Toolmaking Art » TEOTWAWKI

Giant Dibbler

Bob Strawn — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 13:00:49 +0000

Here is my giant dibbler. Made from a pine 4×4.

The cross bar is made from ash. The point has been shaped into a triangle.

This tool is pretty useful, it has even been borrowed by several people and returned damaged. It still works fine. You stick the point where you want to plant a small tree or such, and then step on the crossbar to push it into the ground. Place the plant into the hole, and add some extra soil. A bit of water helps.

The triangular point is to resolve issues with hard soil. A round hole, can cause a plant put into hard soil, to make a spiral mess of roots. A triangular hole will prevent roots from defecting along a smooth curved wall. This makes for healthier and more stable plants.

Additionally this is a very useful tool to have when the giant vampires attack.

Bob

The Ultimate Tool Box

Bob Strawn — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 13:00:47 +0000

Sadly, the ultimate tool box may be a five gallon plastic bucket. Hardly what one considers a timeless classic, but then again, I doubt future archeologists will consider them a rare find.

The main downside, is also an upside. There is no great appeal to the old pickle bucket. Just as the Japanese wooden tool box is a purely utilitarian crate, this is purely utilitarian. The plastic bucket does not attract attention and hardly announces that valuable tools are kept inside it. Another downside, is that in a hundred years, I doubt the plastic will be in great shape. Additionally the aesthetic does not really speak of refined tool work. With a bit of grunge ground into the outside the aesthetic goes even further downhill.

On the upside however, these are tough, available, secure storage. They will survive a canoe trip, flood, or whatever and still keep tools in good shape. They keep weather and insects at bay, while making a pretty good stool. Additionally there are slews of organizers available for them. So for planning for emergencies, these may be the ultimate TEOTWAWKI tool box.

Personally I think I like the six or seven gallon better, a few tools are a bit longer and need the room. In any case they should be equipped with a Gamma Seal, the best most secure and easy to use lid.

I will still be making and using wooden tool boxes. Art matters. Maybe I should make a wooden tool box that fits in a seven gallon bucket.

Bob

Traditions, Tools and What Will We Pass on to our Desendents?

Bob Strawn — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 13:00:29 +0000

As craftsmen, artists and gardeners, hand tool users who take joy in creation, we stand in reasonable shape to pass on our treasures to our grandchildren and even to strangers unknown who may marvel at the care and thought of those ancient hand craftsmen in the 21st century. This thought comforts me. This thought has been a comfort to wise men long before I struggled with understanding life’s complexities. Solomon considered this as well. Proverbs 22, a good man leaveth an inheritance to his children’s children. Ancient wisdom here.

Here is a website produced by a man that considers this thought quite deeply. I have great respect for him, though he does not comfort me at all, Climate Denial Crock of the Week

This is where he regularly presents such features such as this one;

I have a few odd blocks of truffula wood that have been given to me as gifts. These treasures conflict me. I don’t plan to ever publish any of my works with them, as I don’t want to encourage the destruction of more truffula trees. I don’t want to just leave them as block to be used as doorstops and then thrown away by another generation. So I will try to use them in as graceful a manner as I can, label them as best I can, and then show that more renewable and locally available materials can do as well or better.

I will confess that the rare and exotic do hold the odd lure to me, I am not a purist. So when I want some, desperately, desperately. I look for a place where the plant is being managed well, by people who are managing it as a multgenerational treasure. That or I plant it myself, in hopes that with enough nurture, I may have some to work with some day. But then, I find I often love the tree too much to part with it for the simple wood.

This is the crux of the matter. All of this, quite literally is as ash if we do not find ways to live more gracefully and with better impact on this world. My saving a tree is nothing if the land it is on cannot reasonably be expected to support a tree in a hundred years. The traditions we pass on, to beloved children, beloved friends and even beloved strangers, are as dust if stewardship is not a strong part of those traditions.

Bob

Is a Copy of a Copy a Crime?

Bob Strawn — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 13:00:24 +0000

I have waded through a lot of discussions about copies being made of other tool designs. It is quite interesting to see where people stand. It seems that there are several issues that divide how we think about these things. The variations on ethic make this a pretty heated issue. Personally I like this. I think societies need to discuss ethics every now and then.

I have a lot of respect for a good copy. Clark and Willams makes reproductions and I hold them in the highest regard. The company that some people are defending, Lie-Nielsen, makes an upgraded copy of what a lot of people consider the best mass produced planes. I like this too. What is really neat here, is that a upscale, high dollar product, that has been maintained with quality engineering and quality support has loyal supporters, despite being quite expensive.

WoodCraft, is the one with the copy of a copy. It sells for a bit less and looks pretty nice. Woodcraft has given me very good support in the past, so as far as that goes, they might come close to Lie-Nielsen There are folk supporting them in their decisions as well.

I have no objection to competition either. I like the idea of companies competing with each other to provide me with the best price on the best quality goods. The competition between Lee Valley and Lie-Nielsen has been very good for the woodworking community. I suspect it has also been good for both of those companies. People respect them around the world. The competition is between innovation and refining old patterns. I like the results.

One of the big issues is the China thing. A lot of folk are developing a real hatred of things from China or India. Personally I would rather support the company that takes care of their employees. I would much rather buy from Canada that China for the same reason that I would rather buy food from a share-cropper than a slave owner. I think that people that share control, profit and future are more likely to make caring decisions. People who exploit people are much more likely to put toxic stuff in baby formula. As we turn our face away from the suffering of others, we practice the same skills that endanger our world.

I would rather buy local, but my real priority is to buy ethical. I would rather not reward selfishness. Business should be win-win. I try to consider trade practice, environment and business ethics, when I buy. I don’t want to give more money and power to a person or company that does not care about people. Even people who they will never meet, of different faiths, colors and languages.

I approve of WoodCrafts effort to offer quality products at lower prices, but I would rather not have products made by underpaid labor drive a quality company like Lie-Nielson out of business.

Given my choice, I prefer to buy from a person. A good a product can be made by a woodworker, out of wood and steel and bronze. It just takes a bit of time and care.

Bob

Conserving Artifacts

Bob Strawn — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 13:00:03 +0000

I love old tools. A lot of these old guys have survived a total change in the world and are still useful. One of the important questions, is how to preserve, restore and protect these wonderful links to our past. My approach is to get data from the extreme ends of the spectrum. One fairly extreme end would be stuff that has been left at the bottom of the ocean.

Professor Donny L. Hamilton was kind enough to let me put up this link,

METHODS OF CONSERVING ARCHAEOLOGICAL MATERIAL FROM UNDERWATER SITES

Where he discusses and details various methods used by curators, archaeologists and anthropologists to restore and preserve antiquities. This is a wonderful resource, with information that can easily be extended to the care of much less abused and neglected artifacts.

Another advantage to having such a resource is being able to compare it to other information. There is a lot of nonsense out there, and a lot of marketing hype. Having careful, time tested, peer reviewed and scholarly information at hand can help you to filter out the false. Chances are that if your tools have experienced TEOTWAWKI there is advice here worth knowing.

Bob