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- [00:09]
A
This is all of it on wnyc. I'm Alison Stewart and I have a question for you. How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could read Nick Offerman's new book? Well, I don't know about chucking, but I do know that it would find some very helpful tips on how to use that wood for all kinds of fun projects. The actor, woodshop owner, author and friend of the show is back with a new book called Little Woodchucks, Offerman's Woodshop's Guide to Tools and tomfoolery. It contains 12 projects for beginning woodworkers of any age. We're talking whistles, benches, toolbox tongs and much, much more. Nick Offerman will be at the Barnes and Noble and Union Square tonight in conversation with his co author Lee Buchanan, moderated by one Stephen Colbert. But Nick is in studio right now. Hi, Nick.
- [00:57]
B
Hello there.
- [00:58]
A
Hey, listeners, if you're starting out as a woodworker, call in and tell us what you're working on. Or if you start with questions for Nick Offerman about how to get started or how to get your kids in on the fun safely, give us a call as well. 212-433-WNYC, 212-433-9692. You have run a woodshop for 25 years?
- [01:21]
B
Yes, that's right.
- [01:22]
A
Where were you in your career when you opened Offerman Wood Shop?
- [01:26]
B
My career had not really begun. I was in my late 20s and I had had a nice little run in my 20s in Chicago and building a lot of scenery to pay the rent. And I loved building scenery. And so I had moved to Los Angeles and started making furniture. I had met the love of my life, Megan Mullally, doing a play together in the year 2000. And it was shortly after that that I opened my shop. And so I was working sporadically as a dependable character actor, completely unknown. So I was still depending on my carpentry skills to pay most of my.
- [02:07]
A
And I do have to say you were so excellent on the Last of Us.
- [02:11]
B
Oh, thank you.
- [02:11]
A
It was such an amazing, amazing performance. You're obviously your career as an actor has taken off. So why is woodworking still in your life?
- [02:20]
B
That's a great question. I, you know, I have a wonderful mom and dad and I have three incredible siblings. I come from this great family and they all lead these lives of service and they set this example for me. I'm this weird black sheep that went away to dance for people. And nonetheless, as I grow older and I Get to make my own content. I find myself drawn to also trying to offer up works of morality and good values and mirth. It's always got a sense of humor with me. But I tried briefly early on with Megan because she was already hitting home runs with Will and Grace and winning awards. And I thought, great, I'm marrying this hot, rich actress. I'm gonna go float in the pool and put on some Neil and some mood enhancers. And I tried that for about a song and a half. He's got a great record called Everyone Knows this is Nowhere. And I fittingly got into the second song, said, you know, the whole point of life is getting work done, being productive and being of service to others. And so that was right around when I started my shop and said, if, even if things are going well as an actor, which thankfully they are, I. I still would rather make things and be productive because I'm a human being. So if I don't make things and keep my hands busy, then I will probably turn into an alcoholic or worse.
- [03:53]
A
We don't want that. No, I want to read from your book. There's this great segment where you write and here's the thing. Not only will you be learning to make valuable implements in toys and even furniture by shaping wood and fastening the pieces together in different ways, but you'll also be learning a great deal about how the world is put together, about how buildings and other structures are assembled, and about how all the conveniences of modern civilization have come to be created. Be created by woodchucks and human ingenuity. You'll begin to learn how to solve problems with your problem solving techniques. And before you know it, you'll have become what we call around the gravel pit handy. How has your woodworking philosophy infiltrated the rest of your life?
- [04:48]
B
Well, I mean, it's really a series of puzzles. You know, it's making things out of wood and I love puzzles. Who doesn't love putting together a puzzle of one sort or another? So any woodworking project is just a series of, like, problem solving. Okay, I got to make this wood the right size and I get stick together. I got to make this lid hinge open. It's all got to fit. And so one of the things you learn quickly in woodworking, even after decades of experience, is that you're going to make mistakes. So with any project, we buy extra wood to screw up, and so we get cheaper wood to try out your cuts or your measurements. And it's so easily applicable to life where relationships, anything we're human. And so I have my own weaknesses and foibles. And so I'm going to make mistakes, I'm going to be clumsy. And thankfully, my wife is patient with me and I say, bear with me, honey. My third or fourth cut will be accurate. And I just find that that applies to life in general. Like the patience that it takes to figure out how to put together a chest of drawers also then allows me to figure out how to drive home. I can figure out how to navig a sticky conversation with Megan at the dinner table. You know, it's. All of these things are applicable to all of our lives, I think. And part of the reason that I feel urgent about getting this book out is that the world of corporate technology and AI and information streams are suggesting that we turn over this agency. Like, you don't have to worry about math or thinking of anything. Let us do it for you while you consume our products. And I just desperately like to drive my own vehicle. I want to be responsible for my own choices, especially how I'm using the resources of our planet.
