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Last weekend, we had the pleasure of hosting a Lie-Nielsen Hand Tool Event in our office (check out the Lie-Nielsen site to see if there’s an event coming soon near you), for which around 250 people showed up to test out the company’s tools, get personal hand-tool instruction, watch demos in our shop, pick up show specials in our bookstore and more.
And, as usual for these events, the folks at Lie-Nielsen invited some other makers and craftspeople along for the show – two of whom were new to us: Juan Vergara, an infill planemaker from California, and spooncarver Ethan Miller, a traditional craftsman who, along with his dog, lives life on the road in an Airstream (which is pretty cool).
Lost Art Press and Daed Toolworks were also on had, as were a number of volunteers from the Society of American Period Furniture Furniture Makers (SAPFM) who gave demonstrations on all things hand tool throughout the event. (Special thanks to Bob Compton for organizing the SAPFM folks, and to Rob Millard, Zachary Dillinger, David Wright, Andrew Messimer, Christopher Schwarz, George Walker, Charlie Watson, Donna Hill and Craig Flaming for the demonstrations.)
One of last year’s most impressive visitors – Jalen Waggoner, of Frankfort, Ind. – also stopped by, and brought his latest project to show off. His 2012 effort, at age 14, was a Blacker House arm chair (you can read about it here); this year, he made a Sam Maloof-style low-backed chair, adapted from Charles Brock’s plans. I think the young man has a bright woodworking future ahead of him (as does his entire family, for that matter – they are all good woodworkers, from his younger sisters, to his cousin, to his father).
Below is a gallery of images from the weekend – click on the pictures to make them larger (with apologies to Jalen for the thumbnail image decapitation).
p.s. Looking for recommendations on the hand tools you need for your tool chest? We’ve just added to the store Christopher Schwarz’s companion DVD to his book “The Anarchist’s Tool Chest,” on which he goes over the tools that make up his core kit. Click here to order.
Here are some supplies and tools we find essential in our everyday work around the shop. We may receive a commission from sales referred by our links; however, we have carefully selected these products for their usefulness and quality.
I really think that there should be more things geared towards kids at events like this. And I don’t mean “dumbed-down” for them, I mean things where kids can get there hands on stuff and have a go at it. The few times I have seen kids at these events, it’s all you can do to keep them from going at it. They are usually more willing to give it a try then the adults.