How do I not already own this?
Why? Oh why?
Woodworking by Mike Jarvi
This video has it all; raw logs, chainsaw, lumber mill, cutting, chopping, steaming… It’s a remarkable process to watch.
See more of his work HERE: http://www.mikejarvi.com/
WARNING, LOTS OF NOISY POWER TOOLS!
Dovetail Instruction
Instructions from a real master craftsman. I am completely hooked on dovetails and the timing for this couldn’t be better. This is a real class-like instructional video and I can hardly express my appreciation for his work. It’s over a half hour long but worth the watch.
From the YouTube description:
“The dovetail is the essential box joint. It is the strongest way to join two pieces of wood at the corner. Although there are many variations on a theme with this joint mastering the most simple form is the most difficult and important step.
To find out more about Paul Sellers and the project he is involved with visit https://paulsellers.com.”
J L Hammond, a working history
An excellent post from Michael Langford (michaellangforddotorg). I have come across this somewhere before, I think through Tom Hodgkinson’s Idler essays. Anyway, another important, but nearly lost, part of our history and how we surrender so willingly to authority.
J L Hammond and Barbara Hammond are two of the greatest historians you’ve probably never heard of. In the early years of the twentieth century, they were commissioned by the British Labor Research Department to investigate the social and economic impacts of enclosure, displacement, and attempts to organize labor (combinations), up to the Reform Bill of 1832…
Practically, their work discusses the effects of enclosure, the systematic disruption of English village life by taking of common land by the aristocracy. Enabled in large part by the Glorious Revolution of 1688, enclosure became an instrument of massive land theft by the titled classes, legitimized by Parliament. Through the penal laws and the practice of transportation, plantations in the American colonies were provided with cheap labor.
The Concentration of Power, the controversial first chapter of The Village Labourer, was only printed in the first edition of the book.
“…differs from…
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Weekend Sawbench
A Saw horse or a full-size workbench, for Hobbits?
Living where I do, without a proper workshop, I have moved to a more portable setup. Along with this, I have pared down by letting go a number of cumbersome tools. However, a flat, solid surface is sorely missed.
I find myself working on the seat of the shave-horse or on top of saw horses quite a bit with my small table-saw serving as a layout table (when the project is small enough). And yes, I do miss the full-size table saw for ripping long boards.
A little over a year ago I began scheming for a small, pre-industrial-style setup. Something an itinerant carpenter or bodger would be likely to use. It needed to be easy to move and store but provide a solid clamping and layout surface. I wanted it at the same height as my shave-horse so that they will work in concert for large projects. So, when my friend Mick gave me a thick, rough-sawn maple board last summer, I decided it was to become the top of a new saw bench.
First, before the mail comes flooding in;
there is no perfect formula for a saw bench! For thoughts about height, look here: “A Proper Saw Horse.”
There are some wrong and right things to do, but all in all, there are as many combinations as there are woodworkers. Much depends on what you make and how you work. I am 6’1″ and after much changing and experimentation, I use 22″ tall benches for hand work.
For what it’s worth, here is the bench I came up with last weekend. It maybe grew a little too much, trying to more than a saw horse, but still not a Roubo.
Materials: All of the materials for this project, other than lag bolts and a few stainless steel screws, came from the scrap pile; all recycled lumber except the top which came from Mick. Legs and bracing are constructed from oak while the till bottom is dimensional pine from an old shelf. The legs are splayed at 12 degrees in both dimensions. Dog holes for stops and holdfasts will be added soon. The little vise was a last minute addition as it’s never a bad thing to have too many ways to hold things. This increased the project price to just over $20 US.
Had I considered the vise sooner I probably would have positioned the legs to place it closer to the left end but this will due. The little hardware till on the top will hold those wily drill bits and pesky chisels looking for an escape as well as corralling screws, pencils, and marking knife. More work will be done, and I’m considering a second till near the bottom of the legs to store the shooting board and bench hook as well as a safe place to set a saw while working outdoors.
Comments and criticisms are certainly welcome and more information about this project will be forthcoming in the near future.
