The Anarchist's Apprentice

2 weeks ago | theanarchistsapprentice.substack.com | Christopher Schwarz

When you work with other woodworkers – even when picking out wood at the lumberyard – it helps to know some of the marks and special words that will help get the job done right. These symbols are helpful to even the lone woodworker. When you return to the bench after a hiatus, the symbols will help you pick up where you left off. (Note: I made these marks in ink to make them easier to see. Typically, I use pencil.)True Edge: This edge has been jointed by hand or machine.

3 weeks ago | theanarchistsapprentice.substack.com | Christopher Schwarz

Taking on a full-time apprentice is expensive, time-consuming and completely worth it. But there are lots of other ways that home woodworkers can pass on their knowledge and help the next generation of young woodworkers. For example: Before there was Kale, there was Ty Black. Ty was a local coder who had lost his job and then became a stay-at-home dad for his two kids (I think he got a promotion). Ty wanted to become a better woodworker and was willing to trade: my instruction for his scut-work.

1 month ago | theanarchistsapprentice.substack.com | Kale Vogt

I sit writing this from a favorite coffee shop of mine in Cincinnati. The windows are open, oldies1 are softly playing through the overhead speakers while I stare at a blooming cherry tree through the adjacent window. If my blood pressure were any lower, I’d be dead. This is my third crack at capturing my thoughts from this weekend. I got off my flight last night red-eyed and stale, but with my cup full to the brim. I spent last weekend in Portland, Oregon, working the Lie-Nielsen Hand Tool Event.

1 month ago | theanarchistsapprentice.substack.com | Christopher Schwarz

With this apprenticeship agreement between me and Kale, the goal is obvious: Kale needs to build four chairs of increasing difficulty. I need to supply the wood and the education that makes it possible. But there’s another way of looking at this apprenticeship that goes beyond the paper we both signed. Is it working for both parties? Are they happy? Is the process a chore or a joy? When the apprenticeship is over, will the relationship be over?

1 month ago | theanarchistsapprentice.substack.com | Kale Vogt

Kale VogtMarch 11, 2025Today, for the first time ever, I drove Catbus outside of the slow and safe streets of Covington. And I survived. Okay maybe that’s dramatic, but for a millennial never acquired the desire to learn how to drive stick shift, this was quite the feat. Let the record show that if I didn’t have to take Catbus for this errand, I wouldn’t have. The 4x8 sheets of underlayment I was picking up, however, wouldn’t fit in my small hatchback. I may have stalled out at a red light. Twice.