There have been some interesting reviews, so what the heck. Here is mine thrown into the mix. I have read the book once, then went back over different sections.
Too often we put people on a pedestal and they become Guru’s of a field, yet in fact are not the most skilled or talented. Instead, they excel at communication. Schwarz fits this description, but I think has some pretty good skills and he obviously spends a lot of time in the shop. The Wood Whisperer is an interesting contrast. I would rate his skills as much lower and unlike Schwarz his shop is full of tools that he gets in exchange for his visibility to consumers like us. As such, I rate him lower and hardly rely on him for teaching. A while back we had David Marks and his TV show. Now there was a guy with serious skills. Unlike Schwarz though, he never abandoned power tools and his work is often a mix, but heavy on power tools. However, his delivery was stiff to say the least. Norm was good at both communication in things many people could make, but of course some criticize him for using the old Brad nailer… Now we have Tommy Mac and I like the guy and his power tool/hand tool mix, even if he does talk fast. At the pinnacle (I think) is Roy Underhill. Here is a guy who lives and breathes woodworking and is a great and very entertaining communicator.
Any way, too many people might read Schwarz and think, “Ah, this is the way, the path, I need just these tools and just this chest and a roubo bench… and all will be complete” That, I think, is the problem. How can you be an anarchist if you follow someone else in telling you what to do?
There are so many ways to make furniture and so many people get great results whether they are in Japan with no bench and nothing but hand tools, or in some hyper modern big bucks shop with European sliding saws or Festools galore. We all have to find what works for us. In addition, what works for us is always changing as we learn. It never ends. Schwarz’s latest book fails, I think, in delivering this message. What it is really saying is, “Here is what works for me (now – check with him in ten years or even five),” but too many read it as, ‘Here is what will work for me, it is all laid out so precisely I don’t have to figure it out…”
This happened to me. It’s very seductive. I even made spread sheets and priced out the $3-4,000 in hand tools that “The Schwarz” was telling me I needed (they released a video where he details each tool brand by brand). I could sell everything else and life would be complete. I was day dreaming about this stuff day and night, and then I did what I think we all need to do when we get so caught up in following some woodworking guru – I worked in my shop. Here is what I realized. I love my dovetail saw and chisels and need more. I love my hand planes and need a few more. I do need to build a new bench. But I also realized this. I love my table saw, I love my miter saw. I don’t exactly love my jointer and planer, but they do what they need to do. I love my Festool sanders. I love my Kreg clamping table. and so on.
A little digression here. Years ago I was really into amateur astronomy. It shares a lot with woodworking in the incredible amount and variety of stuff you can buy and different approaches you can take to the hobby – and that it is easy to simply go nuts. It’s out of print, but there was a fantastic and funny book – “The Light Hearted Astronomer.” http://www.amazon.com/Light-Hearted-Astronomer-Ken-Fulton/dp/0913135011
The author took a chapter to classify all the types of amateur astronomers. For example, the Do it Yourself nut who grew his own tree to make his telescope tripod. The Gadget Mad guy who was always one accessory away from being complete. The Shutterbug obsessed with photography… and more. The point he was making (I think) is you can take any path and that’s okay, but if you go too far, you find yourself never just looking at the stars (or planets, nebula…). He was spot on and I saw his descriptions in myself and my friends – it was hilarious. I think we need the same book for woodworking and take a little good natured fun poking at, The Pure Neanderthal (who wears 18th century clothing in his shop), The Only European Power Tools Are Best guy (who has developed a German accent in his shop), the Old Iron is the Only Way to Go guy (who is always restoring tools and never uses them), The You Can Kind Find Any Tool You Need for $25 Used guy and more. That, I think, would have been a much more interesting book and captured my definition of “anarchy” – to show the extremes we can fall into, but also the value of each approach.
Given all this, I did enjoy the book. Sure, he gets a little quirky and corny and his jokes often fail or may insult the semi-puritanical, but that didn’t bother me. It is a good primer on ONE PERSON’S approach to tools and there is valuable information here that can help others in choosing hand tools for their shop. He did the same thing with his bench books. The first was limited in how things should be and there were only two benches, the second had ten different benches. Maybe we should wait for his second tool chest book?
I recommend the book, but I don’t recommend this be your only book. Find your own way, your own tools and what works for you.
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