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Thread: Chris Swarz surfaced at Highland Woodworking.

  1. #31
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    David,
    Is "hid name" miss-spelled?

  2. #32
    Yes...….

    I don't get on well with reply machine !

    David

  3. #33
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    Last edited by lowell holmes; 12-14-2018 at 5:10 PM.

  4. #34
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    Quote Originally Posted by david charlesworth View Post
    I think those people on the first page, who do not even know what he does, (or how to spell hid name), should keep their opinions to themselves.

    Chris is a great asset to the woodworking community IMO.

    David Charlesworth
    I agree, David.

    Each generation has its heroes. It is not simply what they taught that made an impression. It was how they taught, and how this inspired a love of woodworking.

    I recall Norm very fondly, although I could possibly teach him a thing or two now about handwork. It was not his expertise that stirred me, but his passion, and that he led by example, as does Chris. Many here may also not be aware of the many articles you wrote for Furniture and Cabinetmaking all those years back (20?). They are now collected in your books. I found them wonderful, and still do. I also like that you have never stopped learning .... and demonstrating that, indeed, we old dogs can learn new tricks!

    I not only like Chris as a teacher and appreciate his blogs and books (and humour!) - I must emphasise that it is not always the last word in technique that one should seek out (there are a number of other woodworkers out their that I might recommend for technique, per se) - but I deeply respect what he has done to foster passion in so many for the craft we share. To inspire others is a wonderful gift, and I hope that this generation recognises this, and appreciates what Chris has done over the past 15 or so years.

    Regards from Perth

    Derek

  5. #35
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    I agree with a lot of the praise The Schwarz is getting in this thread, he is the only thing that made me pop into the PW website a couple of times a month to read his blog. His interests didn't always align with mine ie campaign furniture but I usually came away with a nugget I was happy to have found. The LAP books are almost certain to be the biggest part of his woodworking legacy. One thing I like about Chris is that I get to watch his arc. He is very much in the discovery and experimentation phase of his life (some never leave it which I think is good) and I think it makes for more compelling reading and thought.
    Of all the laws Brandolini's may be the most universally true.

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  6. Quote Originally Posted by Derek Cohen View Post
    It was not his expertise that stirred me, but his passion, and that he led by example, as does Chris.
    My heroes are my father and a shipwright in the Netherlands. Both have inspired me greatly and both have taught many apprentices who made successful careers for themselves or started their own companies. Giving someone a solid foundation so they can make a living doing what they love to do (I'm one of them) is how you put your stamp on the craft. But that's just my opinion.

  7. #37
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jessica de Boer View Post
    My heroes are my father and a shipwright in the Netherlands. Both have inspired me greatly and both have taught many apprentices who made successful careers for themselves or started their own companies. Giving someone a solid foundation so they can make a living doing what they love to do (I'm one of them) is how you put your stamp on the craft. But that's just my opinion.
    Jessica,
    I think Chris has created a deposit of information that gives quite the foothold for the amateur and gives inspiration for people of all sorts to do woodworking. Perhaps not as high an honour as the master to apprentice cycle but Chris' work accumulating knowledge and creating something that publishes that knowledge once again is important. Certainly puts bits of the craft into paper. We may be uncomfortable with woodworking "celebrities" (at least the live ones) but reach has become important. the Schwarz is a hub, and amateur work is important to - well, amateurs. Great masters and formally trained craftsman are important to that continuity of itself and the higher echelons of the craft, hubs like Chris are important to a more widespread and "casual" crowd. His work to keep some great teachings in print and accessible through discussion and online blogging is important not just to the amateur but the entire craft. The world of woodworking has changed. I would bet Chris' work has at least opened doors and the eyes of a few of my generation and younger to good work and hand tools. Maybe some of them will go on to be the next generation of masters. Without easily accessible resources through the web I wouldn't really know of the existence of these levels of woodworking, about the masters, woodworking in other continents, etc. The first door opens many, allows you to dive into a vast network of information. My first door was my shop teacher, but without some other hubs I might still be viewing woodworking as a fun time on the belt sander and drill press making record time (record in my school) CO2 powered mini dragsters. I went from that to cutting dovetails, refinishing tables, getting sick from lacquer in a few months time. Another year and I was making six times more dovetail boxes then any other kid, spending much time holed up in my basement staying up at night varnishing jewelry boxes. Setting alarms at night so I could run downstairs bleary eyed to denib and brush another coat on. A few months later and I was shellacking and French polishing, cutting Japanese joinery, became a hand plane nut, even a nut for making them. By my last year of high school I was holed up in the small metal work corner of the wood shop at school trying to create infill planes with knowledge from stalking Bill Carter and Konrad Sauer's blogs. Ive gone off the rails a little here but I guess my point is the Schwarz is a hub - a very big hub of quality info, very important as all the different nodes and hubs of similar quality and discussion are close by. That's important in my books, and I think Schwarz has stamped his name in the craft's history; but I'm a nobody who still can't make anything sellable.

