In anticipation of the upcoming Issue Three, we’ve just released the new cover poster. It is the same (sane) 14.5” x 11” size as the first two on the same heavy paper for long-term durability. We think there is pretty much nothing more rad to hang on your wall than old hand tools. This cover features Kenneth Kortemeier receiving a drawknife which symbolizes the passing of the craft baton from recently retired Drew Langsner of Country Workshops. This image, while powerful on its own, has so much more meaning once you read this Langsner – Kortemeier story. You can order your Issue Three poster here. $15. And, yes, we do now ship all over the world. P.s. Tomorrow I will have...
This is the final installment of our Issue Three table of contents announcement series. Check out the full T.O.C. here. (You can click on any of the article titles to read about them.) “Resurrecting the Derelict: Hard Choices in the Conservation of a Chest” by Joshua Klein No one wants to be guilty of destroying an antique. What if we ruin exactly what is so special about a piece? What if it ends up on Antiques Roadshow someday? Will we be berated for ham-handed restoration? This legitimate fear rises up especially when our projects do not go according to plan. Often, furniture conservators set out on their treatments with a grand vision of a phoenix-from-the-ashes resurrection only to be faced...
Upcoming in Issue Three: “On Perfection: Both Practical and Practiced” by Jim McConnell An idea is like a rabbit. You can’t sneak up on it. You have to let it sneak up on you. Like most creative types, I feel like in some ways I’ve been chasing perfection for most of my life without ever asking what that might really mean. Lately I’ve had some questions. I’ve started to wonder, what is so compelling about the idea of perfection? Is perfection a product or a process? Is it something that stands out there in the ether or something that can be actualized? Is it an idea or something you can stub your toe on in a dark room? Does it...
Upcoming in Issue Three: “Through a Wilderness of Ornament: Making Sense of 18th-Century Pattern Books” by Bill Pavlak This past February I began my presentation to a group of 250 period furniture making enthusiasts at Colonial Williamsburg with a simple question: how many of you own a copy of Thomas Chippendale’s The Gentleman and Cabinetmaker’s Director? Not surprisingly, most raised their hands. When I followed that with “how many of you actually refer to this book regularly,” I got a very different response – perhaps fewer than ten raised hands. This is exactly what I expected. Why? Because at first blush Chippendale’s plates, like those in other 18th century pattern books, only bear a slight resemblance to the Colonial American...
Upcoming in Issue Three… Book Review by Vic Tesolin: “A Field Guide to Identifying Woods in American Antiques & Collectibles” by R. Bruce Hoadley I’m a voracious reader of both fiction and non-fiction and as you can imagine, most of my non-fiction reading is about woodworking. Currently you’ll find me in the Japanese hand plane rabbit hole and I’m not sure if I can find my way back out. Joshua asked me if I could write a review of R. Bruce Hoadley’s latest book A Field Guide to Identifying Woods in American Antiques and Collectibles when he and I were at the Fine Woodworking Live event this year. Writing this review was an absolute pleasure for me because I have...
Upcoming in Issue Three: “Making a Stand: Form and Function for $1.50” by Michael Updegraff Most woodworkers today admire the form of the period candlestand. From the graceful, sinuous legs to the seemingly intricate sliding dovetails that secure them, from the details of the turned standard to the beautiful grain exhibited in a tilting top, these pieces sometimes seem to be more sculpture than household mainstay. But this type was possibly the most common piece of furniture around in the 18th or 19th century, and was often present in every room of the house. Consequently, makers of the day built these stands not only in great quantity, but fast. After all, a single candlestand typically fetched from $.50 to...
Editor’s Note: I am currently on my return trip home from visiting with Garrett Hack and his wife, Carolyn, on their idyllic Vermont farm. Garrett and I spent time in his shop doing the photography for his article in our upcoming Issue Three. I’ve asked Garrett to provide a summary for readers here at the blog. The following is his write-up… “There is no mystery why woodworkers (and many other trades) relied on patterns. They are a simple and accurate way to transfer shapes easily and repeatedly. A shapely case apron, curved chair leg, or the serpentine profile of a tabletop are all typical patterns an 18th century maker would have had on hand and used to speed his work along, just...
Upcoming in Issue Three: "The Best of Both Worlds: Embracing Art in Craft" by Danielle Rose Byrd ... Why do we gravitate towards seeing things in black and white, right or wrong, this or that? In this article, Danielle explores the tendency of such a dynamic in the world of woodworking, a world where art is frequently thought of as less-than; a recurrent villain to the hero of craft. Why does the word “art” incite such pushback and how can we inhabit more of the gray areas that exist, in both our own work and the appreciation of others’? Speaking from her perspective and using the work of furniture makers who inspire her as an example, she describes the...
You have to see this stuff to believe it. When I tell people that pre-industrial furniture (almost without exception) is rife with tool marks, overcuts, and even tear out, I get the sense that some people don’t believe me. They think that there’s no way that the wonderful antiques they’ve seen behind velvet ropes in special museum lighting could be as rough inside as I am asserting. I’ve heard some say maybe I’m just talking about vernacular furniture made by farmers. I understand the skepticism because this kind of workmanship flies in the face of modern woodworking dogma. But I’m not just talking about a few slap-dash anomalies. These kinds of tool marks are exactly the bits of evidence that...
“Modern Revivalist Toolmaking: What Yesterday’s Tools Can Teach Us Today” by Brendan Bernhardt Gaffney featured in the upcoming Issue Three. Technical innovation has smiled on the modern woodworker – combinations of castings, pulleys, blades, bits and all manner of motors, rigged in many ways, can flatten, cut, curve, bend or join boards of wood. They do so quickly, repeatably and, often, portably. When woodworking switched its diet, from the manual to the mechanical, a lot changed. Joinery shifted in shape, better suited to rotating cutters than saws and chisels. So, too, did our methods of design, as we took advantage of flexible and industrious software, moving away from the pencil and drafting table. Simultaneously we turned away from proportion and the...
