Kale’s First 'Binder' & a Quick Step Stool

Chris Williams, demonstrating rasp use to Peter Fravel. Photo by Ania Nowakowski

Christopher Schwarz
June 26, 2024

It’s chaos here today. Chris Williams is teaching a comb-back class in the bench room, we are trying to finish up The Stick Chair Journal No. 2 to go to press, I have a chair on the bench in the machine room and we have contractors putting in some windows in our guest room. Editor’s note: Stick Chair Journal No. 2 is scheduled to ship here in early August.

So Megan and I decided to also throw Kale into the editorial frying pan.

Before a book goes to press, we edit its components/chapters separately. Then we assemble the whole book in a big fat three-ring binder and go through the entire thing at once. The process makes your mind swim, but it’s the only way to catch errors in consistency, structure and page numbering. Editor’s note: Binder Day is my favorite day. I love sitting down with my red Parker Jotter, a dictionary and our style book – and usually a cat.

Today was Kale’s first binder – The Stick Chair Journal No. 2. They are still at it after five full hours of editing. There are two rewards for finishing your first binder: two Tylenols and your first credit line in a book.