M&T: You’ve long talked about this idea of “subversive woodworking.” What does it mean? RU: Subversive woodworking is about getting people to question their dependence on the glow of the power company. It is partly a Thoreauvian idea of trying to help folks gain personal self-reliance. My ideal image of a woodworking school envisioned an old downtown location with a big glass window in the front. Passers-by could look in and see what was going on, see work done at workbenches with handsaws and planes. The students inside are already converted, but the people outside have maybe never thought of this way of working before. They’re looking in the window, thinking, “What the heck is that?” and then they’ll start...
In this new video, Mike walks through some basic saw troubleshooting. You don’t have to be an expert to get your saw working more smoothly – all you need is to pay attention and to apply a few basic adjustments. Or hit it with a hammer.
Another installment of the “Nature and Art of Workmanship” podcast series. Chapter eight deals with the subject of “durability.” Does precision mean durability in all circumstances? Who’s “to blame” when a product fails: the designer or the craftsman? All these questions and more are addressed in this episode.
SHOW NOTES
Order your copy of the book here: The Nature and Art of Workmanship
Joshua Klein’s article in Issue Seven: ”A Fresh & Unexpected Beauty: Understanding David Pye’s ‘Workmanship of Risk’”
We’ve been having lots of discussions lately about old tools. This isn’t out of the ordinary around here, as you might guess – most days feature at least one moment of geeking out over the discovery of some 19th-century photograph of a cooper at work, or poring over a beautiful painting by a Dutch master of a woodworker’s shop, or examining a tool that Joshua or I just picked up – but the pace and variety has increased. One big reason is our recent opening of registration for the 2023 M&T Apprenticeship Program, where students from all over the world will convene for an 8-week online course in hand-tool woodworking. Once they’ve signed up, many students reach out to us with questions...
In this episode, Joshua and Mike pick up where they left off with David’s Pye classic discussion about the value of craftsmanship in a mechanized age: The Nature and Art of Workmanship. This chapter explains that diversity is essential in design and that the artisan’s handwork “picks up where design leaves off” to give us that lively tactile quality that we appreciate at the close proximity of daily use.
SHOW NOTES
Order your copy of the book here: The Nature and Art of Workmanship
Joshua Klein’s article in Issue Seven: ”A Fresh & Unexpected Beauty: Understanding David Pye’s ‘Workmanship of Risk’”
