Musings

The Studleyana Menagerie Grows

One of the very special moments in the recent Parquetry workshop at the barn was when we were walking past Jim’s car and he said, “I have something for you.”  He opened the trunk and handed me a package that was Irish Whiskey.  I mentioned that I was not much of a drinker but knew this to be very good stuff.  “Well, open it to make sure you like it,” he replied.

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I did and my eyes bugged out and my heart went a-flutter.  It was a replica of the mallet from the HO Studley Tool Cabinet, identical to the one Jim made for himself as he was assembling the contents for his Studley 2.0 unit.

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“I couldn’t sleep one night so I made this for you.”  I wish that my sleepless nights were as productive as his.  He machined the brass shell and fashioned the beech infill from the salvage of a transitional plane, and the handle is magnificent Brazilian rosewood.  It is simply exquisite and becomes part of my treasures in the HO Studleyana Menagerie.

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That collection started with Narayan’s gift of a hand-processed image that began as a lark and ended up as one of the most popular images in Virtuoso.  Soon it was joined by the remarkable Studleyesque hammer-and-caliper holder fashioned by OldWolf himself, DerekO, complete with period-appropriate ebony-handled hammers and the Veritas replica of the caliper used by Studley.

The collection occupies the most prominent location in our home, namely the center of the solid chestnut mantle above the wood stove in the living room.