When I am too exhausted, ill or busy to work in my shop, I will shuffle down the stairs to my 15' x 25' workshop and simply stand there for a few minutes with my hands on my tools. To be sure, I thought I was a touch nuts because of this personality quirk. But after reading the oral histories and diaries of craftsmen from the last 300 years, I found it's actually a common trait among artisans. I am drawn, married or perhaps addicted to the things that allow me to coax wood into new shapes. At the same time, my relationship with my tools is like a tumultuous combination of an Italian family drama, a bigamist's decision about who to sleep with and a careful gardener. This book, The Anarchist's Tool Chest, paints a world where woodworking tools are at the center of an ethical life filled with creating furniture that will last for generations. It makes the case that you can build almost anything with a kit of less than 50 high-quality tools, and it shows you how to select real working tools, regardless of their vintage or brand name. The Anarchist's Tool Chest will guide you in building a proper chest for your toolkit that follows the ancient rules that have been forgotten or ignored. And it will make the argument that building a chest and filling it with the right tools just might be the best thing you can do to save our craft. Like all books from Lost Art Press, The Anarchist's Tool Chest is printed and bound in the United States on acid-free 60# paper. The 6 x 9 hardcover is Smythe sewn and covered in linen.

The Anarchist's Tool Chest

Schwarz, Christopher

Lost Art Press

Learn a Better WayMore than 70 minutes of step-by-step instructionGet the planes you really needDetailed sharpening instructionTune each plane to performFlatten rough stockPlane perfect edgesWhile bench planes are the most fundamental handplanes in your shop, they are also the most vexing. After years of historical research and practical bench experience, Editor Christopher Schwarz has found a way to simplify the bench plane system so you can think for yourself when it comes to how to choose, set up and use these tools.After viewing this DVD you'll know how to select the right size plane for your work. You'll know how to sharpen and set it up so it does the job at hand. And you'll learn how to use the plane so you make perfectly flat and gleaming panels (with the minimum amount of effort).This DVD doesn't teach a new idiosyncratic way to work with bench planes. Instead Schwarz explains how all the systems work so you can immediately see their strengths and weaknesses and exploit them so you'll do better work.

Handplane Basics - A Better Way to Use Bench Planes (DVD)

F+W Media

Build a table of any style for any occasion
Need a table? The Table Book is just what you need. It contains 35 projects to choose from, each with complete plans, cutting lists and detailed step-by-step instructions. You can learn new woodworking techniques or improve or update your skills. Here are some of the table styles you can choose to build:
<ul>
<li>Shaker candle stand</li>
<li>Greene &amp; Greene table</li>
<li>Stickley poppy table</li>
<li>Porringer side table</li>
<li>Prairie-style coffee table</li>
<li>Maloof table</li>
<li>Creole table</li>
<li>Queen Anne side table</li>
<li>Modern occasional table</li>
<li>Nakashima-inspired table</li>
<li>and 25 more!</li>
</ul>

The Table Book: From the Editors of Popular Woodworking

Crafts, Hobbies & Home

Huey, Glen

Lang, Robert W.

Shanesy, Steve

Huey, Malcolm

Crafts & Hobbies

Popular Woodworking Books

One of the most important workbench plans ever published appeared in A.J. Roubo's 18th-century masterwork "L'Art Du Menuisier" (The Art of the Craftsman). Roubo's simple and hulking workbench offers everything that the modern woodworker needs in a bench, whether you use hand tools, power tools, or both. Roubo's bench is simpler than almost every other design out there--so it's easy to build--yet it excels at all of the workholding tasks in a workshop. In this DVD, Christopher Schwarz shows you how to build the Roubo workbench using only hand tools (though you can use power tools if you wish). Schwarz, the author of Workbenches: From Design & Theory to Construction & Use (Popular Woodworking Books) also shares his insights into this influential workbench form, which he has been using exclusively since 2005.

