as best we know it, recount the progress of the project to date beginning with that fateful phone call four years ago from the present owner, and explore one of the great mysteries surrounding the whole toolaholic soap opera.
What’s the deal with those vises?
I must not be the only one interested as the Saturday afternoon at HandWorks found a non-stop stream of attendees examining closely the vise loaned to me for the project by woodworker Tim Cottle.
I have become so enamored of Studley’s bench and vises that I often find myself seduced by their Siren Song. In laying the foundation for ongoing book research, I have been gathering information on the 11 known vises of similar design and function. In one correspondence exchange, an owner indicated a willingness to part with his. He had purchased a bench with two Studley-esque vises at a defunct piano factory auction in 1985. That purchase had provided a robust platform for his furniture design and construction endeavors for almost three decades, and now he was trying to reduce his footprint. In the end he agreed for me to become the next steward of this treasure, and on my way home from Amana I picked it up. He noted it being a bittersweet day, sad at parting with a beloved tool, but excited at finding the perfect new home for it. As we parted he said something like, “There isn’t anyone who should have it more than you.” I am truly honored.
Having spent the intervening week with Jameel and Father John Abraham, much of the time ogling tool pictures on each others’ laptops, my brain was in hyperdrive about the vises as I drove last Monday from Canton, Ohio, to Rochester, N.Y., to Monterey, Va., wearily pulling into the driveway after more than 16 hours on the road. I slept well that night, but I dreamed of heavy iron.
I fully intend to combine the best features of each of these 11 vises into a near-perfect new prototype; each one (or each pair) has unique features that impart wondrous utility. Will my new version be good enough to replace my Emmert K1s in my heart? Who knows. But the potential is spectacular.
I will continue to chronicle the firing-on-all-cylinders research for my Studley book and the pedal-to-the-metal progress of the Roubo volumes here at the Lost Art Press blog (I signed off on the final galleys of Roubo on Marquetry on Saturday morning), while this new part of the adventure will be addressed over at donsbarn.com. At the moment I am even contemplating the acquisition of some mahogany slabs for a new workbench as a new home for these new (to me) vises, but that might seem a pathetic desperate measure to emulate the insane brilliance of the Studley Ensemble.
But isn’t imitation the sincerest form of flattery?
Several weeks ago I made the long journey to Iowa for the HandWorks tool event being held at the Amana Colonies. Because many woodworkers were unable to attend the event, I have assembled a gallery of photographs to help document everything that transpired. I’d like to thank Jameel Abraham and his entire family for putting together one of the best woodworking shows I have ever attended.
I would suggest asking any questions about the content of the photos here in the Lost Art Press comments section. Since many of the show presenters are also readers of this blog, you may actually get an answer. The presenters are welcome to make free use of these photos at their discretion.
Our H.O. Studley T-shirts are now for sale in our store for $20 plus domestic shipping. The front of the shirt features the engraved nameplate fastened to Henry O. Studley’s famous tool chest. The back of the shirts have the name of the forthcoming book by Don Williams: “Virtuoso: The Toolbox of Henry O. Studley.”
These T-shirts are made from 90-percent cotton/10 percent polyester by American Apparel in California. The screen printing is done in Indiana. Sizes available are medium, large, x-large and XXL.
Before we put the chest on the scale, we all took a guess as to the weight. Now it’s your turn.
