The Splinter Report: July 24th

Welcome to The Splinter Report, where I gather the assorted interesting and amusing things I’ve seen in the woodworking world. This week we’re trying to figure out what counts as woodworking. Tool News Quick Bites Single Drawer Packout Drops: I’ll be totally honest, I thought Milwaukee already had a single-drawer Packout toolox available, but it turns out that was just the rolling drawer toolbox. This means Milwaukee now has 1-, 2-, 3- (in two varieties) and 4-drawer boxes available. Zippo Releases Axe, Saw, Together: In addition to local woodworking oddities, I’m also a fan of odd tools. The new Zippo Outdoor AxeSaw 100% falls into that category. As you can see above, it’s part axe, part bow saw, and part mallet. I cannot speak for how well it does any of those tasks, but for $110 I would expect it to perform more like a nice Fiskars axe, and less like a Hyper Tough axe from Walmart. At the very least it features a clever design, with the ability to store the saw blades in the handle, and self-adjusting blade tension. Might be worth adding to the camping kit. Kobalt/Greenworks Battery Recall: I have previously written enthusiastically about tool batteries that can be charged via USB cable. I may be eating a bit of crow now after realizing that the convenience may have some minor, flammable drawbacks. Turns out that the new 24v and 48v tools from Kobalt/Greenworks can short-circuit if the battery is left in the tool while plugged in. While none of the affected tools are directly woodworking-related, the batteries were compatible with all 24v Kobalt tools, so it’s worth checking to see if you have any in your collection. Thoughts: Is this Woodworking? I recently took an old piece of furniture, made some minor repairs, then sanded and refinished it. If I polled 100 woodworkers, I believe the majority would call that woodworking. After all, furniture restoration is a storied woodworking medium enjoyed by many. Now, to add some clarification, the piece of furniture was some big-box store patio set. The repair work was just a bit of Titebond in some loose joints. And the new finish was a solid exterior stain. If I polled the same 100 woodworkers, and asked them if that was woodworking, I believe I would get significantly different results, or at the very least several qualifiers thrown in. What gives? Many woodworkers, unfortunately, tend to gatekeep the hobby a bit. There are the obvious camps, like the hand-tool-only champions, or the anti-CNC league (lots of overlap in those two groups). But as soon as projects move out of a certain range, even the casual crowd starts getting opinions. Finish carpentry work tends to get a pass, sure, but deck building is suddenly all shrugs and “I guess” from the same people. Now I’m sure some of you are reading this and saying “well I consider deck building to be woodworking”, but I would guess you have a line somewhere. What about rough framing? Or assembling IKEA furniture? (If you believe assembling IKEA furniture counts as woodworking, you are either much wiser or more foolish than I am). Here’s a list of a few tasks, and whether or not I think the average woodworker would count it as woodworking. - Furnituremaking — yes - Workshop project — yes - Turning — yes - Restoring furniture — yes - Restoring patio furniture — 50/50 split - Repainting furniture — no - Repainting furniture but it’s a shaker piece, and you’re using milk paint — yes - Carving — yes - Chainsaw carving — weak yes - Finish carpentry — yes - Framing — no - Timber framing — yes - Making three cuts on a miter saw to make a shelf — yes - Making the exact same shelf but only drilling holes, no cutting — 50/50 split - Making the exact same shelf but it’s already precut and drilled — no - Pinewood derby car — 50/50 split - Hand-carved signs — yes - Laser cut signs — no For the record, I think all of the above count as woodworking. Well, maybe not screwing together a premade shelf. I’m a contrarian, but I don’t think I’m crazy. Now, if we’re getting pedantic (and what is the internet about if not being pedantic about our hobbies), there’s uppercase-w Woodworking, which is what we feature in the magazine, and woodworking, which is using wood as the medium for whatever task you’re doing. But for the sake of my argument, I think it’s all under one banner. The person making Chippendale furniture with period-accurate tools is a woodworker. The person making laser-cut signs out of plywood is also a woodworker. There are certainly different skill levels involved, but it’s not like Christopher Schwarz just popped out of a 6-board chest one day as a fully formed woodworker. He also started somewhere (journalism school, actually). So next time you get the urge to call out someone for not doing real woodworking, instead hold your tongue and compliment them for undertaking a task with their hands. Then invite them to join your local woodworker’s guild or maker space. The hobby needs more people, not fewer. These are, of course, my opinions on the subject. I am curious what you think though — what counts as woodworking and what doesn’t? And more importantly, why? Drop us a comment on social media or send me an email at [email protected]. Random Reddit: Proving my point Speaking of different types of woodworkers, did you know that there’s a subreddit dedicated to beginner woodworking? R/BeginnerWoodWorking is actually full of woodworkers of many different skill levels, all of whom consider themselves to be beginners. There are high-quality tables and Victorian spandrels. And there are pencil holders, like this one. Pen and pencil stand by u/Marathonartist in BeginnerWoodWorking In all honesty though, there is some real attention to detail happening here. The pencil holes are evenly spaced and offset from each other. They’re even countersunk into the wood. Yes, this is truly woodworking. Out of Context Christopher Schwarz Quote “And that is where I pull out my bullwhip.” Video of the Week: Adam Savage — Again I think this is the third time I’ve featured Adam Savage on the Splinter Report. I’m sure part of it is due to watching Mythbusters growing up, and enjoying this enthusiasm and delivery when talking about things. The other part, though, is that Adam is clearly a very skilled maker, whom many wouldn’t consider to be a woodworker (sense a theme going this week?). Watching the video below doesn’t really dispel the notion. His vibes are way more “dad in the garage” than Roy Underhill. And yet, there he is, building a project for his son, out of wood, using his Laguna table saw, sweet 12v Makita drill, and some hand tools. Also, it’s a solid plywood drawer design to boot. Anything interesting I missed this week, or that you want me to highlight in a future Splinter Report? Let me know on social media or drop me an email at [email protected].