Report From WIA – Crucible Tools

This was going to be the year wherein I fulfilled my promise to eliminate travel from my diet.  Included in this promise was the intention to accept fewer speaking invitations and to avoid travels to events where I was not a speaker.  It has worked out well thus far, including my plans to remain at the Appalachian Shangri-La during Woodworking in America 2016.  I held fast to that commitment until there was a weird convergence of cosmic forces, those being 1) the completed review of the page proofs for With All The Precision Possible – Roubo on Furniture Making two days before WIA was to commence (Michele and I had a two-hour phone session covering the last dozen pages we had in-hand) and that physical ring binder needed to be returned to Lost Art Press, and 2) the announcement about a month ago that the new tool-making enterprise from John Hoffman, Raney Nelson, and Chris Schwarz was having its inaugural shindig at the LAP World Headquarters the night before and just down the street from Woodworking in America.

So at a fairly late date I decided to drive to Covington KY for the Crucible Tools soiree and drop off the R2 binder.  As I was discussing this with Mrs. Barn my initial posture was to drive to Covington last Thursday for that evening’s Crucible Tools premier and manuscript drop-off, spend the night and do a walk-through of the WIA Marketplace the following morning then drive back home.  Being a well-grounded and brilliant woman, Mrs. Barn’s initial response to this proposition was something like, and I may be paraphasing, “Don’t be stupid.  You always gripe about not getting to see anything at WIA because you are presenting; just go for the whole thing and enjoy it.”  So I did.   Ya just gotta keep a girl that wise around.

The Thursday evening Crucible Tools open house was a grand time of fellowship and celebration of the hand tool renaissance we are now experiencing.

Crucible had their first two tools on display in top of Chris’ new Roman work bench, which were met with great enthusiasm all around.

The place was packed and some local videographers premiered an episode for a series on “people who make stuff” featuring our three heroes.

A great time was had by all.  I did not stay until the bitter end as I was tired from the all-day drive, and went to my hotel room to sleep.