Philosophy is a hard sell. Pondering questions about the nature of knowledge, reason, existence, etc. is something that most folks have a hard time connecting to. At the level of ordinary, daily experience, we go to work and feel affection for our loved ones. In our downtime, we may ponder why it is that we gravitate toward certain perspectives or why things are the way they are, but few are able to devote their lives to mulling these things over. I know I have so much on my plate – family, business, farm, church, etc. – that I can only give so much to other things. But anytime I get to learn from those who have done all the mental...
It’s easy to bewail the current norm of “disposable furniture.” A flat-pack desk or shelf is purchased and lasts just a couple of years in a dorm room or office, only to be dragged to the curb when the back pops out or the drawer bottoms sag. In the past, this kind of wastefulness was unheard of. Objects were repaired and kept in use, often for centuries. It’s great fun to discover clever and unique repair solutions in old furniture. Take the example of this ladderback rocker. My guess is that the lower rear rung was a weak point and must have come loose periodically, so an ingenious (and mostly hidden) application of twisted wire under that rung was tightened...
The video I posted the other day showing the Shaper Origin handheld CNC machine generated a number of thoughtful responses. The narrator made a few interesting assertions, but the one the was most peculiar was the first: “Making things should be easy.” This seemed to function as a premise for the sales pitch for a machine that, although pushed by a person’s hands, would “continuously fine-tune the spindle’s position” and in case the user wanders off course, “the blade automatically retracts.” This tells me that the express goal of the Shaper Origin is to ensure that “making things [is] easy.” It can’t be denied that technological developments such as this machine facilitate the repetition and speed required of large-scale...
Editor’s note: This post is the first from our friend Cameron Turner, an accomplished woodworker based in Englewood, Colorado. We met Cameron at our 2019 summer workshop, after which he wrote an article for us about reproducing Henry David Thoreau’s desk. Mike and I have had many fruitful conversations with him over the past couple years, and we decided that we wanted our readers to benefit from his insights into woodworking, the natural world, and teaching young people. So, we invited Cameron to begin blogging alongside us. You’re in for a treat. John Cranch, Plasterer (1807) I’m not one of those perverse souls who actually enjoys hanging drywall, taping, and mudding. I do, however, deeply respect the people who do. The...
Charles Hammond manufactured tools in Philadelphia from 1869-1914. Sometime in that period, before his operation moved to Ogontz, PA in 1914, this hammer head was produced. I haven’t weighed it, but “hefty” is a good technical description. The neck of the hammer puts the face nearly 2-1/4” from the handle, giving plenty of clearance for the hand. I really like this tool. The old handle snapped just below the head while prying up a stubborn nail with the claws last year. Never a good feeling, but it happens. I drove the remaining handle stub out of the head and put it up on a shelf above my bench until I found or made a suitable replacement handle. I wanted to...
Mortise & Tenon Magazine · 27 – A Tour of the M&T Headquarters Take a walk with Mike and Joshua around the M&T headquarters and the rest of Joshua’s property. They provide a tour of many features: the blacksmith shop, the woodshed, the outhouse, and oak logs for another workbench. Then they make their way around the pond and drop by the chickens, goats, and pigs. Joshua’s kids ran amok, and the guys drop in on Joshua’s wife who was busy milking the goats. They complete the tour with a discussion of the upcoming Klein family 1810 cape house restoration project. MENTIONED IN THIS PODCAST: The First Three Issues Hardbound Book Blacksmith shop project: The Another Work is Possible book...
Image from @overthewireless My introduction to woodworker Kieran Binnie was through a social media campaign he ran back in 2015 called “Community is…” Kieran had asked woodworkers from around the world to share what they believed community was to them on their woodworking journey. People from all over responded. I watched it draw them together. As he described, “The [online woodworking] community is not something I went in search of. But when I stumbled across it, I found woodworkers with a wealth of very different experiences, unified by a passion for the various woodwork crafts, and intent on sharing knowledge and preserving skills. This willingness to share information, discuss experiences, and most importantly, to encourage and inspire each other, is...
Mike and I are wrapping up the next batch of Boxed Sets this week, and I think we’ve hit our stride. This round sped along wonderfully, and I am delighted with how these have come together. The final mash-up of rough and refined perfectly embodies the M&T vision. One of the techniques we’re using through this project is setting the dovetail baseline depth a hair deeper than the thicknesses of the mating board in order to ensure that the pins and tails protrude rather than sit below the surface. This is important for the project for one primary reason: we wanted to retain the fore-planed texture of the boards, which would be meddled with if we had to plane the...
Anyone who has spent time wandering through the woods of New England has come across an old, mossy line of stacked rocks in their explorations. Stone walls are ubiquitous around here, as much a part of the New England character as thick accents or a complete disdain for the New York Yankees. I’ve stumbled across them in deep woods, far from any homes or roads, where they meander out of sight in both directions or disappear beneath a deep layer of loam accumulated from centuries of fallen leaves. These walls offer a tangible link to the labors of the past – after all, someone’s hands carried each of these rocks, set them in place, and wiped a sweaty brow before...
