# STL184.5: Chris Schwarz

- Show: [Shop Talk Live](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/shop-talk-live)
- Published: 2019-03-08
- Length: 37m
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/shop-talk-live/2019-03-08-stl184-5-chris-schwarz
- Listen: https://shoptalklive.podcast.static.taunton.com/stl1845-chris-schwarz

## Summary

Chris Schwarz, founder of Lost Art Press and Crucible Tool, discusses his transition from newspaper journalism to woodworking, emphasizing how historical research informs modern techniques. He details the development of a new card scraper design by Crucible Tool, which uses water jet cutting to replicate superior historical shapes, and explains his 'compound-angle joinery' method for building Welsh stick chairs without trigonometry. Schwarz also reflects on the pressures of social media, the importance of failing forward in craftsmanship, and the collaborative nature of the woodworking publishing community.

## Chapters

- [0:07](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/shop-talk-live/2019-03-08-stl184-5-chris-schwarz#t=7) Introduction: Chris Schwarz and his background
- [2:16](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/shop-talk-live/2019-03-08-stl184-5-chris-schwarz#t=136) Regrets and evolution in woodworking projects
- [7:31](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/shop-talk-live/2019-03-08-stl184-5-chris-schwarz#t=451) Crucible Tool's new card scraper design
- [12:40](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/shop-talk-live/2019-03-08-stl184-5-chris-schwarz#t=760) The Rubio workbench and Roman bench research
- [19:42](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/shop-talk-live/2019-03-08-stl184-5-chris-schwarz#t=1182) Learning to build Welsh stick chairs
- [25:15](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/shop-talk-live/2019-03-08-stl184-5-chris-schwarz#t=1515) Social media pressure and community dynamics
- [27:43](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/shop-talk-live/2019-03-08-stl184-5-chris-schwarz#t=1663) Compound-angle joinery without math
- [33:37](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/shop-talk-live/2019-03-08-stl184-5-chris-schwarz#t=2017) Running a home-based woodworking school

## Topics

- [Materials & manufacturing processes](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/materials-and-processes)
- [Industrial & consumer product design](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/industrial-design)
- [Creator business](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/creator-business)
- [Careers & education](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/engineering-careers-and-education)
- [Intellectual property](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/intellectual-property)
- [Hiring & workforce](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/hiring-and-workforce)

## Most relevant to

early-stage companies

## Mentioned

- Lost Art Press (company)
- Crucible Tool (company)
- Workbenches: From Design & Theory to Construction & Use (product)
- The Anarchist's Tool Chest (product)
- Ingenious Mechanics (product)
- Moxon Vice (product)
- Laguna (company)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [503: It’s Made Me a More Fearless Maker](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/making-it/2025-10-31-503-its-made-me-a-more-fearless-maker) (Making It)
- [238: Fun fun create time record time](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/making-it/2019-11-22-238-fun-fun-create-time-record-time) (Making It)
- [517: Imagine Making That Much Art](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/making-it/2026-03-06-517-imagine-making-that-much-art) (Making It)
- [242: Sometimes you make art…](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/making-it/2020-01-03-242-sometimes-you-make-art) (Making It)
- [Episode 085: Sometimes I’m really into the laser.](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/making-it/2016-08-26-episode-085-sometimes-im-really-into-the-laser) (Making It)

## Citing this page

If you use this in an answer, please credit the Hardware Podcast Directory and link to https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/shop-talk-live/2019-03-08-stl184-5-chris-schwarz. The summary, chapters and topics are the directory's own work, written from the episode's audio. The episode itself, its title and its audio belong to Shop Talk Live.