I’ve found the best way to learn a craft is to see the created item in person. Taking a class is a good way to develop general techniques, but unless you have a good amount of time to study the finished objects for yourself, you will stagnate in your development as an artisan. You’ll never know how it’s “supposed” to look or discover other ways it could be made. I learned to build furniture with hand tools by studying the furniture that was made with those tools. Those objects became my standard and reference. I’ve also taken this approach with the green woodworking crafts: spoon carving, pole-lathe turning, etc. I first learned the techniques by reading and by asking others,...
Throw together a couple $5 words, and you have a solid title for a blog post. Actually, this phrase popped unbidden into my head as I was splitting firewood, contemplating how the process of swinging a hefty edge tool at a standing chunk of hardwood, over and over, helps center my thoughts. There’s something about a repeated manual task, built around muscle memory and a degree of unconscious problem-solving, that functions as a relief valve for the mind. Once I get into the groove with a woodpile, the jacket comes off, the stack of split fuel grows, and the loud problems I’ve been wrestling with seem to sort themselves out. Running is another of these elemental, physical practices that is...
Mortise & Tenon Magazine · 23 – Blacksmithing for Woodworkers
In the latest episode of the podcast, hosts Joshua Klein and Mike Updegraff explore their early explorations into blacksmithing. They talk about their small forge setup, their struggles in the learning process, and the benefits of exploring new crafts all the same. Joshua also talks about his upcoming article in Issue 10.
Mentioned in this Episode:
Custom Tools for Woodworkers by: Joe Petrovich
Mike just reminded me that back in 2019 we took video footage of Harry Bryan’s human-powered bandsaw in action. Just the other day, we posted an excerpt from his article in Issue Eight, in which he describes this arrangement and how he’s used it in his off-grid boatshop for many years. The above is a compilation of few clips of Harry at work. He swears by the simplicity of clever, human-powered equipment applied in just the right ways, and this saw is a great example of just that. I’ve not had a bandsaw in my shop for several years now, but Harry’s rig looks like a blast to build and use. Maybe someday I’ll have to tinker with such an...
Warning: If you do not own a business and have no interest in ever doing so, this post was not written for you. You’re welcome to stay and read on if you’re curious, but don’t say I didn’t warn you. A couple weeks ago, we walked away from our social media accounts and published a blog post explaining the factors in that decision. I won’t rehash all the reasons here, but I will say that we received hundreds of supportive notes, emails, and messages for the decision. It seems there are many people out there who are wary of the personal and social effects of these platforms. One of the most surprising things in all the feedback was the...
My boys love hitting stuff. Especially when something breaks thereafter. Even though I can’t say that I’ve cultivated this particular obsession of theirs, anytime an excavator is within site or a chainsaw within earshot, my three men come bounding out of the woodwork to gawk at the excitement. This has actually made my early attempts at blacksmithing a little difficult, because the first few blows on the anvil seem to bring them running. But around Christmas time, I had to forbid their prying eyes from the forge because I was busy making them froes – a gift I knew would be right up their alley. They have an insatiable urge to impose culture on nature, but they’re much too young...
“Every man looks at his wood-pile with a kind of affection. I love to have mine before my window, and the more chips the better to remind me of my pleasing work. I had an old axe which nobody claimed, with which by spells in winter days, on the sunny side of the house, I played about the stumps which I had got out of my bean-field. As my driver prophesied when I was plowing, they warmed me twice, once while I was splitting them, and again when they were on the fire, so that no fuel could give out more heat.” – Henry David Thoreau, Walden. The most well-known portion of the above quote, concerning the way firewood warms...
My shaving horse is never going to win any awards, but I love it and now can’t imagine my woodshop without it. I documented its construction in Issue Nine, but haven’t yet taken the opportunity to film its features. To remedy that, yesterday we published this brief introduction to my shaving horse. In just a few minutes, I go over the features that I think are most important in a shaving horse design: Continental “dumbhead” style Offset pin in the arm so that it automatically opens when the pedal is released V-notch in the head Some kind on stop at the back of the seat (protruding leg tenons work well). There are a lot of bells and whistles a person...
“Never say there is nothing beautiful in the world anymore. There is always something to make you wonder in the shape of a tree, the trembling of a leaf.”
– Albert Schweitzer
Each new run of M&T merchandise (shirts, stickers, etc.) is a unique design. At any given time, we’ve usually got a few ideas in the pipeline. In fact, I’m currently working on a new sticker which we hope to release in the next few weeks. This approach makes more work for us, but the tradeoff is that it keeps the merchandise fresh and interesting. We do our best to guess the level of interest so that anyone who wants one can get one. Every once in a while, though, we underestimate. Our “Incite Craft” sticker back in 2019 was one of those items. Because it went so quick, we recently decided to order another small run. You can stick these...
