We just posted a new installment in our “Setting Up Shop” video series. In this video, Mike discusses the stump we use for hewing and riving in our woodshop. We consider this an essential worksurface in a hand-tool shop, because the ability to swing a hatchet or wield a froe should be only a few steps from the bench. The more accessible it is, the more you will use it. There really is no excuse to not have a stump in your shop. It’s dirt cheap, takes up almost no floor space, and requires no construction. And you can heat your house with it when it’s used up in the future. Get yourself a stump. You won’t regret it....
“[C]ircumstances of the jobs performed by carpenters, plumbers, and auto mechanics vary too much for them to be executed by idiots; they require circumspection and adaptability. One feels like a man, not a cog in a machine. The trades are then a natural home for anyone who would live by his own powers, free not only of deadening abstraction but also of the insidious hopes and rising insecurities that seem to be endemic in our current economic life.”
– Matthew Crawford, Shop Class as Soulcraft
Mike and I were working on boxes today and remarked about how delighted we were that we’ve not screwed up any pieces thus far. Every joint has come together with only minor fettling and all look nice and tight after paring. We should have knocked on wood. Within minutes, we had to abandon two side pieces, one from a check that emerged and the other from human error. I love moments of humbling irony such as this. They remind us in a small way that no matter how many times think we’ve got life covered, there is always the opportunity for a faceplant around the corner. It’s a mercy to be reminded of this principle in trivial circumstances such...
For those of you who have been dying to dig into Mortise & Tenon Issues One, Two, or Three but have been unable to secure a copy of from the original printing, today’s your day. As I discussed on Monday, we have decided to republish all of these articles in a one-volume hardbound book we’re calling, The First Three Issues. The pre-order window is now open. We had Issue One in stock until early 2019, and when we announced our inventory was running low, the remaining supply depleted rapidly. Then Issue Two sold out later that year. Since then, we’ve had no option for folks to get either of these issues. Being a print-only publication has its disadvantages: massive printing...
When you use your tools regularly, you begin to acquire a sense of what works best. Through trial and error, one tool proves more effective than another; one way of doing an operation is demonstrably quicker or easier. It’s sometimes better to deeply scribe that line with a knife than to try to use a saw to establish the shoulder, etc. One such operation is ripping a piece of stock to width. As we work on the dovetailed boxes for the M&T Boxed Sets, there are several pieces (the bottom and the back) that must be ripped down just a bit to their final dimensions. Only a small amount of stock must be removed; in the case of the bottom,...
“What we call green woodworking today carried no such particular distinction in the past. Vernacular woodcraft began in the forest, and made great use of the metamorphosing properties of wood as it changes from soft and saturated to hard and dry. Most everything a typical household needed, from treen to transportation, was produced through this process. Nowadays, much of that intimacy with this raw material has been lost as modern woodworkers turn to machines that rely on tame wood and massive infrastructure to function properly. But trees are not tame, and require knowledge and patience to work in the old way. There are valuable returns for the effort, not just in terms of fulfillment for the individual maker, but in...
The “bench hook” (commonly referred to today as a “planing stop”) is an essential workholding feature on my bench. This L-shaped piece of iron is filed with teeth to bite into the end grain of the board to be planed. Peter Nicholson described it well in his 1812 book Mechanic’s Companion: “Near to the further or fore end A B [of the bench] is an upright rectangular prismatic pin a, made to slide stiffly in a mortise through the top. This pin is called the bench hook, which ought to be so tight as to be moved up or down only by a blow of a hammer or mallet. The use of the bench hook is to be keep the...
We’ve waited a while to make this announcement, but now that Issue Three is completely sold out of our store, we’re letting you know about our upcoming book release: a hardbound republication of Issues 1-3. We will include every single page of those three issues in the book, but this is not a simple reprint. This book – titled The First Three Issues – includes behind-the-scenes photographs and stories as well as additional essays from M&T editors Michael Updegraff, Jim McConnell, and me about M&T’s distinctive vision and role in the woodworking community. On top of that, Christopher Schwarz of Lost Art Press (does he even need an introduction?) has written a wonderful foreword. Chris was the first person I consulted...
We launched the M&T Research Grant program at the beginning of the year as a new opportunity for artisans and researchers to explore an area of interest and share their work with our readers. This program is intended not only for those who might benefit from financial support, but also for those who want to get behind new areas of study and invest in growing a deeper understanding of handcraft. We offer an option for folks to donate to the grant program and receive regular updates on the work going on. But we also wanted to thank these generous donors in another way. Back in 2015, when Joshua was working through his vision of what this magazine would look like,...
Mortise & Tenon Magazine · 26 – How Many Tools Do We Really Need? In this latest podcast episode, Joshua and Mike discuss the sweet spot between bare-knuckled minimalism and cupidinous hoarderism (also known as Tool Acquisition Disorder). Although we all can appreciate a sweet new tool, in real-life projects, the most experienced and pragmatic craftsmen tend to work with a small array of cherished tools. Joshua talks about why there is one chisel he loves. Mike echoes that one particular plane from his collection finds regular use. This simple, pragmatic approach is good food for thought for those just entering into hand-tool woodworking. Don’t buy the hype of the advertisers – you don’t need much to do...
