Templates have been in use for a very long time, probably as long as people have been making things, simply because they are the best way to transfer shapes with repeatable accuracy. Wheelwrights used them to lay out curved wheel parts (felloes), coopers for shaping tapered barrel staves, and carpenters for anything from fancy stair trim to porch brackets. Even centuries ago, furniture makers used patterns as I do today: for laying out the shapely curves of a pleasing table leg or case foot, for chair legs, the serpentine curve of a tabletop, and more. An indication of how much patterns were relied upon – and just one of many examples – is in the unique shape of cabriole legs,...
In my most recent newsletter email sent out last Friday, I explained that the end of this year has encouraged me into an even deeper reflection than usual about the work done in the past 12 months and what I hope to accomplish in the next 12. I mentioned that there are so many different motivations people have in taking up a handcraft, and I submitted a query. “With all the trinkets of mass production only one-clickTM away, why would a person take up tools to make their own things?” I asked. “Why bother? Why are you going to pick up tools in 2023? And how are you going to fit it into your life?” On Monday morning, Mike and I...
When the time comes around to pore over our authors’ newly submitted rough drafts, I can't help but reflect on the process for past issues of the magazine. It might be because we print the magazine “just” twice per year, or because we invest ourselves so heavily into our authors’ worlds and spend a ton of time with each and every sentence, or because we intentionally don’t recycle content, but every published article sticks out in memory with a funny or compelling story behind it. Some, you might easily guess. For example, spending days hanging out with Roy Underhill for Issue Eight was a riot. We went for lunch one day at his favorite local burrito joint, then strolled to...
Because of the way our production schedule is arranged, the change from December to January always brings a new beginning. Some folks think of the year’s turning as a trifle – just another day. But for us, it summons a complete change in focus. After a week’s worth of holiday off, Mike and I join back up to start the next project: the upcoming issue of the magazine. This week, we’ve begun wading through Issue Fourteen’s articles and planning the cover shot. Each issue is like a jigsaw puzzle. All the pieces first get laid out on the table and then we begin to sift and arrange them into a coherent order. And that is what new beginnings are all...
True to my initial vision, I had determined to keep my methods and tools for blacksmithing old-school. I banished the arc welder early on and sought ways to bring my shop closer to those of the 18th century in most (but not all) ways. Not only did I want to keep my work fun and interesting, but I wanted to preserve a sadly neglected side of blacksmithing: the historical approach. I greatly enjoy the “experimental archaeology” side of things, figuring out “how they might have done it.” This decision has invoked criticism from some of my friends who are full-time smiths, and even after three years, with a grinder as the only power tool I use in the blacksmithing shop,...
