Handworks 2026 in Amana, IA

Well, I got back to the Handworks event in Amana, IA on Sept. 4th and 5th.  And it was awesome again.  Two days full of hand tool immersion.  The event is put on by the proprietors of "Benchcrafted", the company who sells crubber, the leg vise "criss-cross" thing, workbenches and other stuff.  And other than getting there and staying somewhere, the event was free to attend - though I did add to the donation jar.

One of the outdoor tents

This open-air timber-framed structure housed Pete Galbert, 
Jason Lonon and many others

The main barn, with Lie Nielsen at the far end

The main barn on day 2 during Schwarz' presentation

Man, it was hot, hot, hot!  And humid!  Each day was about 95 deg with a "feels like" temperature of 97-98.  And many of the vendors were wearing long pants.  I felt really bad for them.  But if you focus on the tools and the woodworking and the comradery, it was easy enough to forget the heat for a while.

I wasn't looking for anything in particular this time.  But I did come home with two items.  There's a guy from Chicago named Slav who sells new "old stock" files and I bought some from him three years ago.  He was there again this time and just in passing I happened to see something on his table that I'd been looking for for a long time - Skroo-zon file handles in the #3 and #4 sizes.

Number 3 and 4 Skroo-zon file handles

These will add nicely to my #2, 5 and 6

If you've never used one of these, the handle "screws" onto a file's tang and holds it really firmly.  I know I can make (and have made) my own file handles, but these things are great.

Even though I didn't really need any new tools, it's always good to see what's out there.  One thing I might be interested in if I ever get around to making some more planes, is these tapered molding plane iron blanks.  The molding planes that I made years ago were with Lie-Nielsen (non-tapered) blanks.  But the way they were made 150 years ago was genius!  Opposing wedge action with the tapered iron and tapered wedge gives great hold and adjustability.

These are from New Heritage Woodworks

It was a really great event.  My thanks to the Abraham brothers and their staff for putting this on.  I can't imaging how much work it is, but I'm certain it is WAY more than I might realize.