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From the M&T Daily Dispatch 

“I often think about what [hand tools] could mean for the future of our society. I envision this muscle-powered, healthy, kind-to-the-environment, kind-to-your-neighbors way of life – it’s just a better thing all around for you, for your health, and for the planet’s health. And even in the immediate, hand tools are relatively quiet and peaceful. And human-powered tools give feedback that you can respond to with every nuance of the tool – that’s where skills are developed. I did an event at Williamsburg once – it was set up like a wine tasting, but for hand tools. The idea was to have “10 Sensual Experiences in Woodworking” – 10 stations with tasks like shaving with a drawknife or boring a...

From the M&T Daily Dispatch 

From the M&T Daily Dispatch 

From the M&T Daily Dispatch 

From the M&T Daily Dispatch 

“The pursuit of independence through making your own tools is a journey full of rewards. The broader a craftsperson’s competency, the more successfully he or she will be able to open whole new realms of creative possibility and manage hurdles that come along in the making process. This bitstock project brings together various skills that many furniture makers don’t get to exercise often enough: long accurate boring, turning, casting pewter, burning mortises, and utilizing naturally crooked branches. Even more, it is a joy to work with tools that reflect your own unique personality and individual aesthetic preferences, something we miss out on if our tool chest is filled with those identical to everyone else’s.” – Joshua Klein, excerpt from “The...

From the M&T Daily Dispatch 

“Spoon carving has often been jokingly called the “gateway drug” into green woodworking – and for good reason. Often, after carving your first few spoons, the allure of other greenwood projects is hard to resist. Other cooking utensils are an obvious progression, but there are also carved cups and bowls, coat hooks from small limb crotches, and shrink pots. One of the beauties of green woodworking is its connection to the past, in which wood was the material of choice for everyday objects. Learning to make things that we use in our daily lives is a great feeling. We can drink our tea, hang our coats, or store dry goods for later use, in and with the wooden things we...

  John Ruskin once said, “Fine art is that in which the hand, the head, and the heart of man go together.” In this episode, Joshua and Mike discuss the brand-new “Mechanical Arts Program” that they’ve launched in partnership with Greystone Theological Institute. Inspired by 12th-century theologian Hugh of Saint Victor, their aim is to help thoughtful learners reintegrate the work of the head with the work of the hands. The guys take this episode to discuss the first class held in their Maine woodshop this October. SHOW NOTES: The Mechanical Arts Program Hands Employed Aright: The Furniture Making of Jonathan Fisher Greenwood Spoon Carving The M&T Daily Dispatch