  8. I guess I look at wood working from a professional point of view and by extension at people like Swarz. I fully realise that many of the members are hobbyist wood workers and the way they view and experience the craft is completely different from mine.

  9. #39
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jessica de Boer View Post
    I've heard of this guy before, can't remember where. I don't mean to belittle what he does but has the man ever worked in an actual production environment with dead lines that have to be kept?
    Yes, he certainly does. As a toolmaker and publisher. With furniture too (he takes commissions but it’s only part of his production). I agree with you that it wouldn’t be belittling if the answer was “no.” His craftsmanship and ability to unearth and then teach traditional techniques remain top notch either way.
    Mark Maleski

  10. #40
    Quote Originally Posted by david charlesworth View Post
    I think those people on the first page, who do not even know what he does, (or how to spell hid name), should keep their opinions to themselves.

    Chris is a great asset to the woodworking community IMO.

    David Charlesworth
    I disagree on both points.

    I cannot remember another time when someone was told to keep their opinions to themselves just because someone disagreed with them.

  11. #41
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    Quote Originally Posted by Warren Mickley View Post
    I disagree on both points.

    I cannot remember another time when someone was told to keep their opinions to themselves just because someone disagreed with them.
    About three weeks ago on the disston no 12 thread!
    Dojo Kun, 1: Be humble and polite.

  12. #42
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    Quote Originally Posted by Warren Mickley View Post
    I disagree on both points.

    I cannot remember another time when someone was told to keep their opinions to themselves just because someone disagreed with them.
    But your opinion is an informed one. I understood David to be objecting to blind criticism from posters who appear to know so little about the subject. (Which, when you consider it, is ironic given the criticism they are leveling.)

    at at any rate, this is a woodworking forum, so uninformed criticism is to be expected.
    Mark Maleski

  13. Quote Originally Posted by david charlesworth View Post
    Chris is a great asset to the woodworking community IMO.
    The English speaking wood working community you mean. There are scores of skilled craftsmen and women in non-English speaking countries who have never heard of him... or you for that matter. That is not meant as an insult but the wood working "community" as you call it is larger than you think. It doesn't consist of a few forums and youtube channels. What Swarz does and his opinions are not nearly as important as you think they are.
    Last edited by Jessica de Boer; 12-15-2018 at 8:46 AM.

  14. #44
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    Quote Originally Posted by Warren Mickley View Post
    I disagree on both points.

    I cannot remember another time when someone was told to keep their opinions to themselves just because someone disagreed with them.
    I believe that you have misinterpreted David's comment, Warren. He was simply disagreeing with those who had dismissed Chris Schwarz on the basis of prejudice.

    Regards from Perth

    Derek

  15. #45
    Quote Originally Posted by Jessica de Boer View Post
    I guess I look at wood working from a professional point of view and by extension at people like Swarz. I fully realise that many of the members are hobbyist wood workers and the way they view and experience the craft is completely different from mine.
    Yes, your viewpoint is bound to be different as a professional. I respect that, and I have admired the pictures of the beautiful work you do. As a hobbyist, I enjoy Schwartz's books, blogs and articles. His work is very readable, probably because he is a journalist by training, As others have said, I dont agree with everything he says. But I don't agree with everything my Mother says either.

    Fred
    "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing."

    “If you want to know what a man's like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals.”

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