When Mike and I started discussing the potential of M&T Boxed Sets, we joked about making a pile of boxes completely by hand with traditional joinery. We laughed to ourselves and began looking into other options. Cardboard sleeves? Machine-made custom boxes? Hmmm. None of it seemed like something that would reflect the M&T vision. As we approached the production of Issue Ten, we knew we had exhausted every other option and our time to find an alternative was running out. After we closed off every other path, we knew these boxes needed to be handmade. We decided that since we were going to be doing this ourselves, we might as well design them to be the embodiment of the...
“The earliest depiction of the foot-powered spring-pole lathe is from the 13th century. An illustration (above) from the Bible of St. Louis (circa 1226-1234) shows a turner making a bowl. The pole is seen pulled into tension downward by means of a cord attached to a treadle.
Mike and I recently decided to begin a little YouTube series dedicated to the key considerations in setting up a hand tool shop. We plan to walk through the basic kit tool by tool, discussing essential bench features, etc. The first of the series was posted this afternoon – Mike begins with a look at the shop space itself. You’ll notice in the background some of the white pine stock for our first batch of the Issues 1-10 Boxed Sets, all planed and clamped flat. This week, Mike and I have been working out the stock in preparation for joinery. There will be lots of tails, dadoes, and grooves to cut. Can’t wait. We’ve already been fielding emails from...
If you’ve been listening to our podcast or you saw my webinar for North House last Thursday (the recording of which is available here), you know I can go on and on about Albert Borgmann’s book Technology and the Character of Contemporary Life. This book, more than any other, has helped me think through a way that a person’s philosophy of technology can work out in practical life. Though many technology critics and philosophers make astute observations, I’ve found that few are able to give much real-world advice. Borgmann is one of the exceptions. Though no lightweight in the intellectual arena (he is one of the leaders of his field), Borgmann has a real concern to teach people how to...
The humidity drops to desert-level lows in New England during the wintertime. Our pine floors become gappy, and the old frame-and-panel doors throughout the house close a little bit differently than they do in the summertime. Wood is hygroscopic, constantly absorbing or releasing moisture in response to changes in humidity and temperature. And when moisture leaves, wood shrinks. This can cause all kinds of interesting problems if you’re a boatbuilder, a cooper, or if you happen to swing a hammer or axe. Many of my wooden-handled tools seem just a little loose right now – not dangerously so, but enough to be aware of it. I find myself thumping the bottom of my hammer on the benchtop before using it, just...
As mentioned in our most recent podcast episode, we are seeing the end of Issue Three coming soon. A long time ago, you all cleared out our inventory of Issue One and Issue Two. Now, Three is not far behind. We will be posting some excerpts here on the blog until this one goes out of stock. If you don’t have a copy of Issue Three, now is the time to order. Honestly, we get emails all the time from folks begging for Issues One and Two, so we recommend ordering Issue Three right now before it’s gone for good. In related news, we just revealed in that same podcast episode mentioned above that Mike and I are beginning...
Tomorrow night, I will be broadcasting a live webinar from the M&T workshop for the North House Folk School. I’ve turned down almost all of these offers over the past year, because… Zoom. But this is a rare exception. I’ve long wanted to get to know the North House folks better because our interests and visions overlap in several important ways. Also, I’ve been anxious to get talking about my research into technology and craftsmanship. If this webinar is the way I can do these two things right now, so be it. When asked about a topic I’d like to cover, I knew exactly what it would be. The webinar’s description is below: “With Ready Hands: Exploring the Interplay...
OK, OK. We give up. After almost two years of fielding email requests for DVDs of our Apprenticeship: Foundations instructional video, we finally decided to do another run. When we ran out, we assumed that everyone who wanted a DVD rather than streaming would’ve purchased already, but it turns out we were wrong. Streaming is not for some folks. So, at long last, the Foundations DVD is back in stock. We also have our other Apprenticeship videos in DVD: Tables and Greenwood. We believe that with these three videos, you should have ample instruction to build most any item of furniture. Yes, each form has its own construction, but all the basic skills are laid out in these three...
Mortise & Tenon Magazine · 24 – Our Tools Shape Us
In this new episode of our podcast, Joshua and Mike discuss the idea that “we shape our tools, and thereafter our tools shape us” – the very theme that runs through Issue Ten (which is now officially in the hands of the printer). They look at several of the upcoming articles and discuss how they were impacted by them as they worked through the editorial process. Issue Ten is full of deep, thoughtful reflection on our tools and the work of our hands.
The Issue Ten Cover Design The table of contents has now been fully released and this is the last call for the Issue Ten subscription window! Tomorrow, Sunday, February 28th, is the last day to get in on the big send-out to subscribers. If you want to be in the initial release, make sure you order a subscription here. The Issue Ten Table of Contents Will Wheeler - “An Unexpected Gift: Discovering Calm in a Modern Apprenticeship” Jeff Miller - “An Exercise in Precision & Randomness: Replicating David Pye’s Fluting Engine” Al Breed - Book Recommendation Joshua Klein – “Ready Hands: A Letter to My Sons” John Ruskin - “Savageness” George Walker – “A Whisper from the Past: The Lessons...
