I am a creator. My idea of heaven is a shop full of tools and enough time to make whatever my imagination can dream up. Woodworking has allowed me to channel my creative determination into a productive activity. I tell people that I drive up to Portland (where my parents live and consequently where my workshop is) to work on commission orders, but the truth is, I would drive up regardless if I had a commission piece to work on. Some of my favorite weekends are spent going through the scrap bins and creating something like this. That’s all to say, that I really like woodworking (duh). Naturally I would select a woodworking blog for this free-for-all assignment. My favorite blogging woodworker is Chris Schwarz, the former editor of Popular Woodworking Magazine. In a recent blog post, Chris laid out his philosophy of the woodworkers workbench. As someone who will be building my first “big boy” workbench, I paid close attention to what he had to say.

Mr. Schwarz and I share a similar philosophy. Simple is always better. Anyone could see by the style of furniture I enjoy building that I appreciate a spartan design quality. The overarching theme of Chris’ post is that simplicity in the design, composition, construction, and features of a workbench is golden. He reminds us that the workbench has one purpose, to be a “single work surface that should be flat and solid” that is to be used to build actual furniture. The more we bogged down in the details of the workbench, the easier it is for us to forget that it is ultimately a tool to be used to practice our hobby/profession/sickness. I think there may be some life lesson in there somewhere, but my computer is about to die, so I will have to psycho-analyze Schwarz’s advice some other time.

Be fresh.

T.