Month: February 2015
LITTLE CHAP • j. sergovic
Remember Pat Graham? Brickbat Book’s Benches? Showing Pat, decades ago, a small sculpture made from bits of castoff brass culled from discarded plumbing fixtures, he immediately named the piece Little Chap. Pat went further to suggest a whole series of Little Chap figures, made progressively larger. A project still in developmental stage.
The discarded plumbing fixtures were not sinks and toilets from the alley. These 19th century parts came from The Newport in Philadelphia. When indoor plumbing was a new thing, pieces that made up plumbing fixtures were designed to last generations. Sand-cast brass components, finished by a skilled hand. Engineering to allow decades of function with no maintenance.
The Newport was once the tallest building in Philadelphia. At five stories, the most luxurious residence available with indoor plumbing. Five story buildings remain common in older neighborhoods. Water will not flow higher without pumps. Height is limited by elevation of a reservoir. After pumps became widespread, The Newport went to nine stories. A century later, I was replacing someone’s tub drain.
Maintenance plumbing in older buildings gave me an appreciation for quality components of 
the late 1800s. Parts too nice to scrap were collected, shared, and occasionally refashioned into something new. Little Chap was assembled and shaped in a c.1905 garret apartment, on a door serving as a workbench. Year later a mold was made, wax copy produced, and Little Chap was cast in sterling silver. – jim s.
Danner
NOTHING LASTS FOREVER. Or does it? How long is forever? For me, it might be a few decades, it might not. Still, I usually buy sturdy multi-generational items.
To celebrate a milestone event my brother wanted to give me something special. He tossed out a few suggestions. Everything seemed “here today, gone tomorrow”. I had been eying a pair of American-made hiking boots. Perfect for the asphalt jungle; better for the Appalachian Trail.
Selected among the best boot available to the committed hiker. Born from the ideals of Charles Danner in the shock of the Depression, a commitment to superior craftsmanship that lives to this day. How sturdy are they? Friends gloat over their Danners, decades old, reminiscing over their trials and trails together. “Buy once, cry once”, they chant. Boots are available for half the price, but you get what you pay for.
The trouble with really comfortable shoes and boots is that they fall apart by the time they become your favorites. Several years ago I turned to recraftable loafers by Alden. When the shoe becomes worn, back to the factory they go, where they take it apart. Alden replaces worn components, puts it together, and ship it back, feeling “like your old shoes” but looking almost new.
Danner does the same thing. Just look for the word “recraftable”. This means you are buying a product designed to be repaired, not discarded. In a business climate of planned obsolescence, you’re seeing a product the manufacturer wants you to keep forever.
wayne henderson ◊ luthier
DRIVING HOME FROM A WINTER visit in Tempe Arizona takes me tantalizingly close to a famed luthier’s workshop. A few phone calls later, favors cashed, promises promised, I’m invited. The Holy Grail of both amateur and professional luthiers across the globe, an unscripted view of life in the shop of one of America’s greatest guitar builders.
When I drop in, Wayne is staining the neck of his latest acoustic, a little later, the body. This particular customer had plenty of time to find beautiful walnut sides and back Wayne would eventually build into a guitar. Typical wait time is ten years.
The visit was memorable. Organized clutter. Not a tape measure to be seen (I was assured they were occasionally consulted). A 23/1000″ saw blade just for cutting fingerboard fret slots. Many tools and jigs have one purpose only. Except the pocket knife. Wayne is a hand’s-on builder, and that blade is used for just about anything. Poking, prying, cutting, slicing, whittling, trimming.
You never know who will stop into the shop. This afternoon brought EmiSunshine, fresh off the Grand Ole Opry stage. She had us aflutter with her skills, the pictured ukulele built by Jayne Henderson. Jayne could not have a better teacher.
Wayne has had an interesting career. Retired after thirty-two years with USPS. Plus the year of accumulated sick time. An easy postal route that left him with plenty of time to build guitars, which he has been building his whole life. After the first one was sold at about 16 years of age, he’s had a continuous backlog. Don’t even ask how long. Methuselah himself is pressing his luck.
He covered all the bases, sticking with USPS and a performance career even though he could easily have gone over to full time guitar building years ago. And he covers all the bases in every guitar he builds, known for their volume, tone, and resonance. A strong, balanced sound is nothing you can fake.
What is Wayne holding up? He admires a sandstone sample I brought back from Anasazi Stone, comparing it’s layers to the pictured walnut end piece on the guitar he just built. Ahh, nature repeating itself.
Mariposa Slate • California
A YOUNG MAN WENT WEST. He found the work scene different from back east. Not so many taverns and restaurants, his typical clients. But Mariam was opening Savoury’s, on Main Street in Mariposa, California. Mariam wanted something different for her hostess station. Her ears perked right up at the mention of custom stone work. And she knew a local secret.
Mariposa Flagstone Co/Yosemite Slate Quarry. They had the goods. And just the right piece, a monster leaning against a tree, waiting for the right pockets to come along and buy it. The rest is history. Dragged it home in the Ford, made a template, dry-cut the stone with a diamond wheel on a Craftsman grinder, and dressed the edging.
Savory’s moved down the block a few years later. The stone was repurposed, as has happened since time immemorial.
American Toolbox 