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The Newness of the Workshop

As the Issue Four packing party is less than a week away, Mike and I have begun tidying up around the new shop in anticipation of our guests. We’ve constructed three massive worktables from pine boards, built and hung a temporary board-and-batten front door, installed the arched transom window on the second story gable overlooking the pond, and now we’re replacing the cloudy plastic over the rough window openings with clear vinyl (it’s nice to be able to see through the windows finally).   Although the door is temporary, it is a simplified version of our final design. This board-and-insulation sandwich is hanging on the antique strap hinges I’ve been saving for the shop’s front door. Mike even made an...

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One Week Left to Pre-order Issue Four

Just got this photo from the printer… Issue Four is hot off the presses! Today they’re loaded in cartons and will begin making their way from Wisconsin to our storage facility in Maine. We’ve arranged for them to arrive next week several days before the big packing party on Friday the 23rd and Saturday the 24th where we (with a handful of readers’ help) will wrap them in brown paper, affix the wax-sealed trade cards, and mail them out. Because we’re shipping these out next week, you only have one week left to pre-order. To get a wrapped copy of Issue Four, you can purchase a yearly subscription or order Issue Four individually. After next Wednesday, March 21st, the pre-order...

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Quantity Before Quality

* This is another entry in our “Advice for Aspiring Writers” Series. “People tend to look at successful writers … and think that they sit down at their desk every morning feeling like a million dollars, feeling great about who they are and how much talent they have… But this is just the fantasy of the uninitiated. I know some very great writers, writers you love who write beautifully and have made a great deal of money, and not one of them sits down routinely feeling wildly enthusiastic and confident. Not one of them writes elegant first drafts.” – Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird If you want to become a better writer you must write relentlessly. Although this is not...

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Know Your Audience

* This is another entry in our “Advice for Aspiring Writers” Series. "Uncle Ed" at Thanksgiving. Courtesy of awkwardfamilyphotos.com Everyone on this planet shares some similar experience or knowledge, to an extent. There are things that we all have in common, despite wildly different cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds. But in everyday conversation, whether with someone from another part of the globe or Uncle Ed at the family Thanksgiving get-together, we can quickly begin locating the boundaries of our shared experience. There’s a reason why many casual conversations start with an awkward comment about the weather – everyone has something to say about it. However, not everyone shares your personal take on iOS vs. Android, your raw-vegan-paleo-ketonic-grain-free dietary philosophy, or your stance...

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M&T Podcast 07 - “The Creation of Issue Four”

  We recorded a new podcast episode this morning which can be listened to above. Because Mike and I just finished Issue Four, we dedicated this episode to discussing what it’s like to produce the magazine, what’s featured in this new issue, and what to expect in the coming weeks. You can subscribe to our Podcast on iTunes, Stitcher, or Soundcloud.   Notable links from this podcast: Our new “Cutting Edge Technology” T-shirt "5 Tips for Writing Well" Issue Four Issue Three

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5 Tips for Writing Well

During each issue’s editorial process, Mike, Jim, Megan, and I go round and round discussing better ways to articulate the ideas in our and our authors’ heads. We love word craft and always feel a sense of accomplishment when we polish each piece to clearly reflect the author’s voice and vision. Our authors come from many backgrounds and experiences. Many have been professional writers for years while others are just emerging onto the woodworking writer scene. Many of our newer authors develop their skills through blogging (as I did). There are a ton of great woodworking blogs out there (many of which you can find linked on our sidebar) but not everyone is as comfortable putting words onto paper or...

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Upcoming: Advice for Aspiring Writers

I moved slowly, advancing through the rough landscape in search of my elusive quarry. I could sense that I was close. A turn here, another there, and… Aha, found it! I uncapped my red pen with a satisfying pop and drew a red circle around the end of a sentence. Three words, linked together inseparably but missing that penultimate punctuation: The Oxford Comma. Another copy editing crisis averted. The world of drop caps and compound modifiers hasn’t exactly been my professional stomping grounds in the past, but I find the editing process to be among the most satisfying tasks in the life of M&T. We like to think of this as a team sport, with Megan, Joshua, Jim, and me...

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Mortise & Tenon 2018 Schedule

The following is the list of events we will be participating in this year. Issue Four Packing Party – March 23rd - 24th This time around we have another bunch of people joining us for the big packing party for Issue Four. Slots all filled by now but we recommend you get on the waiting list if you have genuine interest in joining us (you never know what may come up). This will be the first party in our new timber frame workshop. We will be wrapping mags, filling ourselves with delicious food, and communing over craftsmanship. Read about the previous packing parties here. Port Townsend School of Woodworking – April 23rd - 27th: “Table From Rough Boards” I will be...

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New M&T Shirt & Sticker: “Cutting Edge Technology”

For those of you that have been despairingly watching our dwindling shirt inventory, we have good news: our new shirts just arrived from the printer yesterday. For this new design, we commissioned an illustration from Jessica Roux, the same artist that drew Jonathan Fisher at work in his workshop for my upcoming book. Mike and I had Jessica draw the irons and wedges from my three bench planes in her whimsical folksy style. Jessica’s mentioned more than once that she loves drawing these old tools, working out the textures and layers of color. Besides “MORTISE & TENON magazine”, the front of the shirt has “FORE” “TRYING” and “SMOOTHING” labeled beneath the irons. The shirt’s back says, “Cutting Edge Technology” with...

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The Issue Four Packing Party

The arrival of Issue Four is right around the corner – and with each new issue of M&T comes the fine, established tradition of the Mortise & Tenon Packing Party! Now that we’re publishing twice per year, we’re doubling up on these tremendously fun events. We’ve had folks travel from all over to help wrap each new issue in brown paper, affix a special trade card with wax seal, and place it in a mailer with a handful of pine plane shavings. Everyone shares good food (wood-fired pizza, home-baked goodies, and more), locally-roasted coffee, excellent conversation, and an overall fantastic time. We don’t send anyone home empty-handed - we've got plenty of M&T goodies to go around. The “show and tell” opportunity...

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