Popular Woodworking 2004-08 № 142, страница 90

News & Notes

SAW-SHARPENING SAVANT LEAVES THE BUSINESS

Tom Law, who has sharpened thousands of handsaws and taught hundreds of other people to do the same, is out of the sharpening business. The Smithsburg, Md., resident said the volume of saws he was being asked to sharpen was getting overwhelming and preventing him from working on other projects, such as completing his own workshop.

Law, a retired carpenter, never intended for sharpening to be a career. He started sharpening saws for other people to be helpful, but pretty soon word got out via the Internet (and in woodworking magazines - sorry Tom), and what started out as sharpening a dozen saws annually ballooned into 500 a year.

If you still want your saws sharpened the old-fashioned (and best) way - which is by hand with a file - you aren't out of luck. Law has a video that teaches saw sharpening (available at toolsforworkingwood.com, 800-426-4613). If you still need someone else to file your saws, you can check out Cooke's Sharpening Inc. in York, Pa. (717-793-9527). Another service is run by Daryl Weir of Knox-ville, 111. (309-289-4070 or send an e-mail to weir@gallatinriver.net). Both services also sell sharpened vintage saws at fair prices.

But Law isn't entirely out of the saw business, either. He still sells vintage handsaws that will beat the pants off most new saws. The price is right - Law charges between $25 and $45 for a solid working-class example. And he still sharpens those saws before they go out the door. Contact Law at 301-824-5223.

—Christopher Schwarz

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WOODWORKER'S SUPPLY BUYS 'WAREHOUSE' NAME

While Woodworkers Warehouse may be gone, the company's legacy will live on through a pair of f ormer rivals.

In December, Woodworkers Warehouse filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and ceased operations. All its assets were liquidated. Then on March 25, Woodworker's Supply paid $158,000 in a bankruptcy auction to buy Warehouse's 4.2-million name customer database, vendor lists, purchase histories, inventory data, catalog content, patents, trademarks and web site names.

"We're going to exploit all the assets we bought," John Wirth Jr., president and founder of Woodworker's Supply, told Catalog Age magazine. "We'll derive revenue from pretty

much all the assets by finding new products, new vendors [and] better deals with our existing vendors." Wirth added that Woodworker's Supply is planning to mail out its catalogs to many former Warehouse customers.

Unfortunately, Woodworker's Supply doesn't plan to reopen any of the former Warehouse stores - that's where Western Tool Supply comes in. The company bought a number of leases to the old Warehouse buildings and plans to reopen them as Western Tool stores in the near future.

Check out woodworkerswarehouse.com, woodworkerssupply.com or westerntool.com for more information.

— Michael A. Rabkin

EDITOR HITS THE AIR WITH 'DIY TOOLS & TECHNIQUES'

If you're looking for a new television program all about tools, we've got just what you need. Popular Woodworking Senior Editor David Thiel has been working with the DIY network to produce "Tools & Techniques," a show that provides you with information on every tool in your workshop and some great tips to help you use them better. You name it, David will talk about it - from stump grinders to cordless drills and more.

For complete information about the show and airtimes, see diynet.com and click on "DIY Shows A-Z" for a program listing, or check your local listings.

— MR

TAGE FRID, 88, WOODWORKER, DESIGNER, AUTHOR

Tage Frid, an influential Danish-born woodworker and designer who adopted the United States as his home in 1948, died May 4. Frid was one of a handful of craftsmen who rekindled the nation's interest in making hand-crafted furniture, inspiring untold numbers of woodworkers.

Frid wrote the groundbreaking three-volume "Tage Frid Teaches Woodworking" (Taunton Press). A longtime teacher at the Rhode Island School of Design, he helped start Fine Woodworking magazine. PW

— Steve Shanesy

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Popular Woodworking August 2004