Chris Bagby

Chris Bagby, Owner & CEO A 1973 graduate of Georgia Tech, Chris co-founded Highland Woodworking in 1978 with Sharon Bagby. He originally provided custom millwork services before focusing mainly on marketing. His other interests include photography, tennis, snowboarding and thru-hiking backcountry trails, including the Appalachian Trail, Pacific Crest Trail and Continental Divide Trail. He's also a registered yoga teacher, and his oldest yoga student is 93 years old!

Check Out our Hundreds of Holiday Gift Ideas for Woodworkers!

Nov 232008
 

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Order Now and Get FREE GROUND SHIPPING within the
48 contiguous United States on most orders over $100*

*Merchandise total must be $100 or more prior to addition of shipping charges for discount to apply. Sorry, no adjustments on prior sales. Offer excludes items with flat rate shipping adders, freight collect shipments, expedited shipments, international shipments and special order items. Offer does not apply to shipments outside the 48 contiguous United States.

Now get FREE GROUND SHIPPING on most orders over $100* – offer expires Mar. 15, 2009

Nov 152008
 

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Dear Woodworker,
In these tough economic times, we at Highland Woodworking would like to do our part to make shopping with us more economical and convenient for our customers. Currently we are providing FREE GROUND SHIPPING on most orders over $100* delivered within the 48 contiguous United States.
As always, with our product offering and staff expertise, our goal is to guide you in making sure that your tool and supply purchases from us meet your expectations and support the success of all your woodworking endeavors.
As Highland Woodworking enters its fourth decade of serving woodworkers across the country, our aim is to provide you with the same personalized service and support as we have been doing since we first entered the woodworking tool business back in 1978.

Thank you for your loyal support,
Chris Bagby, co-founder and CEO
Sharon Bagby, co-founder and CFO

*FREE GROUND SHIPPING TERMS: Merchandise total must be greater than $100 prior to the addition of any shipping charges for free shipping offer to apply. Free shipping offer excludes items listed in our catalog or on our website with flat rate shipping adders, freight collect shipments, expedited shipments, and special order items. Actual shipping and handling costs are charged for shipments outside the 48 contiguous United States. For orders under $100, please refer to our standard shipping rate table.

Announcing the winner of our Festool Giveaway Sweepstakes

Nov 132008
 

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Some people are luckier than the rest of us. When it comes to winning contests, Patricia and Mike Mortimer fall into the lucky category. Patricia entered Highland Woodworking’s Win a Festool Package Sweepstakes and was the lucky winner out of thousands of entrants. She’s shown here being congratulated by Chris Bagby, Highland Woodworking’s owner and co-founder. It wasn’t just the first contest Patricia has won. Among other things that she’s won are a flat screen television and an all-expense paid trip to Bejing, China to attend the 2008 Olympics. We asked her how she did playing the lottery and she replied “I don’t play the lottery. You have to pay to do that!”

The Mortimer’s new power tool package includes Festool’s Kapex KS120 Sliding Compound Miter Saw, the first miter saw with variable speed, which enables the user to match the speed of the blade with the requirements of the material. The Kapex Sliding Compound Miter Saw combines a large cutting capacity with a compact lightweight design. Of course the perfect mate to their new Kapex Sliding Compound Miter Saw is the Kapex MFT3 Multifunction Table which is designed specifically for use with the Kapex Sliding Compound Miter Saw. It features additional holes in the perforated top plate for positioning the feet of the Kapex and for mounting with clamps. Also included as part of their Kapex prize package is the Festool CT22E Mobile Dust Extractorwhich comes with HEPA filters that remove dust particles down to .3 microns. A tool-triggered switch with smooth start-up and shut-off delay, and adjustable electronic suction control make this the ultimate vac to connect to any hand power tool.

Mike works professionally doing commercial repair and finish restoration on furniture, cabinets and interiors. He is actually known for being quite the “magician” when it comes to recreating grain patterns and surfaces that have been damaged or distressed. When asked, both admitted that they were not really sure what projects they would attempt first with their new woodworking equipment. One thing for certain is that they’ll definitely have room for it, as they have a 2400 square foot shop! After mentioning projects like chairs and end tables, they both joked that given the space they have, perhaps they would make a gazebo for inside the shop.

Since Highland Woodworking is well known for its Education Program, which includes a wide variety of classes for both beginners as well as advanced woodworkers, hopefully we will see both of them soon in some of our
upcoming classes for a chance to study woodworking with our knowledgeable instructors.

Visit Wood News, our monthly online woodworking magazine

Woodworking Tips for Sharpening Hand Tools

Nov 052008
 




One of the biggest challenges for beginning woodworkers, and for some old-timers as well, is keeping their chisels, plane irons and other cutting tools sharp. Our large in-stock selection of sharpening devices offers a variety of solutions to fit every need, plus over the years we’ve published a number of articles covering a variety of hand tool sharpening techniques. Here are links to a few of them:


A Guide to Sharpening Chisels and Plane Irons


User Review: Work Sharp 3000 Sharpening Machine


Hollow Grinding: Necessity or Relic?


Q & A: Not Ready for Prime Time?


