This is a strange day for two reasons. After canceling the packing party because of the COVID-19 scenario, Mike and I (with help from Grace and our families) wrapped thousands of copies of Issue Eight in brown paper, adhered a wax-sealed trade card (done by my wife and me over many evenings), slid them into rigid mailers with a white pine plane shaving, and applied the postage. Considering that the printing of postage alone takes us 8-10 person-hours per issue, this special wrapping process is a monumental undertaking. We love every minute of it, and that’s why we’ve always invited 25 volunteers to help out for two days. But we knew this wrapping would soon be coming to an end...
Issue Eight is on its way soon! We’re stoked about how this one turned out. Each issue, our printer has been fine-tuning their work to our specifications of premium paper choice, etc, and this one is absolutely gorgeous – they nailed it!
Just wait until you see Issue Eight in person! It’s just the kind of reading you need for your socially distanced time off.
Tomorrow, Tuesday the 24th is the last day to subscribe to get a wrapped copy of Issue Eight!
Link to order here:
https://www.mortiseandtenonmag.com/collections/magazine/products/magazine-subscription
– Joshua
Registration for the M&T Pre-industrial Immersion Workshop is now open! The event is scheduled for June 8-12 here at our shop in Sedgwick, Maine. Our first week-long workshop last year was a great success, and we can’t wait to do it again! One of our students said, “The last week was filled with fantastic food, great discussions, and amazing people. I learned so much, but these new friends truly made the week what it was and are what I have come to cherish most.” The application can be downloaded and printed here. Please note that it must be postmarked no later than March 20th. We want these workshops to be unique, with an emphasis on educational value, skill growth,...
We recorded this episode of the podcast last Friday as Issue Eight was uploading to the printer – and at rural Maine internet speeds, there was plenty of time for a conversation! As we’ve spent the last several weeks getting this issue dialed in and ready to publish, we’ve grown even more excited about the content – our authors have crafted some beautiful and inspiring articles. From spending a few lively days with the Roy Underhill, to the story of a high-school English teacher reproducing Henry David Thoreau’s desk with 11th graders, to witnessing the mechanical genius and thoughtful choices of boatbuilder Harry Bryan, we’ll discuss some of this issue’s articles and the stories behind them. As we all await the arrival...
Back around the turn of the 20th century, as the Industrial Revolution was reshaping western civilization and driving the working class away from farms and rural areas towards the city, many observers were growing concerned about the future of the traditions, values, and skills that had been employed for centuries. Although technology promised solutions for many of society’s problems, what was the cost in abandoning the lifeways that had allowed generations to thrive? What would happen to the moral character of a population that previously relied on hand skills and now looked to mechanization and infrastructure to meet its needs? These questions were pondered by many visionaries who were troubled by the trends they saw, and they sought a...
How can we put together a well-rounded and detailed understanding of the techniques a cabinetmaker or chairmaker employed to create their wares centuries ago? We have resources such as journals, ledgers, and a few valuable firsthand accounts, but the best information might actually be written with steel on wood, rather than ink on paper. Join author Michael Updegraff as he explores the fascinating world of tool marks – often intentionally sanded away on modern handmade furniture, but almost universally present on period pieces. From the scientific discipline of traceology (reading macroscopic markings on artifacts to glean new insight) to the experimental archaeology practiced at open-air and living history museums, Updegraff extols the value of learning how an operation was...
At Mortise & Tenon headquarters here on the coast of Maine, the biggest event of 2019 took place in August, when an international team of carpenters hewed and raised a timber frame for a blacksmith shop in just nine days. This project saw the transformation of the M&T workshop into a dining area for 50, the woods behind the shop rang with the resounding song of axes on fresh timber, and for Joshua Klein, the theoretical limits of what is possible to achieve with simple hand tools changed dramatically.
Book Recommendation: Hand Tools: Their Ways and Workings – Michael Updegraff
For the book recommendation in Issue Eight of M&T, reviewer Michael Updegraff takes a look at a valuable reference for any hand-tool user. He notes that he recently discovered this book on the shelves of two different woodworkers he greatly admires. If you’re familiar with Aldren Watson, you know that the books he’s written or illustrated are full of detailed, precise, and beautiful drawings. Hand Tools: Their Ways and Workings continues in that vein, offering an encyclopedic look at a whole chest-full of tools, how they work, and how to use them efficiently.
Subversive Woodwright: An Interview with Roy Underhill For 40 years, audiences from around the world have received their first taste of hand-tool woodworking from one source – Roy Underhill, star of “The Woodwright’s Shop,” author of many books, first master housewright at Colonial Williamsburg, and instructor at The Woodwright’s School. For those who have seen him on TV or heard him in person, Underhill is a living legend. Joshua and Mike had the opportunity to spend a few days visiting Roy at his home in North Carolina (a renovated cotton mill), sitting in on a class at his school, and talking about a wide range of topics. For Issue Eight, we’ll share the conversation, covering Roy’s background, the...
The Legend of the Jimmy Possum Chair – Mike Epworth
Over a century ago in rural Tasmania, there appeared a new design of vernacular chair. Seeming at first glance to draw from Irish or Windsor traditions, the chair utilized a novel construction in which the legs and outer back spindles ran continuously through the seat and arms, a configuration that tightened and strengthened every joint when sat upon.
But who made these chairs? Tales told of a man who lived outside town in a hollow tree, building chairs with simple tools and selling or trading them to area farmers and inns, but today there survive no concrete records of this man’s existence. He was known as Jimmy Possum.
