Some people hate them. It’s thought that this particular species of lumber is glorified firewood, a slash species suitable for the pulp mill or crate-making, but not for fine joinery. (Or even rustic stuff, for that matter). And, look, there’s no debating that the cottonwood is no Honduran mahogany or English brown oak. It’s cantankerous when it dries. Its surface fuzzes into splintery Velcro when you send it zipping through a planer. The reaction wood can be nightmarish to work. Its humble yellow-cream grain is often devoid of figure. The rancid smell it gives off if you cut it while it’s wet will make your eyes roll back into your head. And arborists and parks departments here in Denver...
As we mentioned in the podcast yesterday, we are excited to offer Danielle Rose Byrd’s new book, The Handcarved Bowl, for sale in our store. Danielle is an amazingly talented artist – her work speaks for itself. Whimsical and beautiful, her bowls, trays, and panels push the boundaries of practical art in new directions, while maintaining a connection to the age-old practice of carving woodenware. The Handcarved Bowl is the best book we’ve seen on the practice of creating a carved wooden bowl from beginning to end. From selecting and maintaining the proper tools, to harvesting material in the woods, to design and execution, Danielle has knocked it out of the park with this reference. There’s even a chapter full of stretches...
Mortise & Tenon Magazine · 28 – Should Work Be Easy? This question of ends (goals) and means (methods) is an important issue in woodworking discussions. Some swear by hand tools and wouldn’t touch a table saw with a 10' pole. Others see hand tools as inherently backward and nostalgic. Many say each has a place but are fuzzy about what that place is exactly. In this episode, Mike and Joshua tackle this thorny question head on. When do they choose pre-industrial methods over modern technology? Don’t they see the irony in podcasting and blogging about hand tools? How do they see these things as coexisting? In this episode, they suggest that before examining our “means,” we would...
The first time I saw the lathe assembled, I was bemused. With the crotch wood on one side and the plank on the other, it comes across as quaint and impractical. On close examination, it is clear that this lathe saw years of serious use. Of all the discoveries made during this research, the lathe might be one of the most exciting. At the Fisher house, there are several storage areas with unidentified objects. Early on, I spent considerable time sorting through all the objects but was unable to identify anything notable. After months of sorting through the archives, I opened one box that contained, among other things, a handful of old photographs of objects in the barn. There was...
“We have spent millennia devising ways to avoid this sort of physical work, and yet we always return to it. It is a part of us.”
– Roy Underhill, The Woodwright’s Shop
Boxed Set Batch #3 is just about complete. We still have a few backs to fit before we carve the wooden pins to fasten them in place. Depending on the task I am doing at the moment, I will tell you the one I am currently working on is my favorite of the whole project, because each step has its own idiosyncrasies and joys. It’s hard to choose just one. But today, making and fitting the backs is my favorite. A heavily set fore plane driving down a white pine board lets out the most distinct zipper sound: R-R-R-R-I-I-I-P-P-P! And then the meaty shavings thud on the floor. One time at our booth at Fine Woodworking Live, Mike and I...
Green woodworking with hand tools isn’t just about carving spoons or turning Windsor chairs. The method is immensely practical for building all kinds of outside-the-box structures in the woods, whether a log footbridge to span a stream or a lean-to for a quiet resting place. A few months ago, we heard from Seth Gebel, owner of Backyard Trail Builds, LLC, and proprietor of the popular (with millions of views) “Backyard Trail Builds” YouTube channel. Seth constructs incredible mountain biking features in the woods, and lately has been focusing his efforts on what he calls “Primal” builds, utilizing only hand tools. These creations involve clever hand-cut joinery, timber that is harvested, rived, and hewn on-site, pegged decking, and even incorporates reverse-twisted cordage from...
Taking the time or finding the resources to be able to pursue craft knowledge can be hard when you’re a fixed-income retiree, a strapped grad student, or the breadwinner of a young and growing family. We’ve established the Mortise & Tenon Craft Research Grant to help folks from all walks of life to make these opportunities possible. If you’ve been intending to apply but haven’t yet sent the application out in the mail, we recommend you do so ASAP, because the deadline is only two weeks away: June 1st. Mike and I already have a stack to read through and we’ve heard from others hoping to apply. We’ll be selecting the first two grant recipients in the first...
Design in its best sense means analyzing a problem and seeking the best solution. In order for more people to share in the joy of shaping the things they use, designs need simplifying in all fields. There is greater beauty in simpler forms and greater efficiency in saving materials, time, and energy. The important role of design in education has so often been ignored. Likewise, for too long the crafts have had an aura of the unattainable. This appears to function as a sort of psychological protective tariff for the members of an exclusive club. Frequently, emphasis is put on the most difficult designs rather than the simplest. This is another example of a wasteful approach to life, preserving an...
We just published a new video in our “Setting Up Shop” video series. This time, I introduce you to my spring-pole lathe. Besides an overview of the basic function and a few design considerations, I discuss a few additional features I’ve added since my article about the construction in Issue Three.
Having been trained to do benchwork, I never envisioned having a lathe in my shop until a few years ago. I’ve had one kicking around outside for several years, but now that I have this guy settled in as a part of the workflow, I can’t imagine my shop without it.
– Joshua
