After meeting in college in 1995 Lance and I decided to combine our woodworking equipment into a single location in his garage and it was dubbed The Old Hippy Workshop. I was learning web design for another company I owned and suggested a web page be created for our woodworking interests and thus was born what would soon become This Old Workshop, a name we felt had a broader appeal.

From that humble beginning nearly 20 years ago Lance and I have shared a woodshop and a passion for becoming an online resource to help connect woodworkers worldwide. Now recognized as one of the premiere tool testing sites, tool companies reach out to us to have their equipment tested and reviewed by our staff of craftsman and writers. Over the years we have added Bloggers, more reviewers, a full time editor and a host of people across the net who contribute to This Old Workshop in one way or another.

Now we have reached another stage in our development, Lance came up with the idea that we should create and produce a podcast showcasing the two founders of This Old Workshop covering a variety of woodworking subjects. I must admit I am usually a shy and reserved person and not attracted to the spotlight in any fashion but the idea seemed like it could add value to our site and possibly reach a wider audience so I decided to give it a go.

Since our beginning in Lance’s garage in central California I have moved back home to Oregon and now he and I work in different shops but keep in constant contact. So these podcasts are recorded remotely and the audio is mixed in my studio to produce the final recordings. I will admit I am new to this process so I hope you forgive our production quality in the beginning and join us while we grow better at this process. We both feel the content is the most Important and we do our best to serve the information before anything else. We are producing this podcast for YOU not for us so our focus is always on the subjects we love dearly.

This project will die without listeners so subscribe, join the forums, share the links and tell your friends. If you have questions, comments or ideas please use the forums to communicate with us and we will do our best to respond to them.

Now a bit of business,

Our podcast has commercials and sponsors. Don’t be disheartened because we scrutinize all of our advertisers and we simply will not present products or services we do not use, respect or support. Our commercials and sponsor comments are produced by This Old Workshop and contain our opinions and not simply us reading the words given to us. If we say we use something in our shop, we use it. If we say we love something, we love it. We NEVER take our representation of woodworking equipment lightly. To us here at This Old Workshop integrity and honesty is our top priority. Yes, commercials are a necessity, we have to pay the bills but we refuse to present substandard products to our global woodshop family.

We both hope you enjoy these podcasts.

Keep making sawdust

For Lance Granum this has been Daniel Carter

 founders of This Old Workshop

In many avenues of life, camaraderie bolsters the soul, hones skill, and enlivens new passion.  To that end, lets talk (well I guess I'll write and you read) about the new appreciation I've found for woodworking guilds.

I've been woodworking since 2003 where I really got my start by apprenticing with a luthier.  During this time, I learned the ins and outs of instrument making, which started with learning how to sharpen tools by hand.  We used water stones and did this work on the floor.  I'm not kidding...  Anyways, to the point.  This was a very exciting time for me as a young woodworker.  The most important thing I learned was that no man is an island.  We can read magazines and follow plans or watch YouTube videos, but nothing replaces the gain of one-on-one learning.

Fast forward to a time after my collegiate career and before moving into a house where I could set up shop.  I was lusting for a place to work.  If I had joined a guild or community woodworking program, that yearning could have been realized.  It wasn't until my wife and I moved into our current home that woodworking would make an appearance once again.  I began setting up shop ASAP and got back to making dust.  Along the way, I restored an old Tannewitz Model FDS table saw.  For some unknown reason, I also started building my wood lathe, Big Blue, at the same time.

There are so many cool pen blanks available for purchase. Any pen maker's website sells them. From basic wood blanks, to acrylic blanks, to more complicated carbon fiber blanks and circuit board blanks. From only a few cents, to over $20 per blank. Even my customers would agree, the pen blank is more important than the pen kit. 

Let's get into today's project!  I'll walk you through the process of turning a carbon fiber Jr. Gentleman's rollerball pen.

The founders of This Old Workshop have joined together to create and produce a new audio podcast. It will feature a variety of woodworking subjects, resources, techniques and even some of our signature tool reviews. Subscribe today and join us on this journey through this craft we love so dearly.

Looks Like Dewalt is coming back to the USA watch this video and let us know what you think in the forums .

Freud SD608 8 Inch Dial-A-Width Stacked Dado Set