The Bench Talk Blog —

News & notes from your friends here at Mr. Sawdust

This is simply our place to share whatever’s worth telling about all things Mr. Sawdust. We call it that as a nod to the original Bench Talk — which was a truly one-of-a-kind newsletter circulated to students & friends of the first Mr. Sawdust School of Woodworking (starting back in the late 70’s).

Speaking of the original newsletter — would you believe we’ve scanned every-last-one (that we could find) and put them up online? You’re welcome to go enjoy each one. There’s a little something for everyone — you’ll see.

Newsletter Archive

On that note, we’ve done one more thing. In between all the down-to-business details & class information, Wallace mixed in a small treasury of simple pieces of advice, thoughts on everyday life, curious quotes, and things we just plain love to read. We’ve pulled these choice lines out and gave them their own home – something we’ll call Coffee Talk here. We think you’ll appreciate it all just the same as we do.

Coffee Talk

David Walsh 3/22/24 David Walsh 3/22/24

The Master Plan

"There is a Master Plan for each of us. Because we do not comprehend this Plan without living through it, we must each devise our own 'working drawing', our tentative goals — and detailed drawings for our momentary, precise actions.”

David Walsh 10/13/23 David Walsh 10/13/23

South Bend’s Scale-Model Shop Planning Kit (1954)

David Walsh 9/17/23 David Walsh 9/17/23

Bringing back a century of timeless designs

While I started out just making “a few more shirts for the shop”… I kept at it for a few more.

Something over a hundred designs, for now. Factor in the color variations, that’s something over 1,000 distinct “wearables”. So, I guess I made a few more than a few.

David Walsh 8/25/23 David Walsh 8/25/23

Paul Reiche — Saying our goodbyes

David Walsh 8/14/23 David Walsh 8/14/23

Harrison Ford, Woodworker

David Walsh 8/10/23 David Walsh 8/10/23

The odd story of finding two 1947 Delta Bandsaws

David Walsh 2/19/23 David Walsh 2/19/23

How Mr. Sawdust Got His Name (An Imagined Moment Back in Time)

David Walsh 11/19/22 David Walsh 11/19/22

Mr. Sawdust's thoughtful advice to a paraplegic woodworker

More than a few of the qualities that made Wallace such a class-act and an uncommon character – are all woven into his reply – to a man he never met, and likely never would. An instructor, an optimist, a salesman, a problem-solver, and simply a woodworker lending an ear, ready to make a new friend of a stranger.

David Walsh 5/26/22 David Walsh 5/26/22

The DeWalt Museum — Leo Flannery’s Radial Arm Saw Collection

David Walsh 4/26/22 David Walsh 4/26/22

The Biggest Little Saws You’ve Never Seen

These little radial arm saws are exactly half the size of the same model you might have and love in your workshop. While they’re miles from perfect, they’re neat enough to share, just as they are.