Waterstone Sharpening: Care & Use of Japanese Waterstones


Guide to Sharpening and Using a Woodworker’s Best Friend – The Scraper


Sharpening #80 Cabinet Scrapers


Sharpening Forstner Bits


User’s Guide for the Makita 9820-2 Sharpener


Tormek vs. Jet and Standard Bench Grinders


Using Oil Stones


GATEWAY TO OUR
ONLINE CATALOG OF SHARPENING TOOLS

Visit our huge archive of
woodworking tips, articles, and Q&As

Visit the latest issue of Wood News, our monthly online magazine

New Fall Woodworking Class Schedule and Tool Catalog

Oct 272008
 

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Our big new Fall 2008 woodworking tool catalog is at the printer and will be mailing out in just a few days. It’s loaded with a huge selection of woodworking tools and supplies, and also contains a listing of the dozens of upcoming woodworking classes and workshops held at our retail store in Atlanta, Georgia. We invite you take an online look at our woodworking class schedule.

Woodworking Q & A: Desperately Seeking a Truly Stainable Wood Putty

Oct 162008
 

Dear Highland Woodworking:
I have not been able to find a good stainable wood filler (or putty). Minwax indicates that their putty is, but it really isn’t. It does fill the nail holes, but I can never seem to get the colors right even when I buy the wax pencils to try to assist. Normally I use Minwax Provincial Stain on my baseboard, pine doors and trim. Could you please help? I’ll bet I’m not the only one with this kind of issue.
Thanks, Peter B.
Dear Peter,
Many of us struggle with the imperfect science of matching wood with putty. Despite the multitude of manufacturers and the wide array of colors they offer, finding an off-the-shelf product to match your wood and accept your stain exactly is a very tall order. It is really a process of getting the putty as close as possible to the color of the surrounding wood, and then further enhancing the repair through the coloring and finishing process.
As you know, putty and wood are different in many ways. Wood has side grain and end grain. Putty does not. Wood is wood, while putty is a mixture of many different organic and inorganic products. Furthermore, the density of wood is dissimilar from species to species as well as to wood putty. This is complicated by the fact that no two manufacturers’ products are the same. As a result, finding an off-the-shelf putty to match your exact needs is very tricky.
So, what should we do? It is important to get as close a match as possible with either the wood, or if staining, with the final color of the piece. Then you can do your best to “make the repair disappear” through the staining or dyeing process and the finish coat (tinted or not). You will very likely have better luck disguising the repair by applying colored topcoats of finish, or by simply painting the area with artist colors. (Be sure to paint in grain lines to match the surrounding area.)
Several years ago, a trade magazine explained how large furniture manufacturers color match their products. As no two pieces of cherry or walnut are exactly the same color (and it is important to make them be the same color as the rest of the dining room suite), the process of coloring the furniture is actually a process of coloring the finish — and multiple layers of finish at that. This allows a uniform color regardless of the underlying wood and any defects that are present. It is a little like repainting an old car, but you get the idea.
I hope this helps answer your question. We all struggle with this problem from time to time. For further reading, check out Bob Flexner’s book entitled Understanding Wood Finishing. It is a super book that covers most aspects of finishing wood.
Sam Rieder
Highland Woodworking

A New Woodworking Season Begins

Oct 152008
 

0927leaves.jpgAs autumn leaves brighten in color, woodworkers are inevitably making their way back to the woodworking shop in their basement, garage or outbuilding to resume the work they love: making practical and beautiful things out of wood.
In these troubled economic times more than ever, possessing woodworking skills and the tools necessary to exercise them can help enrich and enliven a woodworker’s life. Besides the joy and satisfaction that comes from creating something by hand, the opportunity exists to supplement your income by concentrating on practical projects that your local marketplace needs. Tables, chairs, shelving units and cabinets never go out of style and everyone needs them. Woodturning projects make excellent gifts, and everyone will be looking for unique gifts to give this holiday season. Woodcarving is great for this too.
We welcome your suggestions for specific project ideas that your fellow woodworkers around the country might use to generate income locally or save money on gifts that would otherwise need to be purchased. If you have some project ideas to share, please describe it by posting a reply to this blog entry.
The latest issue of Wood News Online, our monthly woodworking magazine, features an excellent article by Doug Bittinger that kicks off a series on taking the plunge into full-time professional woodworking. Whether woodworking is a hobby, a part-time moneymaker, or full-time occupation for you, Doug has some thoughtful ideas that are worth considering.
Here is a link to the full October issue of Wood News Online. An excerpt from Doug’s article follows below:
Taking the Plunge into Professional Woodworking
by Douglas Bittinger
I cannot say that I know anyone who was going through life with no woodworking experience and simply said to themselves “I think I’ll become a professional woodworker,” signed up for some courses to learn what they needed to know, and then went looking for a job as a woodworker. Not to say it doesn’t happen. I just don’t know any.
All of the professional woodworkers I know discovered a talent and desire for woodworking and nurtured it. Some discovered it while young, some not so young, but they found it. Some got into it out of necessity: they wanted things they couldn’t afford to buy and decided to make them. For others it started as a relaxing hobby. At some point they said, “You know, it would be great if I could make my living doing this instead of [whatever].”
If this thought has breached in your brain, let me issue a caution: When you take a hobby and turn it into your occupation, is ceases to be a hobby. Along with this change come responsibilities that weren’t there before. Your hobby becomes your JOB.
If you possess certain capabilities and resources, it can indeed be a rewarding and fulfilling job, leading to a more pleasant life style. If not, it can turn into a stress filled nightmare. What are these capabilities?