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From the M&T Daily Dispatch 

The spring-pole lathe operates on a very simple principle. A cord is tied to the tip of a sapling fastened overhead, which connects to a treadle on the floor after wrapping around the workpiece. As the treadle is depressed, the work rotates toward the turner to engage cutting, also pulling the sapling down into tension. When the treadle is released, the sapling snaps the treadle back up into position, ready for another cut. This back-and-forth pumping enables the turner to cut 50 percent of the time. Although it’s not as efficient as a continuous-motion lathe, I wouldn’t call this work slow. It’s hard to do any hot-dogging with foot power, but a steady rhythm does get the job done. One...

From the M&T Daily Dispatch 

“Skill” has fallen on hard times lately. Instead of developing the dexterity to hold a tool properly and use it accurately, modern woodworkers tend to reach for some sort of clever device. There are tons of these jigs on the market: devices to hold your edge tool for sharpening, magnetic doohickies to guide your dovetail saw, and fences that perfectly square your edge planing. And then there are the shopmade variety: blocks used for square chisel chops, mitering devices, etc., etc. No one can deny that these gadgets are undoubtedly handy in production settings, but at the same time we must admit that they can also become a liability in a culture that is obsessed with devices. We are all...

From the M&T Daily Dispatch 

From the M&T Daily Dispatch 

Besides having a particularly fitting (and frankly awesome) name for a rugged 19th-century trapper, Manly Hardy was a celebrity of sorts. He had gained fame in central Maine and beyond for his knowledge of plant and animal species of the North Woods, and for his almost legendary exploits of wilderness skill and endurance. In an era of lumbermen, river drivers, and hunters, Hardy knew the woods and waters better than anyone. In the fine style of 1800s naturalists (such as John James Audubon, whose taxonomical methodology for studying new or rare species was shoot first, ask questions later), Hardy put together an extraordinary collection of more than three thousand mounted specimens of North American birds. And he knew how to...

From the M&T Daily Dispatch 

    In this episode, the guys give an update on the House By Hand project – the granite foundation was constructed, the sill system is in place, the ell is raised and sheathing is underway, and things are getting buttoned up for winter. Joshua and Mike discuss the ins and outs of repairing old timbers with both structural and aesthetic considerations. There’s a fine line between “patina” and crud, and a major element of the art of restoration is knowing and respecting the difference. Show Notes: The House by Hand project Issue Thirteen The M&T Daily Dispatch John Watson’s Artifacts in Use: The Paradox of Restoration and the Conservation of Organs  

From the M&T Daily Dispatch