- [06:49]
A
I'm of an age, we're the same age where they actually taught woodworking in, like, home EC and shop class. I still have the little. I don't know. Well, now I use it to hold jewelry, but it was like a little dish that I made and I still have it from when I was a kid. And it meant so much to me to be able to. To do that.
- [07:09]
B
That's the thing. I mean, it sounds banal where you say, I can teach you to install a doorknob into your door, but if you actually do it with the proper screws and you make this hardware work, it really feels like a superpower. And that's why the book is for little woodchucks. But they come in all ages. Because I know so many parents who also don't know how to put things together or how to fix things. And that's a simple agency that we can all have and we can ret ownership of our world rather than turning it over to, you know, the algorithm.
- [07:46]
A
I'm speaking to Nick Offerman. His new book is Little Woodchuck's Offerman's Woodshop's Guide to Tools and Tomfoolery. He'll be in conversation with his co author Lee Buchanan tonight at the Barnes and Noble in Union Square, moderated by Stephen Colbert. Let's take a call. Gary is calling in from Summit, New Jersey. Hey, Gary, thanks for taking the time to call all of it. You're on the air.
- [08:09]
C
Hey, thanks for having me. I wonder if you could talk a little bit more about a wood lathe and making pens for a good place for kids to start with woodworking?
- [08:20]
B
Sure. I mean, I often get asked, you know, if I live in an apartment or I don't have a garage or space for a table saw, can I still become a woodworker? And with hand tools, you can occupy any corner of an apartment. And also a small lathe is a great place to start. It's a little apparatus that holds. Holds a length of wood between two points and spins it. And you bring the tool to the spinning wood and you can turn things like a ink pen or small implements like that, magic wands or small baseball bats and little bowls and cups. So it's a wonderful sort of contained place to start. And with proper training, it's actually a very safe tool to use. So that's a really fun suggestion for young people.
- [09:12]
A
Let's talk to Glenn, who's calling from Ditmas Park. Hi, Glenn, thank you for making the time to call wnyc. You're on the air.
- [09:20]
C
Hey, thanks for having me. Yeah, my name is Glenn, and I actually run a kids woodworking program here in Ditmas park in Brooklyn.
- [09:28]
A
Nice. Tell us about it.
- [09:30]
C
Yeah, yeah. We have kids as young as three coming in up through teenagers, and it's one of the best things I've ever done. The little kids are making trains that run on railroad tracks. We're making toolboxes, animals, vehicles, treasure chests, jewelry boxes. And one of the things I love is giving kids the feeling of I did something. And what's really amazing is, especially with the young kids, we design a program where kids build with their grownups. We're essentially teaching the grownups how to build with the kids, but not getting the kids way. And the parents are nervous. The kids are super excited. Channel all this, and eventually it comes to a moment where the kids doing it, and I've seen it, where the kid turns to the grownup and just says, I did it or I did that. And they're so excited, and the parent is so excited. And to give a kid the feeling of I did that. And they get to physically. They get to walk away with something they physically made is a great moment of growth for them.
- [10:45]
B
Glenn, I'm a little upset that you didn't call me when I was writing this book because I could have used some of your insights. But that's something. That's something I talk about precisely, is that I love things on screens. Video games are super Fun. So is television and film, but I treat those like a dessert because at the end of a video game, you shut it off and you actually have nothing. But at the end of one of your sessions, as you say, you've done something. You've actually made something tangible. You've taken wood and turned it into a toy or an object of use. You've somehow made the world better. And it's incredible the way people light up when they can realize they can do that with their ingenuity and a couple tools.
- [11:33]
A
Glenn, thank you so much for calling in. I read that you have no computer driven machines in your shop.
- [11:38]
B
Yeah, that's correct. Yeah. I mean, that's a choice I made. Again, none of these choices are binary. Obviously, technology does a lot of good things, but in our shop, the whole point is to enjoy making furniture with your hands. And every time you turn over a process to a computer or a robot, then they get to have all the fun. And they don't even have fun. They don't care. But instead of pressing a button and watching a machine do the crafting, we want to get in there and do it ourselves. And that's not impressive to say, well, yeah, I programmed this router and it did the work. I want to get in there and make the work with my hands. That feels a lot more like art.
- [12:23]
A
The parent in me is raising my hand and saying, is this safe?
