Wednesday, May 19th, 2010
Hey everybody!
Guess what?! I just (and I mean less than 5 minutes ago) got off the phone with Tommy MacDonald. If you are reading this you should be ashamed if you don’t already know that Tommy is one of the first people to ever successfully turn a freely available podcast into a national television show.
Tommy was very excited to tell me that Woodcraft just signed on as the exclusive underwriter of Tommy’s new show, through WGBH, called ‘Rough Cut Woodworking with Tommy Mac.’ Where, up until now, there were still some loose ends to be tied up that may have hindered the show’s existence, Woodcraft’s signing on as the underwriter has solidified the deal.
I want to add something that perhaps many of you do not know. ‘Rough Cut Woodworking with Tommy Mac’ was signed to a 3 year contract. This just doesn’t happen with unproven shows on PBS. WGBH found something, something we are all familiar with, in Tommy that showed he was definitely the person to make this show work. And with a 3 year extension, I’m sure he’ll make it work for a long time to come.
Shows are expected to begin airing around October 3rd, 2010.
I can’t happier for Tommy, Eli, Al, Rachel, Neil Lamens, David Pruett, Scott Oja, the local 207, and everyone else that has supported Tommy’s efforts and made this a reality.
Good luck Tommy! And Congratulations!!!
Tags: david pruett, Local 207, neil lamens, Rough Cut Woodworking with Tommy Mac, scott oja, Tommy MacDonald, wgbh, woodcraft, Woodworking
Posted in Woodworking | No Comments »
Tuesday, October 6th, 2009
I opened up my email the other day expecting to see an important message that I have been anxiously awaiting. Instead of receiving my personal invitation to the Playboy Mansion, I received an ad for another boutique tool.
Most woodworkers have received these ads in one way or another. And I would bet that we’ve all thought, if only for a moment, ‘That’s one sweet tool,’ or even ‘I’ve gotta have it.’ But, reality soon sets in…right about the time we see the price tag.
Though our eyes continue to caress the shining bronze and stainless steel, the smooth mahogany, fiddleback makore or rich cocobolo, we know that this picture is as close as we will ever get to owning such tools (barring, of course, fondling them at trade shows). Some brave souls have given in to temptation, only to invite the unforgiving and inevitable wrath of their significant other.
Even for well-funded woodworkers (or tool collectors), with tricked out shops and tool collections, there are always going to be gorgeous tools that are way out of even their price range.
I started my tool collection with a $7 block plane from a home store, added a few low-end power tools, received a few second-hand tools from friends, then rescued a ton of old hand tools from a friend’s basement. Though some of the old hand tools are in such good shape that they are worth many more times that of their brand new mid-range brothers, these cannot, in my opinion, be considered boutique tools. Those are antiques.
Yesterday I read an old article in the New York Times about hand tools which mentioned that Garrett Wade and Woodcraft were ‘high-end tool catalogue businesses’ and grouped them with Lie-Nielsen and Bridge City Toolworks.
I wasn’t into woodworking in 1998 when this article was published, so maybe things have changed in the past 11 years, but in my opinion, Woodcraft is not a retailer that I associate with high-end tools. I associate it with overpriced tools, but not high-end tools. I’m just now becoming familiar with Garrett Wade and, contrary to the article’s statement that Garrett Wade was ‘the first of the ”boutique” woodworking catalogue businesses’, I would say they are an outlet for higher-end tools than Woodcraft, but still not high-end ’boutique’ tools.
No, rather, I classify a Boutique Tool as one whose competition consists of a few alternatives that range in their accuracy and price, from low-priced poorly made ‘junk’ tools that, normally, only new woodworkers would buy from their hardware stores or discount tools outlets, through to high priced 100% accurate and precise tools that, if used correctly, will return excellent results every time.
What sets Boutique Tools apart from these high-end tools that work perfectly? Mainly, price. To me, a $48 well-made, accurate, and comfortable to use marking gauge is high end. A $145 marking gauge with nickel plated body, stainless steel knobs, and electro polished beam, or a $180 solid ebony gauge are both examples of boutique tools.
Don’t get me wrong, I don’t condemn either of these tool makers. I’ve purchased items from both companies. In fact, the owner of one of these companies is a friend of mine. And no, his name is not John.
Take, for instance, a couple of automotive comparisons.
What’s the difference between buying a Geo Metro and a Toyota Prius? Both are tiny little cars that get great mileage. One screams ‘LOOK AT ME, I’M SAVING THE ENVIRONMENT!’ while the other says politely ‘I know my car doesn’t accelerate that quickly, please pass me while I burn half the gas that your car does.’
I used to own a Chrysler PT Cruiser, what’s the difference between that and the Porsche Cayenne? Both are vehicles that offer seating for 5, are SUV-like, and plenty of storage. The Porsche also offers much more comfort, style, and power, while the Cruiser offers affordable maintenance.
In both examples, what is the main difference between the mid-to-low-end cars and the high-end cars (yes, I understand the Prius is not a boutique car and the Porsche is, but work with me here)? #1. Price. #2. The statement.
I understand the sociological differences between owning an $100k car versus a $20k car and a $250 hand plane versus a $2500 hand plane. I also understand that the expensive handplane in a tool collection may only ever be seen by a handful of people, while an expensive car is seen by everyone in the community.
I guess when you compare a boutique tool to a boutique car, the answer to the ‘why does this tool even exist?’ question ends up being ‘because someone, somewhere, is going to buy it.’
Anyway, to drive home how ridiculous some of these tools’ price tags are, I’m going to site some specific tools. And I already know that Bridge City Toolworks is going to come up quite a bit. I don’t want to be misunderstood. I don’t believe their entire line of tools are boutique. Some of their tools have no equal. This actually makes BCT one of the toolmakers I respect the most. They are the only ones coming up with truly NEW tools.
Boutique Tools:
Bridge City Toolworks:
MG-5, CT-4, CT-15, CS-6, Dead Blow Mallet, SS-2×4 Aluminum Saddle Square, HG-1, CS-2, DSS-6, KM-1
Blue Spruce Toolworks:
Mallet
Grand Slam Tools:
Ebony Marking Gauge
EC Emmerich:
All of their tools
Tags: Boutique tools, Bridge city toolworks, ec emmerich, garrett wade, Geo Metro, grand slam tools, handplane, handtool, harbor freight, high price tools, jig saw, lie-nielsen, new york times, Podcast, Porsche Cayanne, PT Cruiser, steel city tools, Table saw, Tommy MacDonald, Tools, Toyota Prius, woodcraft
Posted in Design, Podcast, Tools, Woodworking | 1 Comment »