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Last Chance For Christmas Orders!

  A few quick things: First of all, Mike just completed a trailer for our new “Apprenticeship: Tables” video. This short trailer gives a quick walk-through of the chapters. You can check it out above. The press is almost done printing the “Tables” DVDs and so we expect to begin shipping them out very soon. Hang tight, folks. You should be seeing your DVD before the end of the month.  We’ve received a number emails from folks asking about expedited Christmas delivery. While we don’t have shipping options listed on our website, if you really need expedited shipping service, please put in your order like normal and then email us at info@mortiseandtenonmag.com with your order number immediately. We will check...

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“Tables” Video Now Available!

  At long last, this “Tables” video is done and in our store. Mike has been laboring over this thing for a long time now perfecting each transition and tweaking each clip to get everything just right. I am blown away. It turned out better than I even envisioned. If you enjoyed watching our “Foundations” video, we think you will love this sequel. This “Tables” video focuses on pre-industrial table construction. Rather than simply demonstrate each different operation of table making and its variations, we decide the best way to teach is in the context of a build. For this reason, I chose a table that has many of the construction variables one is likely to find in period work....

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Hand Tools are Not Slow

Hand tools are not slow.  This afternoon, after Mike and I ditched the granite work because of a downpour, I went to the shop to prepare table parts for a presentation I am doing on Friday at the Yale University Furniture Study (Registration full, sorry). The presentation is titled “Efficient Handcraft” and will focus on pre-industrial methods for efficient furniture making. I will bring parts of a table at each stage of the process so that I can demonstrate the whole process in the time allotted. This afternoon’s prep involved ripping out two legs and two rails from rough-sawn pine, planing both legs square, laying out and chopping two of the mortises, tapering one of the legs on two sides,...

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Examination of an 18th Century Drop Leaf Table: Issue Two Table of Contents

Every issue of M&T will have an in depth analysis of a particular period piece. In the last issue, we looked at a Federal Boston secretary. (Yes, the ebook is still in the works.) The objective with this kind of piece is to provide numerous up close and personal photographs of not only the pretty show surface, but also the guts of the thing. This is the stuff museums don’t typically publish for people and it’s exactly the kind of stuff that woodworkers want to see. For Issue Two, I chose this mid to late 1700s New England table that I purchased at an auction earlier this year. I selected this piece because it’s not rare or unique in at...

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