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We just got done loading Issue Two off the delivery truck and into storage! They will be heading out from our packing party on January 6th and 7th! Coming soon to a mailbox near you! Order your copy here!  

  We just got a small box of Issue Two copies shipped to us from our printer! This new video on our YouTube channel is the first look into this new issue of our traditional hand-tool woodworking magazine! We are so excited about how it turned out... It’s even better than we could have hoped for! We can confidently say that if you enjoyed Issue One, you will love Issue Two. The freight delivery is in route now! We should be seeing those boxes soon!  

Starting tomorrow morning, orders for Issue Two will have the regular $5.00 shipping cost added in at the cart. If you want that free shipping, now's the time, folks! Order here!  

I guess I have a weird sense of humor but about a year ago I was delighted to hear of someone filling in the “Special Notes” sections of online order forms with off-the-wall requests for drawings on the box. The one that made me chuckle the most was “Please draw Godzilla on the box.” Making that kind of peculiar request to everything from pizza places to Etsy stores was just the kind of unusual habit I like to pick up. Over the past year or so I’ve been filling the comment box with precisely this request. I was curious to see which of my suppliers would indulge such inanity.  Turns out seminary bookstores don’t. Nor does Amazon.com. Neither do conservation...

I've been adding new videos to the YouTube channel! Above is the latest addition: a full (11 minute) excerpt from our "Foundations" video showing how I cut through dovetails by hand. You can order the full video here or Subscribe to our YouTube channel if you'd like more behind-the-scenes M&T stuff!  

Right around the end of September every year, I get bitten by the bug of inspiration. It generally bites without warning, triggered by some random sentence in a book by Stewart Edward White or James Oliver Curwood, an autumn trip to the Adirondacks of NY, or an old black-and-white video of Swedish clog-makers at work. Symptoms of infection include hours spent researching old, obscure handcraft methods, scouring online used-book sources for lost titles, and gathering materials for wintertime workshop nights (stuff like this). A few years ago, the obsession was Adirondack guideboats. Before that, it was restoring and rehanging old axe heads. The ubiquitous spoon carving.  Canoe paddles.  Hickory self bows. You get the picture. This malady usually runs its course over the...

Hey all! We just opened a channel on YouTube. Our first video (above) is a glimpse into our tiny studio where all the "magic" happens. Make sure you subscribe to our channel to get regular video updates and behind-the-scenes footage. Enjoy and share!  

Issue Two of Mortise & Tenon Magazine is on the presses as we speak! As you may have picked up by now, we don’t like to do anything half-hearted. Every individual magazine we ship out is wrapped in kraft paper and string with a wax-sealed 18th-century-inspired tradecard adhered to it. Last year, we had a crew of nine of us working for three days to get them all out the door. We set up long tables in my living room, turned on the music, and mused together about handcraft, the local food movement, cottage industry businesses, homesteading, etc. while we wrapped the magazines. It was the highlight of our year, deepening our friendships forever. This year, we’re doing it again....

In two weeks, I will be looking for that freight truck to show up with the magazines. That means that, if you want free shipping for Issue Two, you’ve got two weeks to put in your order.  After that, it costs $5.00 to ship it anywhere in the USA (these things are heavy).  I am getting very excited about getting this issue into your hands, readers. We are getting close! Also, I am finalizing all the details for the pre-order packing/shipping party and it looks like it’s going to be a blast. Stay tuned for the official announcement for that... It should be in the next few days. Don’t forget to put in your order of Issue Two!  

In anticipation of Issue Two being only weeks away from arrival, we added Issue Two cover posters to our offerings. This detail shot of the banister-back chair featured in in this upcoming issue is important in my mind because it shows up close the tolerances found in period work. It’s a fascinating juncture between the turned elements, split banisters, and planed lower back rail. This photo was shot before I finished this piece and so it highlights the irregularities and textures inherent in the handcraft process. These posters are same size and cost as last time ($15) and are definitely a “while supplies last” kind of thing. (We still have some the half-off Issue One posters left if you want one of...