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
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
Listen to our new episode above. We had lots to talk about today. On the magazine front, pre-orders for Issue Four opened yesterday, and we’ve been releasing the Table of Contents for the past two weeks leading up to the big event. We talk about our soon-to-be-released t-shirt design, commissioned from artist Jessica Roux. In our discussion, we go over the ins and outs of setting up a workshop specifically based around the use of hand tools. We consider decisions to be made around lighting, heat, and tool storage, along with details from period shops that might inform the way we approach this task today. Notable Links from this Podcast: Issue Four Jessica Roux Illustration #mtmaghatchet Colonial Williamsburg’s...
The moment has finally come: Issue Four is available for pre-order! You can order a Yearly Subscription (#4 & #5) here. or order Issue Four alone here. As always, all subscription and pre-order copies ordered in our store will be wrapped in brown kraft paper affixed with the official Issue Four wax-sealed trade card (which just arrived from the printer today) and will be packed into mailers accompanied by pine plane shavings. The pre-order window will be open through March 21st. After that window closes, the trade cards and wrapping will no longer be available. Issue Four ships out March 23rd and 24th. (Stay tuned for packing party details very soon.) This issue is full of incredible authors: Jim Tolpin,...
This is the last article of the Issue Four table of contents to be announced. Every weekday until the February 1st at 8 a.m. Eastern time (tomorrow!) opening of Issue Four pre-orders, we've been announcing one article from the table of contents here on the blog. If you have yet to sign up for a yearly subscription, you can do so here. We all know there’s something special about handmade furniture. But how can we put it into words? To try to find an answer, Joshua Klein and I set out to study and measure a wide assortment of period pieces, made both by hand (pre-industrial) and by machine (Victorian), in the hopes of better understanding what makes them distinct from one another. Handmade furniture...
Tomorrow the last article of the Issue Four table of contents will be announced. Every weekday until the February 1st opening of Issue Four pre-orders, we've been announcing one article from the table of contents here on the blog. If you have yet to sign up for a yearly subscription, you can do so here. In producing Issue Four, we were privileged to sit down with furniture conservator Christine Thomson to discuss how conservation theory intersects with her daily shop practice. Christine has been involved in the conservation of historic furniture since her days in college. Her background working for the Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities (Now Historic New England) and Robert Mussey Associates, Inc. prepared her open her own private practice...
