The Anarchist's Tool Chest
by Christopher Schwarz · first published 2011
9mentions
9recommended by
9HN commenters
2016–2026first – last mentioned
100% recommend
Why HN recommends it
Practical introduction to hand tool woodworking that works through building a tool chest and choosing the basic tools to fill it; suits beginners and hobbyists who want to start making things with hand tools.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
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The Anarchist's Tool Chest by Christopher Schwartz is a great book for understanding the basics of woodworking using handtools.
on “Beginning Woodworking” ↗Christopher Schwarz, who wrote "The Anarchist's Tool Chest", recommended elsewhere in the comments, also wrote a book "The Anarchist's Design Book". In it, he covers two basic, simple construction techniques for building what he calls "furniture of necessity".…
on “Beginning Woodworking” ↗If you enjoyed Shop Class as Soulcraft you'll love The Anarchist's Tool Chest by Christopher Schwarz. https://lostartpress.com/collections/getting-started/product... This book is very practical and will give you specific ways to start making. With hand tools and wood. Mr Schwarz…
on “Shop Class as Soulcraft (2006)” ↗You can download a book called "The Anarchist's Tool Chest" by Christopher Schwarz free as a PDF here: https://lostartpress.com/products/the-anarchists-tool-chest You can also download his follow-up, "The Anarchist's Design Book", free here: https://lostartpress.com/products/the-anarchists-design-book…
on “Woodworking as an escape from the absurdity of software” ↗…cut perfectly. This is important in finish work, but for everyday stuff you don't need to worry about it. If using hand tools is of any interest to you, I highly recommend the Anarchist's Design Book, Anarchist's Tool Chest. All by Christopher Schwarz and available from his press Lost Art Press. I discovered them via a comment here a few years back. His basic philosophy is woodworking for regular people to make stuff that…
on “Make It Yourself” ↗Check out "Anarchist's Tool Chest" from Lost Art Press. It's basically an intro to hand tool woodworking through building a tool chest and what you need to fill it. Not that hand tools can't get just about as expensive as power tools.
on “Woodworking for Engineers” ↗Check out Lost Art Press (https://lostartpress.com/) They focus mostly on traditional hand tool wood working. The Anarchist's Tool Chest (https://lostartpress.com/collections/getting-started/product...) is a great book to help you get started with what makes a good hand tool and what you need to start doing small projects.
on “Wood Joint Strength Testing” ↗Chris Schwartz (of Popular Woodworking fame) wrote and printed "The Anarchist's Tool Chest". Goes through building an actual tool chest and filling it with basic tools needed to accomplish most anything a hobbyist would be building. These are all hand tools and a great resource (it's one of…
on “Woodworking for Engineers” ↗Find a hobby that'll scratch that creative itch. I recently got into woodworking and its been a blast! The Anarchist's Tool Chest might be right up your alley [1]. Christopher just released the revised edition a few days ago. There's a link in the description to a free pdf download. On a similar note... the whole idea behind making…
on “Ask HN: Does anyone else feel like nothing matters anymore?” ↗