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Well, the next time you speak with Craig, he’s got a new business card to share. This past summer, Jackson sold EWT to Pony® Tools, Inc. The formal acquisition took place on July 28. And from that day forward, Craig has become Pony’s vice president of research and development. It’s a new position for Pony, a company that makes a full line of bright orange woodworking and clamping products under the Pony and Jorgensen® labels.

Jackson, a former machinist, started Easy Wood Tools in his garage, hoping to take woodturning to the next level of ease and enjoyment with innovative, carbide-insert turning tools. “I had made some woodturning tools for myself since traditional tools did not make sense to me — all the bevels and sharpening and complicated use — for no good reason. The hobby had basically been left behind by technology,” he says.

But, after seven years of building the family-owned EWT with an exclusive focus on woodturning, Craig and his wife, Donna, realized that some things had to improve in order for the company to continue to grow.

He says that one of the driving forces for considering selling EWT had to do with customer requests. With some 85 SKUs in its product catalog — all developed, manufactured and marketed by Craig and his employees — avid woodturning customers have still wanted even more options.

“The only real customer complaint we’ve ever gotten is, ‘When are you coming out with more tools?’” Craig says. “R&D is the thing I’m best at. With all the growth we’ve had, and in order for me to focus on R&D, something had to change in a big way.”

But, the challenges of remaining an independent business and managing the day-to-day “minutiae” of governmental issues, insurance and employee regulations, among other things, kept Craig saddled to a desk instead of out in the manufacturing shop, prototyping new products.

“I realized that I cannot grow this company without letting others take control of areas of business that are their specialty and let me get busy (doing) what I do best: new products.”

Jackson says that his decision to offer EWT to Pony made sense on a number of levels. Both companies are family-built, with products manufactured in America. “I guess you could say, our values regarding business, customers, employees and most of all our family (are) all aligned down to the hair,” Jackson says. “I felt we would be silly to not join companies.”

Craig adds that his new boss, Pony’s CEO Joe Krueger, and he realized the common interests run even deeper. Easy Wood will benefit from Pony’s manufacturing and distribution prowess, developed over some 112 years in business. Pony will glean Jackson’s ideas for product development, marketing and end-customer relationships.

“It’s always best when both parties bring something to the table that builds and challenges the other to be better,” Jackson adds.

In his new role as Pony’s R&D VP, Craig will be responsible for developing the entire line of products for both companies. He says simplifying processes and products will be key goals on his agenda, and he’s confident there will be a “Craig Jackson” influence on EWT’s new turning tools and Pony’s future clamping products, too.

Going forward, long-time Easy Wood customers might not even realize there’s a difference in ownership. EWT will retain its distinctive logo, website and phone numbers. The Lexington, Kentucky-based company will continue operations there, and no employees have lost their jobs as a result of the acquisition. But, Craig says that the demands of managing two distinct product lines might, on occasion, make him harder to reach by phone these days.

“There just isn’t enough time for me to have a hand in everything like before, (but) we have a really good (EWT) crew that can handle just about anything a customer needs. Kristi, Alan, Mary and Brittany will still be the main people that customers talk with.”

And, Craig is happy to have recently added his 18-year-old son, Noah, as his new R&D shop assistant. “Noah has literally grown up with the company and has contributed to most every product and company decision. Bouncing ideas off of him, his brother Samual and Donna is where this company started, and it is very nice to get back to the basics of growing products.”

While Jackson will not discuss the details, he teases that EWT has about 20 new products under development, and thanks to Pony’s acquisition, EWT’s current inventory of 85 catalog items “is just the start!”

Not all business acquisitions begin with such promise, but Jackson envisions a bright future for both EWT and Pony brands.

“Pony Tools has the experience that we needed. All parties are excited to explore the synergy that can be created by bringing great minds together to develop some truly awesome products for the woodworking and woodturning communities.”

To see the full line of Easy Wood Tools, click here. Learn more about Pony Tools by clicking here.

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This new accessory is compatible with Powermatic lathe models 3520, 3520A, 3520B, and 2020. Also, it won’t interfere with a bed extension mounted in the lower position.

Powermatic’s new Tailstock Swing Away ($299.99) is available now through Powermatic dealers. It has a limited one-year warranty.

