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His Most Interesting Tool
Nasu had a large collection of hand tools, particularly saws and planes. The only power tools we used were a circular saw and electric plane. We did all the final finishing of surfaces with handplanes. Nasu used an axe for rough shaping and for chopping out plugs. Other critical tools are his kasugai (metal staples, or dogs), of which he had several dozen. We used these instead of modern clamps to pull parts together, align planks, and to secure boards tightly while we glued and nailed them. We also weighted the bottom with large stones to hold it in place, and used posts to brace the planks against the ceiling of the workshop. When planking the sides we depended on...
Raising the Ell
Last week was a whirlwind. Not only did we process our meat birds and construct and assemble our house sill system, but we also raised the ell and sheathed its roof before this week of rain. We started the ell raising on Monday, assembling the bents (walls) and connecting them with the massive 8x8 tie beams. Because of the need to resolve final details and to make minor adjustments, it took us the better part of a day to raise the first floor. My family was assisted by Mike, Nevan, and Nevan’s partner Jessie. No machinery required – just a rope, a few pike poles, and a pair of ladders. And muscle. Lots of muscle. The rafters went up on...
Aunt Arie
That year, the kids met the woman who, in the minds of many, came to embody the whole Foxfire project. Arie Carpenter, better known as “Aunt Arie” to the students, was born in 1885 and lived alone in a mountain cabin after her husband passed away. She grew her own food, drew water from a hand-dug well, and in the words of one student, was “the wisest, kindest, most giving human being I had ever met.” Wigginton recorded, “Ask any of those students who met her – even if only once – about Aunt Arie, and chances are each will look down at the ground, pause a moment, and say something like, ‘I loved her.’” Aunt Arie would become a...
