I’ve found the best way to learn a craft is to see the created item in person. Taking a class is a good way to develop general techniques, but unless you have a good amount of time to study the finished objects for yourself, you will stagnate in your development as an artisan. You’ll never know how it’s “supposed” to look or discover other ways it could be made. I learned to build furniture with hand tools by studying the furniture that was made with those tools. Those objects became my standard and reference. I’ve also taken this approach with the green woodworking crafts: spoon carving, pole-lathe turning, etc. I first learned the techniques by reading and by asking others,...
I love it when snow blankets the ground because it prevents me from getting to many of the chores I’ve spent the last nine months chasing. I always have so many irons in the fire between the animal and homestead responsibilities that a winter’s respite is dearly welcome. I usually use this time to explore something that’s been in my sights for a long time. Last week, I finally blocked out some time to make a few additions to my spring pole lathe so that I could dip my toes into bowl turning. I’ve accumulated a few of the necessary pieces over the past year or two but never could quite find the time. I bought the two centers from...
Today, we begin releasing the table of contents for Issue Three. Each day we will describe one article from the upcoming issue to give you all taste of what’s to come. On Friday at Lie-Nielsen, we released the list of articles and heard lots of excited feedback about this upcoming issue. Mike and I keep pinching ourselves as we continue to get such talented and passionate authors. Stay tuned here at the blog as we announce each of the 12 articles that will be in Issue Three. Without further ado… here is the first article: “The Spring Pole Lathe: Design, Construction, and Use” by: Joshua Klein Of all the work that I’ve demonstrated over the years there’s one...
