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Those of you who follow Editor Christopher Schwarz’s writing on the Woodworking Magazine blog may recall the sad, sad day that Chris was forced to kill off his companion of more than a decade. His beloved lubricant-soaked Woobie was traded in for a younger and cleaner model, with no implants…of sawdust and swarf (you can read the post here).
I rescued Woobie from the trash bin. And today we were looking for amusing ways in which to avoid work (a rarity, of course). So we pulled out a grotty photograhy sweep, shot a few representative photos, and wrote an item description. Yes , Woobie is for sale on eBay. I just hope we get back the 95 cents it cost me to post it.
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Yes, yes, I see it now! Look carefully, there’s the image of Schwarz’ face right there in the holes and folds of the Unctuous Cloth.
I hear that if one passes the U.C. over a woodworking project, any the gaps in the joinery or blemishes in the finish will permanently disappear.
(This should drive up the bidding.)
Chuck,
You’ll have to talk to Chris about that. I’m the one who lovingly rescued it, after all…
Mike,
But it’s Schwarz grit – it’s special. And a laundering would get rid of it…but significantly lower the Woobie’s value, I’d think 😉
There is a BIG problem here. Nowhere in the eBay item description does it say that the Woobie is defective. Yes defective. In his blog post, Chris Schwarz clearly states "… the Woobie has been contaminated by some sort of abrasive grit." This could be construed as false advertising aimed at bilking millions of dollars from unsuspecting woodworkers seeking a collectible piece of woodworking history. I never would have thought that Popular Woodworking would have sunk this low. Please tell me it isn’t so, please explain your actions.
Mike
There is a BIG problem here. Nowhere in the eBay item description does it say that the Woobie is defective. Yes defective. In his blog post, Chris Schwarz clearly states "… the Woobie has been contaminated by some sort of abrasive grit." This could be construed as false advertising aimed at bilking millions of dollars from unsuspecting woodworkers seeking a collectible piece of woodworking history. I never would have thought that Popular Woodworking would have sunk this low. Please tell me it isn’t so, please explain your actions.
Mike
that should buy you a few bottles of La Fin Du Monde
-phil
Bidding has now reached $26.00
-phil
Narayan,
I guess you missed out on the last eBay sale, then.
Like the Schwarz, Depends. Or was it missing a comma?
Chris
I really hope you limit the sale of Chris’ soiled linens to the Woobie.
The funds will go to The Cork ‘n’ Bottle in Covington, Ky. It’s a clinic for the Belgian-beer deprived miscreants in the Greater Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky SMSA.
Their work is admirable, really. I myself have been helped by their kind generosity. Their occasional plates of French cheese. A Malbec or two.
Seriously, if it’s serious money, we’ll donate it to a worthy cause. If it’s half-serious money, we’ll buy some glue and screws and beer for the shop.
Either way, we’ll post photos.
Chris
Josh,
We put it up as a bit of a joke, really…especially the "Buy it Now" price. But if we actually make more than it costs to ship it, plus my 95 cents of course ;-), we’ll donate the funds (I’ll have to check with Chris as to where he’d want that to go).
Megan
So what cause do these funds go to? I figure a nice charity for beginning woodworkers would be nice.
This is absurd… what sick twisted individual would place such a bid… I mean you’d have to be a simple-minded person with some unhealthy fascination of Chris Schwarz… …..and my bid is placed.
Megan, I’m pretty sure the bids would go quite higher if perhaps someone’s one-of-a-kind dovetail marking knife were somehow to find itself wrapped up in the woobie. I’m just sayin…. accidents happen, right?!?
I initially planned to sell "shards of the true Woobie"…which seemed like a bit of a bother, so I didn’t…and then I completely forgot about it as it became more and more buried in the pile o’stuff behind my desk…
Wait — that was back in October. So what have you been doing with the Woobie for the past 8 months?