One Manifesto
Why we MAKE things. In a world where consumer goods have become cheap (in every sense) why bother creating something you could just go out and buy? I don’t know for sure, but it fills some need within myself to know that much of what I own or use was made by me or an actual craftsperson.
“But my own reasons for woodworking don’t have to do with the chance to work with quality tools, or even to produce quality work. I think what captures me is the opportunity to do something with my own hands.
When I see all the top of the line machines being put to use on some woodworking shows, I imagine that process taking me further away from feeling the wood being worked.”Have a look at Wesley’s post and follow it over to Paul Sellers’ . They are both worth reading.
From Sellers’ blog:
“The quest for success was no longer how much I made but how I made and what I made and with what I made. Here I found peace as I sliced my handsaw down a long board and made rails for a clock. Here I found peace as I sharpened my chisels and carved wood until a tenon quietly emerged from chips on my benchtop. I understood the harmony of marriage when the tenon slid inside its mortise and the dovetails interlocked to marry for life. I began to understand what dedication meant. “
A very small and random selection of the simple little things I’ve made from the past decade. Nothing like Paul’s work but they are intimate to my soul as I know I made them.
If you don’t already follow Peter Sellers blog, I invite you to go read his most recent post, Lifting Your Spirits – Working With Your Own Hands!.
I don’t know if he’d call it a manifesto, but that’s what I interpret it as.
I don’t consider this view to be my manifesto, either. What struck me while reading it was that all of us can choose to do woodworking for our own reasons. For me, the invasion of plastics doesn’t trouble me. The cheapness and inferiority of tools and things made with tools is what I don’t like.
My Veritas Carcass saws, with their “molded spine that incorporates stainless-steel powder for weight, glass fiber for stiffness, and an advanced polymer binder” backs, are great tools, in my opinion.
But my own reasons for woodworking don’t have to do with the chance to work with quality…
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Traveler’s Life
Getting back to our theme of traveler’s, caravans, and other wanderers of the world… a few images from Pascal Dagnan-Bouveret a French Naturalist Painter of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
I believe I would enjoy siting around this campfire.
Once a common scene, now virtually lost in an era of loud, fume-belching machinery.
A peaceful morning cooking breakfast in the morning dew. The caravan is obscured by the smoke of the campfire.
What is Irish stick fighting?
Nothing like a good piece of wood when you’re in a tight spot. Working in remote places with a bad dog problem, a walking stick or staff can be quite a comfort. You can carry one without looking (too much) like a thug even.
You’ve probably heard of Irish stick before or at least if you clicked on this article you are no doubt curious about what it really is. The art called bataireacht or boiscín is a peculiar martial art not only because of its history but also because it has only recently begun to rise back from nearly total extinction. It is known around certain circles such as Historical European Martial Arts but even in Ireland you will find very few who know of its existence and even fewer who practice it.
This article is meant as a complete basic overview of the history and practice of Irish stick. It will be part of a book to be published on the subject of the history and techniques of this art.
1. Deep roots
like many old martial arts the origins of Irish stick are extremely hard if not impossible to determine. Mankind has…
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Music is Magic
Restoring a Disston D8 Thumb Hole Rip Saw
This is an excellent documentation for restoring an old saw. So many are out there just waiting for a bit of new life.
While scouring antique malls looking for tools, I ran across this nice rip saw stuck in the back corner of a booth. It’s a Disston D8 Thumb Hole saw and considering it’s age, it was in very nice condition. Even though it had some rust on the blade, I knew it would clean up just fine.
The first thing I did was take the saw apart and dip the blade in a bath of water with food grade citric acid. I let it sit overnight allowing the acid to eat all the rust off the blade.
While the blade cooked, I focused my attention on the handle. Using Soy-Gel paint stripper, I cleaned all the gook and grime off the apple wood handle using a steel wool pad.
Here’s the handle wiped off after just a few minutes of paint stripper on it.
In the morning, I took the blade…
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Preindustrial Craftsmanship 