Tonight we (the combined woodworking clubs of Austin) got to spend an evening with John Economaki from Bridge City Tools. He was in town for the Lie-Nielsen hand tool event this weekend.

I was the one that set it up, honestly I didn’t know what to expect. He gave me a lot to think about, which I might post on in separate entry. If you ever get a chance to hear him talk on design, go see it. He talked about focusing on the “what” and not on the “how”. He has an infectious love of design, which shows in the his company’s tools – aestetically pleasing in addition to being highly functional.

If you have really sharp eyes (or if I used a better camera), you might see Deneb Puchalski from Lie-Nielsen Toolworks in the background. He vastly improved my handplane skills with just a 7 minute demo of how to setup a handplane before John’s presentation. If that ratio holds true, I’ll be a pro after I spend a few hours in his presence this weekend.