- [12:27]
B
It is safe. That's a great question. In the shop or like on the farm, when anyone visits, the first thing you do, it's always safety first. So this is a combine. That's a table saw. This is a chisel. Here's how it can hurt you. Here's why you should respect it. We're gonna protect our eyes and our ears and our lungs. And everybody knows, like, this is no joke. This is something that we respect. Now that we have that respect in place, have some fun. And so people say, is it a good idea to give kids a sharp blade? And that's a great misconception because a sharp blade is actually much safer than a dull blade. Because if you're trying to say, whittle a stick, if you have a dull blade, you gotta use a lot more muscle and you're much more likely to slip. So the important thing is that we teach these techniques at the appropriate age and say, look, if you're whittling this stick, you always move away from your body and hold it in a place where the knife can never end up hitting your leg or anything. And then they go crazy. Because suddenly they're carving a stick like butter, and the next thing you know, they've made a dragon.
- [13:36]
A
Let's talk to Alexa on line one. Calling in from Stamford, Connecticut. Hey, Alexa, thanks for taking the time to call all of it.
- [13:45]
D
Hi, there.
- [13:46]
B
Hello.
- [13:47]
D
Can you hear me?
- [13:47]
A
Yeah, you're on the air. Go for it. Alexa.
- [13:54]
D
Hi, can you hear me?
- [13:55]
A
Yep. You're on the air. Go for it.
- [13:57]
D
Hi there. I am such a big fan of both of you. I'm a little bit nervous, but I wanted to say that my daughter, when she was around 10, I got her a little miter box and a nice little Japanese saw, and all different shapes, dowels and shapes of balsa wood. And she's so crafty. She would spend hours building furniture for her dollhouse and little jumps for her horses. And it has been such a great intro, and it's pretty safe. I mean, she could. She could cut herself with that blade, but she wouldn't cut a finger off, like if she had a band saw or table saw. So I think it's such a great start for her.
- [14:39]
B
It is great. Yeah. We use a miter box in the book, and we talk about Japanese pull saws and Western push saws, trim saws, and it's incredibly empowering. That's a great example that if you give a child the means to cut and just a bunch of pieces of trim and dowel, they'll go nuts because then they can make their own Legos and Lincoln log kits. That's a beautiful inspiration.
- [15:05]
A
You have great, great examples of things you can make in the book. A slapstick.
- [15:10]
B
That's right.
- [15:11]
A
What's a slapstick?
- [15:12]
B
Well, everyone knows the term slapstick comedy, and it comes from this theatrical implement that looks like a paddle, but it has a second paddle hinged to it so that when you do a paddle motion, it makes a slapping noise. And so you can pretend to spank people and strike them. Punch and Judy Punch uses a slapstick to misogynistically be very mean to Judy, which I do not condone. But if you want to pretend spank your sibling, this is the perfect item. It's really a lot of fun. You can make a lot of comedy with a slapstick. And, you know, it came out of the conversation with my great co author Lee, who has a couple of boys, I said, look, anybody, so many kids, if you take them out in the woods and say, let's make something, I'm 55, and I'll pick up a stick and say, this is my sword, this is my gun. This is my staff, so we gotta have a weapon in the book. And I said, you know what? I have a comedy weapon. And this is a way that you can like stage fights, but not condone violence.
- [16:15]
A
We have something for the nerds in the group. The meat locker, otherwise known as the little library.
- [16:21]
B
That's right.
- [16:22]
A
How hard is it to make a little library?
- [16:24]
B
It's not that hard. I mean, one of the fun things about woodworking is there's also a planter cart. And there are two examples. The little library is basically a box with a hinged door and one side of it is tilted and that becomes the roof. But the fun thing is you learned a lot of techniques on that for how to build something that wants to live safely in the weather. And the planter cart is basically four legs and a surface with a shelf. And you realize if you can put that together, oh, if I make this bigger, I could make a studio apartment. Or if I make this planter cart, I could make this into bunk beds. They're all. And so the little library is just a glorified version of a standing box in which you can put cured meats for the neighbors to borrow.
- [17:14]
A
And this person asks in a text, is your book suitable for adults who are interested in trying carpentry? Asking for myself, thank you.
- [17:22]
B
It's a great question. And it is. It's for little woodchucks of all ages. Because I know all these parents who also have never used a tool. And so it's actually thinly veiled propaganda because it's written for the parents to have to read to their kids. And it says, kids, the mom and dad are saying to the child, kids, ask your mom and dad if they know where your eggs come from and if they're any good, and if not, why not? And do you know any farmers? And if not, why not? Can we make good eggs? Can we raise eggs ourselves? So there's a sense of mischief to like banding the family together to have mischief.
- [18:04]
A
I have been speaking to Nick Offerman. His new book is titled Little Woodchucks. He'll be in conversation with his co author Lee Buchanan tonight at the Barnes and Noble in Union Square, moderated by Stephen Colbert.
- [18:16]
E
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- [18:44]
F
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