Build an 18th-Century Workbench

The follow-up book to Workbenches: From Design &amp; Theory to Construction &amp; Use Complete plans, expert instruction and rationale for building nine workbench formsInstruction on improving existing workbenches for better workholding and an improved woodworking shop. The Workbench Design Book not only shows how to design a workbenchâ€"it also discusses and presents nine specific designs plus critiques of 10 additional workbenches, with suggestions for making any bench work most effectively for the kind of work the user does. The 9 workbench plans have a range suitable for all workshop needs, from handwork to power tools. A discussion of workbench design rules teach what's effective and why in a multitude of workshop situations. Additional workholding optionsâ€"from shop-made jigs and commercial bench dogs to vise hardwareâ€"are also provided.

The Workbench Design Book: The Art & Philosophy of Building Better Benches

Reference

Dispelling the Myths Sharpening an edge has one purpose--allowing you to quickly get back to work. Christopher Schwarz has devised a system of sharpening that is simple and intuitive. By following his clear instructions, you will be able to sharpen your edges quickly and get back to your bench.What is sharp? Understanding the answer to this simple question will clarify a lot of the misinformation about sharpening. Chris walks you through the life cycle of an edge, and teaches you the techniques of sharpening so you achieve excellent and consistent results. You'll learn the different types of systems for grinding, honing and polishing so you can choose the best system for your needs and budget. Plus, you'll learn how to sharpen both curved and straight edges, and the best angles for grinding your edges for woodworking.

The Last Word on Sharpening (DVD)

Mastering Hand Tools will introduce you to the basic hand tool skills to turn you into a woodworker equally comfortable in either the powered or hand tool world - and offer the best results from each world. Host Christopher Schwarz starts off the video by asking the question, "Why use Hand Tools?" A fair question that he quickly answers by extolling the benefits of traditional woodworking tools - blended with some of the niceties of power tools. Those benefits include a healthier work environment, fewer jigs and test cuts, and accuracy to within .001 in. Watch along as Chris offers advice on selecting hand tools, shares tips for set-up and puts the tools to work.
Learn About:
<ul>
<li>Choosing and using marking knives and gauges and cutting gauges</li>
<li>Sharpening and using Jack planes and Smoothing planes</li>
<li>Selecting and using Handsaws and Rasps</li>
<li>The benefits of Braces and Hand Drills</li>
<li>and more about Chisels, Mallets, Scrapers and Router Planes</li>
</ul>

Mastering Hand Tools

This DVD from Christopher Schwarz shows you how to rehab a flea-market find (or soup up a new tool) into a perfectly tuned plane that can handle any task.

Super-Tune a Handplane

Everything you need to use your handplanes!
There is no woodworking tool that's more satisfying, quick and precise to use as a handplane. Planes can process timber in its rough state, bring boards up to a glimmering smoothness, cut rabbets, dados, grooves and other joints, and trim wood with a precision that has yet to be matched by power tools.
Yet many woodworkers--both beginners and professionals--are intimidated by choosing the right tool, sharpening its cutter and putting it to use. And that's why Christopher Schwarz wrote this book.
Handplane Essentials contains everything you need to choose the right tool for your budget and projects, take it out of the box, sharpen it and use it successfully. The chapters in this book have been compiled from more than 10 years of the author's writing on the subject of handplanes in magazines, trade journals and blogs.

Handplane Essentials

Everything you need to use your handplanes! There is no woodworking tool that's more satisfying, quick and precise to use as a handplane. Planes can process timber in its rough state, bring boards up to a glimmering smoothness, cut rabbets, dados, grooves and other joints, and trim wood with a precision that has yet to be matched by power tools. Yet many woodworkers--both beginners and professionals--are intimidated by choosing the right tool, sharpening its cutter and putting it to use. And that's why Christopher Schwarz wrote this book. Handplane Essentials contains everything you need to choose the right tool for your budget and projects, take it out of the box, sharpen it and use it successfully. The chapters in this book have been compiled from more than 10 years of the author's writing on the subject of handplanes in magazines, trade journals and blogs.

Handsaw Essentials

F&W Publications, Inc.

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Books by Schwarz, Christopher