We are living in unique times, with the specter of global pandemic changing the way that many of us view life and casting new light on the everyday things that are often taken for granted. But trying times are nothing new within the march of human history. As woodworkers, we’ve often found solace at the bench.
For the Issue Nine examination, we’ll take a closer look at a well-preserved 19th-century New England classic. The Salem-type rocking chair was the forebear of the widely popular Boston rocker, and shows its Windsor roots proudly. Likely built in an early factory setting, this particular example features many interesting tool marks that shed light on the workflow of the maker, as well as an updated paint job as the Hitchcock-style black paint and bronze stenciling became popular. This chair has endured through many New England winters and still offers the best seat on a shady porch during a summer’s evening.
There is no more evocative symbol of vernacular woodworking than the humble shaving horse. Commonly found in barns or front porches in much of the Western world until quite recently, this foot-powered workholding vise allows for efficient use of the whole body in shaping, rounding, and peeling stock with a drawknife or spokeshave.
Born in the early 18th century, Cesar Chelor lived in Wrentham, Massachusetts, working as the enslaved apprentice to the first documented planemaker in the colonies, Francis Nicholson. In that time of immense civil and cultural upheaval, Chelor’s skill and ingenuity at the trade elevated him into the upper echelon of period toolmakers.
This is part of a blog series revealing the table of contents of upcoming Issue Nine. As is our custom, we’ll be discussing one article per weekday in order to give you a taste of what is come. Please note that the subscription window which includes Issue Nine is open now through August 28th. ___________________________________ “Making an Icon Panel” – Symeon van Donkelaar How do you embody the sacred with common, everyday elements? Using carefully gathered materials – pigments of various hues from the earth, winter-harvested lumber long dried in the attic – author and iconographer Symeon van Donkelaar brings us through the process of creating religious icons, in a tradition that has been passed down through millennia. “Traditional icons are...
In 2019, U.K.-based studio craftsman and author Abdollah Nafisi joined 5 other artisans in exploring the ideologies and innovations of the Arts & Crafts Movement for a BBC television series. For Issue Nine, Nafisi recounts his experience of recreating William Morris’ iconic Sussex chair for the series, utilizing only hand tools.
Yeeesss!!! Mike’s new instructional video Apprenticeship: Greenwood is now in our store for immediate streaming and download! We are also offering a DVD version, but please note that those are still in production and will not be shipping for at least a few weeks. Mike’s been working his tail off on the production of this third installment in our Apprenticeship series for the past couple months, and the filming has taken place over the past few years. (We wanted to cover all four seasons.) He’s made an incredible film that we are delighted to be offering to you all. It’s not only a totally new type of content from us (working outdoors, bucksaws, shaving horses, using carving knives, steam bending,...
The new t-shirts have just arrived, and this might be our favorite design yet! The front features a large ripsaw in action taken from Joseph Park’s 1908 book Educational Wood Working for School and Home. The back has a detail of the saw’s teeth and our long-standing motto, “We Plane. We Saw. We Conquer.” The last time we had a shirt with that phrase on it was a long time ago, and we’ve gotten numerous requests for it. We think it fits perfectly with this design. These unisex shirts are screen printed with water-based ink by Triple Stamp Press. They have a wonderfully soft vintage feel. The shirts are $25.00. Order yours here. This time, we’re going out on a limb in...
This spring and summer, it’s been all about windows around here. Mike spent several weeks dedicated to reglazing our woodshop sashes so that we can (finally) get those installed. We’ve already replaced the clear plastic over the openings on the south side once – don’t want to do that again! This month I dove headfirst into reglazing a pile of sashes for the cottage my wife and I are working to complete. The restoration process is pretty straightforward, but there are a lot to do. First, we gently chip out loose glazing with a putty knife, and use an infrared heat gun (a Speedheater Cobra) to soften stubborn bits. Once the glazing is removed, we pry out the glazing points...
After numerous requests for a poster of this axe photo, we’ve finally decided to do one small run. This is a powerful depiction of an assortment of European and American axes used at the Carpenters Without Borders timber-frame project at the M&T headquarters in 2019.
This 15" tall x 20" wide poster is printed on heavyweight, matte-coated paper in the United States.
Please note that there is limited availability on these as we will only be doing one print run. If you might want one, order now before it’s too late.
This is a pre-order. We expect to ship these out during the last week of June.
