54 – Interview With Chris Schwarz

Video - May 25, 2008

This past April, we had to good fortune of visiting with the folks at Popular Woodworking in Cincinnati, OH. We got a bunch of footage at the Pop. WW’ing headquarters (including a quick interview with Glen Huey) as well as a tour of Chris Schwarz’s home. We capped the day off with an interview with Chris in his own shop. The unfortunate news is that one of our tapes had a fatal flaw in it. So the only recoverable footage was this interview with Chris. Fortunately, it was a very fun interview and I think you will like it. Be sure to check out Chris’s Woodworking Magazine Blog as well as his Lost Art Press Blog. And while you’re at it, check out Popular Woodworking Magazine for some great woodworking content.

Discussion

Skee May 26, 2008 6:27 am

Great stuff. The power / hand tool stuff was good to watch and hear.

I figure the messed up tape is like a piece of wood. They don’t all come out the way you want them to. Such is the nature of doing projects.

As always, thanks for the effort and energy Marc,

Skee

Reply
Denis Rezendes (Teen Age Woodworker) May 26, 2008 8:17 am

nice interview Marc!
you and Chris seemed to get along good! he has a nice shop there to.

Reply
Vic May 26, 2008 8:32 am

Man, you get to do all the fun stuff and meet all the cool people!
I was happy to see Schwartz’ shop isn’t much less messy than mine.
Thanks for taking us places we wouldn’t have the chance to go on our own. It’s almost like you have some sort of magical powers..hmmm?

Reply
MorningWood May 26, 2008 12:16 pm

OMG!, OMG!, OMG! the SCHWAAAARRRZ!!!

Nice interview Marc. Must have been a blast to meet Chris.

Eric

Reply
Allen in Ohio May 26, 2008 12:43 pm

Hey Mr. Spagnolo, you spelled Cincinnati wrong. ;-)

I know people who live here who spell it with two t’s, so I guess I can let you off the hook on that one.

Reply
alexander May 26, 2008 3:11 pm

nice

Reply
Don May 26, 2008 5:42 pm

I loved this interview. I really enjoyed seeing Chris’s home shop, as it is the same size as mine (half of a 2 car garage), and it is a mess, like mine. I also loved the fact that he didnt have all the top of the line power tools to work with (old 12″ band saw, old powermatic planer, etc.) , and I liked the fact that he had his grandfather’s work bench in use.You also answered a question I have had for a long time….Which bench does he like most? Thanks for the interview.
Don

Reply
Tom Hoffman May 26, 2008 7:03 pm

Wonderful interview. I had the pleasure of meeting Chris and his wife in Oakland, CA at the Lie-Nielsen, BridgeCity, Glen Drake, etc. demo day. What a wonderful guy.

It totally amazes me the “prolific-ness” (is that a word?) of Mr. Schwarz’s writing. He has to be the most prolific writer, blogger, rumindator, woodworker known to mandkind, and this video interview explained why! Keep it up, Chris!

Reply
Craig May 26, 2008 7:06 pm

Marc,

Nice interview! What I always find incredible about Chris is how he is immersed in woodworking all day at his day job, but still loves to build stuff in his basement shop when he comes home. He’s one of “us” which is why I think he’s become so “Popular”. Pun intended!

Craig

Reply
Christopher Schwarz May 26, 2008 7:22 pm

The whole interview is accurate. I just want to point out that it really has been at least 37 years since I actually soiled myself.

Chris

Reply
Greg May 26, 2008 7:54 pm

Great internview. I thought you asked all the right questions and got all the right answers. It was nice to see that Chris’ shop is a balance of hand and power tools. Too bad about the lost footage, I would have loved to have seen your time with Glen. He seems to be a great guy and actually took time to help me out personally by signing a his book for my brother’s birthday.

I love the publication and will continue to be loyal subscriber. BTW…Chris’ book is at the top of my father’s day wish list.

Reply
Ryan May 26, 2008 8:43 pm

Great job, and Chris is a superstar. He’s been gracious and helpful since I met him at a Marc Adams class which was led by him. We’re lucky in Cincy to have him.

Reply
Muddler Mike May 26, 2008 10:24 pm

LOL Chris! Nice to see you dropped in to catch the interview. As everyone else mentioned, it’s nice to see that many of our woodworking “heros” have similar shops and shop time issues just like all of us Jon-Q-woodworkers – even if your job is all about woodworking. It keeps it real for many of us.

Thanks Marc – well worth the wait!!!

Mike

Reply
Mattias in Durham, NC May 27, 2008 4:18 am

That’s great – thanks for posting the interview!

Reply
Germain May 27, 2008 10:35 am

Great interview. I’m currently in the process of building Chris’s French Workbench. (Although, I can’t get Southern Yellow Pine in Colorado.) I notice his bench doesn’t have the floor vice or the crochet. He has a twin screw vice.

What’s up with that, Chris? I though you liked the crochet?

Reply
Ryan May 27, 2008 1:04 pm

Mark-
I know a lot of us would like to buy you a beer sometime. If you are even back in Cincy, its on me. Any chance of you putting up a travel calendar so these regional visits won’t go unnoticed?

Reply
thewoodwhisperer May 27, 2008 1:28 pm

I am glad everyone is enjoying the interview. Chris is a good sport to put up with my nonsense, lol.

And thanks Ryan. If I am in the area again I will take you up on that offer. In most cases, when we travel, we let everyone know where we are going, but only if we have time to socialize while we are there. The Cincy trip was not one of those times. lol. The real reason we were there was for a wedding. I decided to tack on a trip to Popular Woodworking and the Wood Werks Store. Quite a weekend! In the future, you can check the Woodworkers Calendar for our appearances and travel schedule.
http://www.thewoodwhisperer.co.....-calendar/

Reply
Allen in Ohio May 27, 2008 5:24 pm

Hey Ryan, if Marc does make it back to Cincy with time to spare I’ll buy a round.

Whereabouts in Cincinnati are you? Didn’t know there were other Southern Ohioans hanging about.

Reply
Ryan May 27, 2008 7:02 pm

Allen-I’m in Loveland. I can be reached at gugnheim@gmail.com

Reply
Alex December 29, 2012 11:29 am

Very nice.

Reply
David August 2, 2017 12:18 am

Great interview Marc! Thanks!

Reply

Cookie	Duration	Description
cookielawinfo-checbox-analytics	11 months	This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checbox-functional	11 months	The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checbox-others	11 months	This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary	11 months	This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance	11 months	This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy	11 months	The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.

54 – Interview With Chris Schwarz

Advertisers