Many aspects of Japanese tools have remained unchanged for centuries, because there has been no need to improve upon their design. Saws, for example, still retain the long wooden handle wrapped with rattan, not because better handles are hard to make but because the philosophy of simple, minimalist design has become part of what the tool is all about. Gripping a Japanese saw comes naturally, and it is hard to find fault with the design. The long handle instinctively tells us that there’s room for both hands, which is useful for long rips. My minimalist workbench has seen me through most of my work and will continue to do so. I no longer yearn for that mighty Roubo workbench because...
In 1925, the troubled young American artist hit the road in search of a new start. Born Everard Jean Hinrichs, the son of German immigrants, he suffered a lengthy series of struggles and setbacks that led to his decision to head west and explore the country his family had adopted. Ostensibly borrowing the family’s neglected Model T, Hinrichs fashioned counterfeit license plates and left all he knew in New York City. Trained in painting and lettering, and inspired by the boundless vistas of the Hudson River School movement of romantic landscape art, he planned to work his way across America as a freelance sign painter while learning the moods and history of the land. Hinrichs’ ancestry and ability to letter...
Traditional coopering in Europe employed quarter-split or riven wood to make the walls and heads of the vessels. In a world where sawing was time-consuming, splitting straight-grained logs into flat bolts of wood was the most expeditious processing method. Riving a knot-free log is a satisfying experience, because it’s surprising how easily it yields to iron wedges, wooden gluts, and a froe. Quarter-split material is a pleasure to work with hands tools, even after several years of seasoning. Any type of wood that grows with clear grain, quartered from a mature log, is ideal for coopering. Different species historically used for coopering include red and white oak, chestnut, white ash, spruce, fir, yellow pine, white pine, tulip poplar, cypress, and...
The six-board chest is another, albeit much lesser-known, example of convergent design. While most boxes and chests have six sides, “six-board chests” are identified as such not by the number of sides they have, but by the contradictory grain orientations of the front / back and side boards. The front, back, bottom, and lid all have horizontal grain orientation, while the sides run vertically, making them – as modern-day woodworker Christopher Schwarz puts it – the “platypus of the woodworking world.” Why is that so bizarre? Because they are made from wood, and wood as a building medium is subject to inevitable expansion and contraction alongside changes in humidity and temperature. Misaligned grain can cause cupping, twisting, and other problems....
Through Genki-san’s recommendation, I visited a traditional tool shop in the northeastern part of Tokyo that specializes in high-quality woodworking tools. The visit was enriching, almost like a spiritual experience. I visited with the owner, Inoue-san, a very knowledgeable man who, besides selling tools to professionals and hobbyists, teaches woodworking at a nearby high school. Before this visit, I purchased my woodworking tools online, so seeing and holding the tools like this was eye-opening. I told Inoue-san I was looking for a smaller plane and a dovetailing chisel, and over a cup of coffee he explained which tools would suit me based on my needs and my budget. After I settled on the plane and chisel that I wanted, Inoue-san...
Fisher’s only surviving cabinetmaker’s bench has a system of 5/8" peg holes that I have found effective for planing stock. This method of face planing is illustrated in a 1425 portrait of a Nuremberg joiner. The system has two parts: two stops at the end and the rows of holes 2" apart spaced every 6" down the length of the bench. The board can be held in place with four pegs installed, locking it in from two directions. The two pegs supporting the back of the board prevent lateral movement and the two at the end prevent it from moving forward. The result is stability in both directions for whatever kind of planing is necessary. This workholding system might be...
Inspired by the almanacs, Sloane began to research the lore and knowledge of the early American farmer. With his trademark brand of singular enthusiasm, he filled his living room with period journals and chronicles, and studied old letters and books. Sloane’s art reflected the change; where previously a typical painting was composed of a cloudscape and perhaps a bit of horizon, the focus shifted downward to the bucolic scenes of early American farm life. He remembered the moment of transition: “My business with the sky was interrupted one day when I stood in the penetrating loneliness of an abandoned New England barn and felt the presence of the great American past. Just as a sudden accident can end a man’s...
Hand-tool woodworking in every tradition requires maintaining sharp edges. While I had no problem using sharpening jigs, I wanted to teach myself traditional freehand sharpening to understand its benefits. I quickly learned that I had underestimated the skills needed to sharpen a 70mm blade. In retrospect, sharpening a smaller plane would have made things easier for both me and my sharpening stones. In addition, Japanese plane blades are constructed differently than modern Western irons. They have high-carbon steel as the cutting edge, laminated with soft iron that forms the bulk of the body (such as in early Western planes). The steel is heat-treated to be quite hard for good edge retention, but that hardness can make sharpening (especially lapping the...
Picasso famously said, “Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up.” His point was that kids usually come to a place when the confidence they have in their ability to draw or create dwindles. This usually coincides with the end of the grammar stage, when the ability to compare work critically emerges. The joy of creating can become a frustrating endeavor as the desire to reach a perceived standard bumps up against skill limits. If artistic growth is not fostered, that spark can be extinguished in a child. We must fight against this trend. Intentionally engaging in handcraft with children offers tremendous positive benefit for everyone. It’s been said that if...
There is always a little hubbub around the label “viking,” as many people think vikings were a people, which is not true. Viking is a verb, not a noun. The adventurers were Norse people, some of whom went raiding by sea, an activity referred to as viking. The Viking Age could more accurately be thought of as the Raiding Age of the Norse people. However, to call this a viking chest might not be entirely incorrect. There are theories that these chests were brought on longships to both serve as storage and seating for oarsmen and that the trapezoidal construction provided stability against both tipping and racking while traversing rough seas. As with most theories about the Viking Age, with...
