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 Saturday, January 19, 2008
New Podcast on ‘Workbenches’ at Woodworkers Resource

If you aren’t yet completely saturated with information on workbenches, then get comfortable and read on. Craig Stevens at the Woodworkers Resource has just released an hour-long interview of me about my book, my work at the magazine and the craft in general.

The interview is in mp3 format (it’s about 55mb) and can be streamed from most internet browsers. You can even save it to your hard drive and load it on an iPod. You can read more about the interview and start streaming it here – but be sure to check out the rest of the excellent site, which includes video, Craig’s blog, a newsletter and an eBook of strategies for teaching woodworking to kids.

Craig conducted the interview on Jan. 13 while I was in my shop working some frustrating bookcases made from sub-standard plywood (that long national nightmare is almost at an end, by the way). During our chat we discussed:

• How I got interested (read: freakishly obsessed) with the topic of workbenches.
• What a typical workday is like at Popular Woodworking and Woodworking Magazine.
• My favorite workbench (which doesn’t exist as of yet).
• The types of furniture and projects I build at home.
• A little bit about the future of my Lost Art Press web site.

Craig did a great job with the interview and kept it casual yet highly focused (I have a tendency to blather; just ask my kids). So thanks to Craig and I hope you like the interview.

— Christopher Schwarz


Read other entries by Christopher Schwarz
1/19/2008 10:21:46 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)  #  Comments [3] 
1/21/2008 11:10:49 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)

I am always curious what the editor's homes look
like, because I picture them being filled with
custom furniture. But maybe you don't get
time to build much for your own homes. ??

I know Glen has that really nice highboy in
his house, beacause I asked him about it(and
am jealous!). What about the rest of the editors?

chris
1/21/2008 11:17:20 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)
The chimney from the Feb. 08 issue is now in my bathroom, stuffed full of towels, and my dining room table is one I built a few years back (with a LOT of help from PopWood books editor Jim Stack). And the more I learn, the more I plan to build.
1/21/2008 11:30:43 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)

Chris,

Your suspicions are mostly correct. What's the expression? Wooden spoons in the home of the blacksmith?

While the vast majority of the furniture in my house was made by my hands, most of it are the prototypes for the finished pieces that ended up nicer and in someone else's house.

There are a few exceptions. I have a few pieces I am immensely proud of. The upside to having the "rejects" is that I feel no twinge of panic when my kids treat the furniture like... furniture.

Chris
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