“It can be hard to tell a crank from an unfamiliar gear.”
– Leigh Van Valen (1935-2010), evolutionary biologist
In Praise of Microsoft (Really!)
Thank you, Microsoft.
There, I said it. Words I thought would never cross my lips or flow from my fingertips are now out there for all the world to know. Our project makes me awestruck by the Twinkie-eating pencil-necked geeks who created the sublime “Track Changes” function in the otherwise forgettable Microsoft Word. I remain a mostly WordPerfect guy, and yearn for the day when some inventive entrepreneur merges WP’s “Reveal Codes” with MW’s “Track Changes” to create truly first-rate word processing software.
We are approaching the final stages of editing and revising the translated text for our first volume generated from A.J. Roubo’s “L’Art du Menuisier.” I am pleased to report Philippe’s assessment of Michele’s indefatigably brilliant translations (she is still averaging almost a page an hour!) and my extensive edits and annotations as being “on the mark” more than 95 percent of the time! Still, his light but authoritative touch on the manuscript is unmistakable, and invaluable.
The project remains simultaneously exhausting and gratifying, all the more enjoyable due to the opportunity to collaborate with these two dear friends. Recently I received a note from Philippe commenting that in a particular passage he was uncertain which was more vexing; the French or English. And this is from a native Francophone who trained at Ecole Boulle and has entirely mastered the arcane nuances of corporate and technical English! I can only imagine the trials of Roubo composing by hand an encyclopedia in a foreign tongue. True, it was not foreign to him, but it is sure foreign to me.
Which brings me back to Microsoft. I have already recounted the byzantine framework and implicit telecommunications technology we three are employing in leaving our own marker on the history of woodworking. Safe to say that any inventory of our computers would reveal several hundred versions of the sometimes gigantic documents we are jointly creating, and each contains dozens (more likely hundreds) of changes large and small that we MUST monitor in order to have any level of success in the end. Being able to track each iteration makes this a do-able project. Otherwise? Not likely, at least not in a span of a few dozen months instead of multiple decades.
If my experience with “Saving Stuff” (Simon & Schuster 2005) is any indication there will come a day quite soon when we will move past computers and back to reviewing the page proofs by hand, reading every sentence carefully and placing a blue check mark at the end of EVERY LINE with a sign-off initialing EVERY PAGE. Ugh. Otherwise the copy editor will track me down and beat me up. (Ed note: Don’s right. Not about getting beat up. But about the manual process at the end.)
I know we are getting closer to the end as Chris and I spoke only a few days ago about some of the arcane minutiae about book printing, binding, pricing, distributing… In the meantime I will continue to be transformed as a craftsman by accounts and descriptions older than our Republic.
Now, if I could just get Algore to make my Verizon DSL perform better than 54k baud…
— Don Williams
The Box-maker, and the Turner, 1664
The Box-maker (1) smootheth hewen Boards (2) with a Plain (3) upon a work-board, (4) he maketh them very smooth with a little plain, (5) he boareth thorow with an augre, (6) carveth them with a Knife, (7) fasteneth them together with Glew, and Cramp-Irons (8) and maketh tables (9) Boards (10) Chests (11), &c.
The Turner (12) sitting over the treddle turneth with a throw (15) upon a Turners Bench Bowls (16) Tops (17) Puppets (18) and such like Turners work.
Download full page:
Comenius_Johann_Amos-Joh_Amos_Comnienii_Orbis_sensualium-Wing-C5523A-1649_05-p80.pdf (99.65 KB)
Download a high-resolution image:
Orbis_full.jpg (644.78 KB)— from “Joh. Amos Comnienii Orbis sensualium pictu” (1664) by Comenius, Johann Amos (1592-1670)
SOLD: 8" Plated English Brace
This is a fully functional beech brace with brass plating and a mahogany pad. The push-button chuck is fully functional (though you will probably have to file modern augers a bit to fit). The pad is fairly tight considering its age. The only mark on the brace is on the beech frame where it has an owner’s stamp: W. Tank.
The only apology for this tool is that one of the screws on the plating is missing and the plating has been pushed up a bit at that end. This is cosmetic.
I purchased this brace several years ago at an Amish auction to use it for some photography in “The Art of Joinery.”
Price: SOLD: $100 plus $8 domestic shipping.
About Tool Sales on My Blog
Please read this if you are interested in buying a tool. Why am I selling these tools? Read this entry before you freak out. There is no “master list” of tools that I can send you. I am working through several piles of tools and will list them when I can.
Want to see only the tools that haven’t sold? Easy. I’ve created a category for that on this blog. Click here and bookmark that page. When you visit that link, you’ll see only the tools that haven’t been sold.
While you can ask me all the questions you like about the tool, the first person to send me an e-mail that says: “I’ll take it,” gets the tool. Simple. To buy a tool, please send me an e-mail at christopher.schwarz@fuse.net.
Payment: I can accept PayPal or a personal check. As soon as the funds arrive, I’ll ship the tool using USPS. If you want insurance, let me know. I’m afraid I can only ship tools in the United States. Shipping internationally is very time-consuming and paperwork-heavy. My apologies in advance on this point.
If you don’t like the tool when you get it, I’ll be happy to refund your money if you return the tool. But postage is on you.
SOLD: Lie-Nielsen 3/8" Skew Chisels
A perfectly set up and sharpened set of Lie-Nielsen 3/8″ skew chisels. These even come with the black rubber blade covers (now discontinued).
The steel is A2. The handles are hornbeam. Retail is $130 for the pair.
Price: SOLD.
About Tool Sales on My Blog
Please read this if you are interested in buying a tool. Why am I selling these tools? Read this entry before you freak out. There is no “master list” of tools that I can send you. I am working through several piles of tools and will list them when I can.
Want to see only the tools that haven’t sold? Easy. I’ve created a category for that on this blog. Click here and bookmark that page. When you visit that link, you’ll see only the tools that haven’t been sold.
While you can ask me all the questions you like about the tool, the first person to send me an e-mail that says: “I’ll take it,” gets the tool. Simple. To buy a tool, please send me an e-mail at christopher.schwarz@fuse.net.
Payment: I can accept PayPal or a personal check. As soon as the funds arrive, I’ll ship the tool using USPS. If you want insurance, let me know. I’m afraid I can only ship tools in the United States. Shipping internationally is very time-consuming and paperwork-heavy. My apologies in advance on this point.
If you don’t like the tool when you get it, I’ll be happy to refund your money if you return the tool. But postage is on you.
— Christopher Schwarz