We are excited to announce that our latest production, The Makers’ Marks: An In-depth Study of Handmade Furniture, is now available for purchase. This online course is an ambitious investigation into a number of examples of chairs (Post-and-rung, Windsor, and stump chairs), tables (worktables, tea table, drop leaf), desks (slant-front and standing), a chest of drawers, and a hanging cupboard. It’s quite an assortment of workmanship that displays everything from refined precision to humble utilitarianism. This course covers the gamut. The course is the kind of thing we’ve hoped to do for a long time. Over the years of writing and teaching about authentic handwork, we’ve become convinced that people need to see it to really understand it. But without...
If you’ve haven’t yet, you should read Chris’ dedication to the late Nancy Hiller. It is a beautiful piece and every word of it rings to true as I think back on my friendship with Nancy. And Chris is not exaggerating in his portrayal of her tenacity and commitment. Nancy had an extreme dedication to excellence. As copy editor on Another Work is Possible, Nancy bent over backwards for us when things went awry in the production process. She was obsessed with getting things just right. In the midst of the production collaboration, there was a mix-up after copy editing that potentially compromised some areas of the text, but there was no way of knowing where without re-reading the whole thing....
This week, Mike and I are in the final stages of producing a new video course designed to be a heads-first dive into the guts of genuine antique chairs, chests, desks, tables, etc. We’re calling it The Makers’ Marks: An In-depth Study of Handmade Furniture. We’ve been looking for ways to make more use of our online course format, seeing as the Apprenticeship Program has been such a smashing success. It turns out that the power of video to bring you right up close to the action is just the ticket for conveying certain things about the craft. And showing genuine pre-industrial workmanship is definitely one of those things. In this upcoming course (scheduled for release at the end of the...
Through Genki-san’s recommendation, I visited a traditional tool shop in the northeastern part of Tokyo that specializes in high-quality woodworking tools. The visit was enriching, almost like a spiritual experience. I visited with the owner, Inoue-san, a very knowledgeable man who, besides selling tools to professionals and hobbyists, teaches woodworking at a nearby high school. Before this visit, I purchased my woodworking tools online, so seeing and holding the tools like this was eye-opening. I told Inoue-san I was looking for a smaller plane and a dovetailing chisel, and over a cup of coffee he explained which tools would suit me based on my needs and my budget. After I settled on the plane and chisel that I wanted, Inoue-san...
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...
