This Forum is so .... ( )

[AHill]

Say what you will, but Schwartz energized the woodworking community for 10 years or more. He made Popular Woodworking Magazine. I assumed he had a shelf life and it has apparently expired. Nevertheless, amateur woodworking owes him a lot. He immersed himself in it and lived it. He wrote with some passion and not a little humor. Passion burns hot and bright but dies quickly. He has tired of his line and moved on. Many of us tired of his dogmatic approach, so we castigate him and make sarcastic comments about his work. I find that shameful. If you don't care for Chris Schwartz's current place in the woodworking community, at least give him credit for his past contributions.

I agree.  It was Chris Schwarz's leadership at PWW and his advocacy of hand tools that inspired me to take up hand tools.  I had the privilege of several one-on-one conversations with him.  You can't take away those accomplishments.  No telling where Lie-Nielsen, Blue Spruce, Mike Wenzloff, and a host of other tool makers would be without the interest in handtools stirred up by Schwarz.  Like Jack (Timberwolf), though, his path has seemed to take a different direction than mine. That's his choice and he's entitled to it.  And my choice as well to pay more attention to other sources of inspiration.

[hbmcc]

Has anyone gone back and read the old issues of Fine Woodworking, Popular Woodworking? PWW,  pre-CS, was overwhelmed by everything one could do with wood; like reading a recipe book. FWW, sub-#50, was unreadable and it wasn't for lack of text. Boredom? I think the early 80's of Fine Woodworking was smitten by faux-art philosophy, if not alliteration. 

I am always drawn to the shape shifting of fashion in wooden furniture. Design evolves on the CNC front, while what we do is copy, and chip away at edges. I guess that criticizing what the craft calls itself makes the rising adopters of such terminology look a little more critically also. 

[Handplanesandmore]

Frankly, I don't disagree with his choices.
Bespoke? Any reason this can't be described as custom work?
Purveyor? Seriously. ☹️
Hand made? Hand rubbed? That one always seemed foolish to me too. How else would a finish get rubbed?
I don't think he's off base.
I also don't think he's demanding any punishment for those who use these terms. Use that language if you want to, you'll be just fine.

I don't agree with MOST of his choices. Every word is a good word if it is used in the right context. But no harm done when he chose to express his dislikes. He is a writer after all...and he has to write something to keep up with his blog. He can choose any topics he wants to talk about.

Heck he even uses the word "professionals" himself in his very post which don't exist in woodworking in the same sense as the society knows the word; your need a system of accreditation, certification, on going training etc. to produce professionals. (At best we have amateur and production woodworkers, as almost anyone who does woodworking long enough for a living can call themselves a professional, without any regard to their skills or training. I have seen the poor cabinet work by so-called "professionals" that I would feel shameful if I put my name on it.)

That, too, is his freedom to use "professionals" as he likes. So is the freedom of others who continue to use the words on his list to describe their products or work. He is just one writer or woodworker making a living and one voice; people shouldn't get too upset or uptight with what he says or what he doesn't say.

Simon

[Tony Z]

Personally, I would prefer Swartz to concentrate on Lost Arts Press, and pushing more vintage books to the masses. That seems to be where his inspiration and knowledge came from, and those books are superb. I don't care for his sense of humor, but to each their own. I don't care for his infatuation with workbenches and certain types of furniture, but again, to each their own. I think the hobby would be where it is, with or without him, though he definitely contributed. I do believe he "dissed" many in his blog post, but again, that is how I read it. Finally, it has gotten old, his constant hawking of tools, with his "caveat" that he buys those tools he recommends (plus he is part owner of the company that makes some).

There are others that preceded Swartz, that had a far greater impact on the hobby: with Leonard Lee (followed by his son Rob) having the earliest and most profound effect, then Garret Wade, followed by Thomas Lie-Neilsen, The Patrick Leach and (can't remember his partner's name) with Independence Saw, then countless other professional woodworkers, such as Tag Frid, David Charlesworth and so forth.

[hbmcc]

For the budding pro good photo manipulation can turn a sows ear into a silken dog chew when the right mood is included. Part of the mood is a frank bit of hyperbolic literature, in a pleasing font. 

Is this Schwarz' complaint?

[Handplanesandmore]

Has anyone gone back and read the old issues of Fine Woodworking, Popular Woodworking? PWW,  pre-CS, was overwhelmed by everything one could do with wood; like reading a recipe book. FWW, sub-#50, was unreadable and it wasn't for lack of text. Boredom? I think the early 80's of Fine Woodworking was smitten by faux-art philosophy, if not alliteration. 

I have the whole collection of FW from #1 (the original, not the reprint) and up to the latest Shops issue.

Some issues are weak or weaker. For example, don't get the Shops 2018, if you buy newsstand and are not a subscriber -- they ran out of good ideas and spent 5 pages on covering what hand tools one woodworker thinks he really needs! They could run endless articles on the same theme with just some variations: "The only power tools I need," "The only jigs I need" etc. No wonder why people are dropping their subscriptions across the board in the magazine industry.

But having said that, I find or use almost one good idea from every modern issue of FW. Random examples based on the copies I have on my desk:

Dec 17 - Making curved aprons using a brick-laid approach (an approach I would try in an upcoming build, the kerfsawed clamping cauls are smart too)
April 17 - Sleek and shapely coffee table - the design works even better for a bench seat than a coffee table...about time to make a new one for the porch.

I own an XL and old magazines don't offer anything on the machine. The couple articles out there about domino projects are pretty decent in terms of technical difficulty (Oct. 2017 eg).

No magazines old or new out there can suit everyone's interests, taste or skill level. FW is my only subscription while I buy others including some overseas magazines newsstand only if projects there are of interest to me. Not many, I must say, as I have had quite a backlog of builds to start. Books? My old collection is more than good enough; I spend my money on lumber rather than books.I never spend a dime on T-shirts or hats while there are those who are willing to spend their own money to do advertising for others. Free hats or T-shirts are welcome though, which I will wear in my shop.

Simon

[Blacky's Boy]

[quote pid='7552431' dateline='1511190255']
Patrick Leach and (can't remember his partner's name) with Independence Saw,
[/quote]

Wasn't that Pete Taran from www.vintagesaws.com?

[Tony Z]

[quote pid='7552431' dateline='1511190255']
Patrick Leach and (can't remember his partner's name) with Independence Saw,

Wasn't that Pete Taran from www.vintagesaws.com?
[/quote]

Yep - had an elder moment!

Thanks Dom!

[Bibliophile 13]

I can't remember the last time I logged on here. I haven't disappeared (except maybe from cyberspace), but I have been doing a bit of woodworking. That, and work has been super-busy. Used to be I had a few minutes most days to browse WoodNet while I ate lunch. Now even that small luxury is gone for the foreseeable future. Here's hoping I can drop in here a little more often over the holidays.

[Skip J.]

I can't remember the last time I logged on here.  I haven't disappeared (except maybe from cyberspace), but I have been doing a bit of woodworking.  That, and work has been super-busy.  Used to be I had a few minutes most days to browse WoodNet while I ate lunch.  Now even that small luxury is gone for the foreseeable future.  Here's hoping I can drop in here a little more often over the holidays.

Good to see you in here again Steve....

For some reason my work has cranked up and I haven't been here much the last year or two...

And to the OP, yes, it was the original Woodworking that got me onto handtools and eventually here....