Wood is weird. Sometimes it seems like it has a mind of its own and surprises you with its behavior. There is mystique about particular species and their unique qualities, unparalleled by any other. What accounts for these peculiarities? Why is wood the way it is? I stumbled across a pile of excellent wood science videos the other day and thought they were worth sharing here. Dr. Callum Hill makes helpful use of a light board to put into plain English the nature of wood. Anyone who calls themselves a woodworker should understand at least some of this information. There are a ton of videos on their YouTube channel, but check out a few here: As they’ve put it, “The...
Here’s our latest installment in our “Setting Up Shop” video series: bench chisels. There’s not a lot I am picky about regarding chisel selection, but there are a few things I think are worth considering.
-Joshua
Just published a new video in our “Setting Up Shop” series. This time, Mike talks about smacky things: hammers, mallets, mauls, and even the polls of axes – tools far too often overlooked.
Head’s up… I posted a free video tutorial this afternoon on the Daily Dispatch in which I walk through the grinding and freehand honing of a cambered plane iron. You do not need to be a Dispatch subscriber to view the video – this one’s gratis. As Mike and I discussed on our last podcast episode, we believe freehand honing is an important skill for every woodworker to develop. Watching our Apprenticeship students work to develop the feel of this technique, I’ve realized afresh how important practice is. By the end of that sharpening week, many of them described experiencing a “eureka” moment. To learn a new hand skill, you’ve got to watch someone do it and then do it...
Here’s a new video in the “Setting Up Shop” series. This one is all about backsaws. What are they? Why do you need them? Which ones should you get? How many is too many?
Enjoy.
Our latest YouTube video is up. Mike explains the difference between rip and crosscut in the clearest way I’ve heard it to date. Usually there’s a bundle of straws or a broom but showing a chisel on wood drives the point home.
This video is actually take 2. Earlier this morning I posted the first attempt on the Dispatch – Mike rediscovered an ancient ripping technique we now call “sriving.”
Too funny.
– Joshua
This installment of the Setting Up Shop video series focuses on the big, beefy rip handsaw. Too many woodworkers are intimidated by the idea of ripping by hand, but there is no reason for it. Get yourself a properly set up tool and let ‘er rip. It’s good to get the blood pumping.
– Joshua
We just put up another video in our "Setting Up Shop" series. Joshua and I have been trading off working through the different elements of a hand-tool woodshop, and today I discuss the smoothing plane. This tool is a bit fussier to set up than the coarser fore plane, and works best honed razor-sharp with the cap iron set very close to the cutting edge. I talk about some of the nuances of proper setup, and make some of those wispy shavings that everyone loves.
-Mike
Mike and I recorded a new video this morning for our “Setting Up Shop” video series, this time focused on the trying/jointer plane. Although I discuss the history of the terminology, I don’t really care which word you use. Instead, I show the two situations in which these planes shine: flattening board and jointing edges. In practice, these guys don’t get as much use as the fore plane. And that’s good because they’re hefty beasts to wield around.
– Joshua
Now that we’ve covered the shop and benches in our video series, we’re moving into tools. This time, Mike discusses the use of the fore plane (as well as his scrub plane). These planes are our workhorses – at least 75% of our planing is handled by these guys. If you don’t have a heavily cambered plane with a wide-open mouth, you’re not going to be able to work with any efficiency. You need one of these planes.