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Chris Marshall: If the trunks are large enough, there may still be plenty of good wood left deeper inside where the woodpeckers didn’t reach. But, if the trunks are too small to have a portable sawmill cut them into boards, I’d definitely chop them into rounds with a chainsaw. Think of all the bowls you could turn from that ash! And, even if some of them have holes here or there from insects or insect-loving avians, that can add some nice character to your turnings. Give it a try, at least, before you consider splitting the tree up for firewood.

I once built a tool chest from old-growth American chestnut. The wood was riddled with wormholes – Swiss cheese would be a good comparison! But, I think it makes my tool chest one-of-a-kind, and I’ve never regretted that choice of wormy wood. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, after all.

Ernie Conover: The tree likely has borers, but that does not usually make the heartwood unsuitable for woodworking. The trunks would have to be felled and then sawn into boards and dried. If you have a barn or a shed you can air dry 4/4 planks in about a year. The boards have to be separated by stickers, which are 1” square sticks of any wood. The stickers have to be moved every two weeks for the first couple of months if sticker stain is to be avoided. This will be a black mark where the sticker contacted the wood. It cannot be sanded or machined away.

If you are in a northern climate, November is a most propitious month to harvest, for it turns cold enough that you do not have to move the stickers. By spring, enough water will be lost by sublimation that sticker stain is no longer a problem. By November your lumber will be ready, just in time to make holiday gifts. If you are a turner you can chainsaw blanks from which to turn bowls. The blanks can’t have a complete annular ring, so they must come from between the center and the bark.

The trunks will also make excellent firewood.

Tim Inman: Well, yes, you can use the wood, but … If you cut, saw, stack and dry the wood carefully, it will work just like any other ash lumber. However, you have already pointed out the problem – or benefit – with this lumber. It will look exactly like it has had woodpeckers poking holes in the boards. Sometimes this can be desirable from an artistic point of view, sometimes not so much. Either way the wood will work just fine after proper care and treatment.

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I had a metal drafting table that was just too large and took up way too much floor space in my small office. I ran across an old wooden table with a curved plywood pencil tray and decided to build my own custom table. I used the pencil tray from the table I found and then set out to design and build a table that could fulfill all my needs.

I decided to make a fold up table that would provide the smallest footprint and yet have a large work surface. The legs fold out to for the ends and support the drafting table top. The table top folds down when not in use and takes up very little floor space.

The frame and legs are made of red oak with a dark mission satin and lacquer finish. The top was made from 3/4″ birch plywood and edge banded with red oak.

– Dan Neyens
Bonney Lake, WA

View the Slideshow Below:

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“One of the biggest issues I had to overcome was feeling the need to have everything in sight so I could find it. Needless to say, this resulted in much clutter and lack of organization. I addressed the problem by taking those tools and materials that are less frequently used, or that I kept ‘just in case I need them later,’ and storing them in boxes, totes, drawers, etc. As I put them away, I noted the location, the item description and quantity. I later entered the data into a simple word processor table. This can then be used as a database without having to learn database programing. The table allows you to search for keywords as well as to sort by any column in the table. Now I can find items that are out of sight, including those that are off-site.” – Dan Hall

“I took a computer and a new dedicated flash drive out to the shop and made an inventory of all the tools and equipment I have in the shop. I also alphabetized and categorized the list so that when I can’t find what I want, I use the find system and lo and behold, there it is. Some of the categories are routers, hand tools, electrical tool, drills, finishing, etc. Some of the tools and equipment are only used once or twice a year – so this is very helpful. It took some time but it was time well spent.” – Kenn Politowicz

Of course, for some readers, good old-fashioned tools – like pencils – are part of their shop organization plans. – Editor

“I tend to lose pencils as fast as I can pick them up. I bought a couple dozen 0.9 mm automatic lead pencils from Amazon along with a few containers of replacement leads. I keep most them in an old cigar box on my workbench and place a few in key areas around the shop. If you look for deals you can usually find a dozen for under 15 bucks, sometimes less than 10. 0.9mm holds up better for woodworking than the more common .5mm found in stores. If you want to mark a finer line just swipe the tip over a piece of sandpaper a couple times. Having a couple dozen available, I just keep grabbing them as needed out of the box. Eventually I have enough lying around that usually one is at hand. When I clean up, most of them show up again and get dumped back in the box or put back in their ‘areas.’”- Bill Koski

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