Woodworking is a (mostly) friendly community. There’s something about making sawdust and the occasional dining room table that is both peaceful and satisfying, and I like that the peer group is a combination of experienced crafts-people and beginners looking to improve their skill. The interaction of the one with the other is usually beneficial, and I like to both give and receive knowledge and skill.
In the
spirit of ‘never too experienced to receive feedback’, I am writing here about some
interactions that I’ve encountered, both as a way to present my thinking and to
open up for alternative viewpoints.
It’s no
secret (at least, I have never intended it to be a secret) that Timothy Wilmots
of Benchworks in Belgium is the original designer of the MFTCMultifunction workbench in 2013. I’ve watched his YouTube
video dozens of times, and loved the functionality.
As I
mentioned in the workbench
thinking video, I don’t have any Festool Systainers, and so I made a workbench/cart
version in 2024 with plywood drawers that lined up with my table saw. This was
followed by the Packout version.
Around this time, two things were happening:
1) Timothy had posted a couple of years before on the blog portion of his Benchworks website that he was retiring from woodworking/cabinet making and devoting himself to Ferme Wilmots full time.
And
2) between 2022 or so, the Benchworks website, store, and blog
began showing the occasional error and broken advertising activity. This progressed to
eventually being offline and showing nothing but insecure certificate/WordPress
errors. As of 2024/early 2025 it’s completely inaccessible.
Looking at
the comments in YouTube, Festool Owner’s Group, and other places – it was
obvious that people are continuing to discover the MFTC video and still want to
purchase the MFTC plans. So the global woodworking community certainly still wants a little bit of Timothy's time.
I gave the whole ‘Dog Island Offcuts’ idea some thought during 2024 before pulling the trigger on the blog, the youtube channel, and the Etsy shop. The obvious question is ‘why did I feel like this is OK?' The following are some of the thoughts I had on this topic.
- The DIO design for version 1, version Packout, and version ToughSystem were all created from brand new SketchUp files and empty word documents for the plans. I didn’t take a single measurement, SketchUp component, or copy/paste of text from the Benchworks MFTC designs. I put time and effort into crafting something specific and new, even if it does look very similar.
- Timothy made the MFTC design specifically to contain Systainer toolboxes. New work to contain Packouts, or using plywood drawers and table saw outfeed, seems to be somewhere in the realm of derivative.
- People are continuing to look for these plans, and the mechanism for getting them from Benchworks is no longer working.
- There is a community of people who use the DeWalt 7491 table saw and the Milwaukee Packout toolboxes, who could be served with a new design.
- I tried for about a year to connect with Timothy, in order to 1) do Dog Island Offcuts with his blessing and 2) reach a licensing agreement for my derivative works and possibly as a reseller of his original MFTC plans.
- I have designs/ideas for additional workshop helpers in addition to rolling toolbox carts, so Dog Island Offcuts is (hopefully, and over time) not a one-trick pony.
I have received some feedback that points out the obvious comparison to Timothy’s MFTC design, and the troll energy is pretty energetic. I understand that the same Internet that allows me to discuss track saws vs table saws in a thoughtful manner provides the mechanism for anonymous, instinctive, and emotional communication. C’est la guerre. I guess that I’m pointing to the thought process (above) and the attempted communications with Timothy and Benchworks (below) to highlight that I’m trying to be a good community participant, and generate new and helpful ideas, and not just trying to bootleg stuff. I’d also like to say that if Timothy makes the connection and is concerned about credit and permission, I’m still happy to do licensing - or something - in a way that’s mutually agreeable. (Dog Island Offcuts is definitely not a money maker. My accountant is having full-on belly laughs at the fact that the Etsy profit is creeping towards covering the cost of the business license. ‘Worst business ever’ has been said.)
As I mention
in the communication threads below, I want to provide Timothy and Benchworks
with whatever they need to feel whole. Whether that takes the form of citation and credit
for derivative ideas, or a licensing agreement, or an arrangement to resell
Benchworks plans via Etsy – I’ll go where Timothy desires. Right now, it seems
that Timothy desires to make Ferme Wilmots successful, and to not be hassled by
strange hobby woodworkers from the land of expensive coffee, wild salmon, and cedar
trees. (Go Kraken!)
So I’m
putting this out there. Partly as a response to real thoughts about plagiarism.
And also as an opportunity to participate in the community and get ideas from
other people. Thanks for reading.
2024-03-28 – Reached out to Timothy via email.
2024-10-11 – Reached out to Timothy on Facebook messenger
|
Good afternoon Timothy and Ferme Wilmots. I have seen that your attention has switched from woodworking to agriculture, and I don’t want to interrupt your work, but I have an idea that you might find agreeable or at least interesting. Short version: People are still finding and want to purchase the original MFTC and MFSC plans (seen on YouTube, Festool Owners Group, Reddit), and I have created variations of the MFTC. One version that functions as DeWalt table saw outfeed and another version that fits Milwaukee Packout toolboxes. If you approve, I would like to sell my plans on Etsy and I would like to license the selling of your original plans. My thinking is that your original plans are still in demand. And there are a lot of passionate Milwaukee people who might appreciate a rolling Packout solution with a workbench and drawer-accessible toolboxes. Long version: I propose that I start an Etsy store and sell digital plans with a reselling agreement for your plans. I would post a link to this store on the YouTube comments for MFTC toolbox, and the other forums that discuss the MFTC design. For every Wilmot plan sold on my Etsy store, I would send you basically all of the money. For every Kevin-variation plan, I would send you 50% of the money. (Or some percentage that makes sense to you. I think a good design is fun to create, and it’s a hobby for me and not a serious money venture.) I hope that the farm is doing well and that the family is all in good form. -Kevin in Pacific Northwest, USA |
2024-10-27 – Reached out to Ferme Wilmots via email
2024-11-09 – Reached out to Ferme Wilmots on Facebook
|
Good morning Ferme Wilmots! Is the katia@ferme-wilmots.be email working? I see that the Ferme-Wilmots.be domain is having trouble, and I have a friendly woodworking idea that I’d like to show to Timothy for his approval. I know all are probably busy with Autumn work, but I promise to take up very little attention and time. - Kevin in Pacific Northwest, USA |
2024-12-01 – Reached out to Timothy via postal mail.
Sent a
written message to Ferme Wilmots. Described the above communication and
provided the Dog Island Offcuts web page. Promised that this was the last time
I would disrupt his time with direct communication.
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