Blog RSS

From the M&T Daily Dispatch 

It’s a strange thing that woodworking is considered a solitary endeavor today, because craft throughout history was a community practice. Whether it was hewing timbers for the Johnsons’ new barn, harvesting hay before the clouds roll in, or quilting at the bee, people of the past knew that work was more enjoyable and turned out better when done together. Neither modernist individualism nor Taylorist reductionism has changed this fact. Get together with your friends. Embrace craft as a social activity. I’ve long been intrigued by the fact that much manual labor throughout history has been carried along by hearty communal singing. Author Richard Henry Dana wrote in his 1841 memoir, Two Years Before the Mast, “A song is as necessary...

From the M&T Daily Dispatch 

From the M&T Daily Dispatch 

From the M&T Daily Dispatch 

From the M&T Daily Dispatch 

Blaise Pascal wrote about gambling and how it grips us because of the thrill of risk – if every roll of the dice was known, it would lose its power. The idea of taking on risk speaks to something deeper within us. When we as woodworkers split open a log, there’s always the possibility of the unknown. Our effort may reveal rot or some beauty never seen before. Hand tools are a means of connection that bring us into close contact with the risk found in nature. Never before in our history have we been surrounded by so many faux materials – imitation leather, marble, or wood, without any of the risks or quirks of natural materials. We can even...

From the M&T Daily Dispatch 

From the M&T Daily Dispatch 

This is a quick heads up that we’ve recently been cleaned out of our Joined inventory – way faster than anticipated. Today, we got notification that our third printing for this book (and our second printing of Worked) shipped from the printer to our warehousing facility.  As I know you know all too well, prices for everything have been skyrocketing the past couple years and our printing bills are no exception. To face this increase of expenses, we’re going to have to raise the price of these two titles several dollars apiece. But we want to give you fair warning, so, before these go up, we’re giving you a “last call” for the lower price. For the next couple days,...