This week in the Daily Dispatch, old concrete gets ripped up, new foundations are laid, and filming begins for an upcoming project. Monday morning began with the sound of diesel engines idling. Our heavy equipment guy, Dave, came with his daughter to remove the old modular slab and begin trenching for the new granite-block foundation. They worked efficiently together and made loads of progress throughout the day. Next, some careful layout. There are plenty of metaphors in existence to demonstrate the necessity of laying a good foundation, so (needless to say) we re-checked every measurement multiple times. The foundation size is based on the top plates of the frame (since we don’t have any original sills), so this was careful,...
All images courtesy DigitaltMuseum. As a master cooper and historian focused on preserving the trade of coopering, I’ve been humbled by what I’ve learned over the past 20 years. Sometimes, my research leads to faraway places like Norway, a place that for many brings to mind Vikings, fjords, trolls, and gnomes. But as a cooper, when I think of Norway I fantasize about staved vessels: butter cups, lidded porridge tubs, barrels of salt fish, and beer tankards. Many people don’t realize that Norwegian culture is one of wood and woodworking – a cooper’s dream! My debts are great, but I am especially indebted to Mortise & Tenon Magazine for supporting me in an upcoming study trip to Norway this September...
Early in my career as a woodworker I had great disdain for the term “Master.” The very mention of the title had me rolling my eyes. Even today I find it a challenging idea to come to terms with, because there are several contexts at the root of this title and all of them have a sliding scale. In this day and age, it is exceedingly difficult to say what makes a master, so let’s not get stuck in that quagmire and instead turn our focus to mastery. Mastery is the never-ending drive to refine our skills. I think mastery can be recognized when we see it. I know I recognized it many times during my “apprentice” years, as well...
This week in the Daily Dispatch, a beard disappears, tools get sharp, and the tub of epoxy comes out. Diving back into the timber frame after poring over Issue Thirteen for weeks was a little bit jarring. It took a couple hours of head-scratching and maneuvering timbers to remember exactly where we were in the process. But soon enough, we began fitting wall braces and laying out a big post-foot repair. It’s good to get moving again. Tuesday started out drizzly and wet – perfect weather for sharpening. A fresh edge makes a world of difference, and it feels good to bring a newly sharpened kit to the worksite. After the weather improved somewhat, Joshua and Nevan took down two big red...
When we take an idea and fashion it out of wood we endeavor to make the intangible tangible. More importantly, we try to make it useful. Shaker craftsmen held that “any thing may, with strict propriety, be called perfect, which perfectly answers the purpose for which it was designed.” Perfection, then, lies somewhere in the relationship between a thing and its purpose, between the idea and the end result. We can point to it even if it cannot be precisely defined. Perfection is suggested by the paint that is chipped away from the table leg by the feet of those who have eaten dinner there. –Jim McConnell, excerpt from “On Perfection: Both Practical & Practiced,” in The First Three Issues...
This week in the Daily Dispatch, Denis Diderot makes a cameo, Joshua hints at an upcoming project, and we discuss old timber treatments (or lack thereof). As I mentioned last week, we’re working hard on Issue Thirteen these days. In pulling together some information for a caption in one of this issue’s articles, I spent some time digging through Diderot’s Encyclopédie. And once again I realize, c'est fantastique. We received a very special gift from a friend for the House by Hand project. Since we have a number of scarf joints to cut and repairs to tackle, he generously sent this our way. An elegant tool, for a more civilized age. As is always the case around here, even...
Over the past decade, my family has been gradually, gleefully destroying our yard. Huge yards – or “lawns,” I guess, if you’re the kind of person who likes crumpets and cricket –make little sense for the high desert ecosystem in which we live. And as the American Southwest endures its worst drought in a millennium and long-lost human skeletons riddle up on the shores of Lake Mead as its water level recedes past the point of no return, it feels indefensibly wasteful to be gleefully dumping precious water on a huge expanse of Kentucky bluegrass whose sole purpose is…. being green and kind of tickly against your bare feet. (I am not, of course, the first guy to point out...
This new cover features the step-by-step components of the manufacture of an 18th-century-style laminated firmer chisel. Author Kenneth Schwarz shipped us these samples from the Colonial Williamsburg shop where he works. The smiths use this set to show visitors how chisels are made by hand. It is truly jaw dropping to see how simple and elegant the process is. If the left-to-right (back cover running into front cover) sequence doesn’t make sense, wait until you read this article. It’s pretty astounding how easy he makes it look. The photography he sent us is super clear and absolutely gorgeous. Hang tight… after reading this article, you’ll find yourself typing “used anvil” into a Craigslist search. To look at the whole Table...
In this roundup of the Daily Dispatch, a table leg snaps off, a beautiful workbench gets some attention, and a funny old photograph receives some colorful commentary. Things have been busy around here, as we’re into the crux of Issue Thirteen editing and design. Before we began announcing the Table of Contents on the blog, Joshua gave a first peek at Issue Thirteen on the Dispatch. This is the fun part. One of the articles in this issue features throwback, vintage-style photography with the look of those early 20th-century woodworking manuals. This kind of photography presents some interesting challenges. A friend forwarded along a Skinner auction listing for a beautiful, centuries-old workbench featuring a number of brilliant design details. Lots...
This post is part of a blog series revealing the table of contents of upcoming Issue Thirteen. As is our custom, we’ll be discussing one article per weekday in order to give you a taste of what is come. The subscription window which includes Issue Thirteen is open now. To get Issue Thirteen when it ships early October, you can sign up for a subscription here. If you aren’t sure about your subscription status, you can reach out to Grace at info@mortiseandtenonmag.com. Keep in mind though, if you are set to auto-renew, you never have to worry about getting the next issue of Mortise & Tenon. Issue Thirteen is coming your way soon! ___________________________________ Brendan Gaffney – “Root & Branch: Rediscovering the Uttermost Parts of a Tree”...
