Of Riven Oak A day past, a plane glides along the wood held in the vise and back and forth unending motion takes away the roughness from the club- driven froe-riven oak. The woodland ’round smells different when the oak, now in split, square staves, lean away from the dirt and the dew-soaked leaf-covered ground. My…
I traced my fingers over the planes in the shop this morning. Working on the plane book is rejuvenating and I should have published it years ago when I first wrote it. I think that am improving it because of my increased understanding of you. A book I really enjoy was written by Aldren Watson a long…
I’m working on my next book which happens to be about the woodworking planes I have relied on throughout my woodworking life. I will be adding a film with it available as a DVD. Fact is, planes comprise a wide range of categories and I want to make certain that you know which ones are…
A craftsman cuts the tree from the forest, reshapes its beauty into new form useful to life. He cares for the tree and concerns himself before the cut severs the stem from life that supports it. Once the cut comes it cannot be reversed. This is the way of the craftsman. The craftsman works for…
I’ve neglected this aspect for a few weeks while I have been away. And now, getting ready for the wedding, I have many important things that pull at the minutes of each day. Being creative means engaging in the everyday of life, yet seeing life beyond the mundane. I think I spend much of my…
Yes, I know. It’s cheaper to buy new garden benches than buy the wood to restore them, but at least I can beef them up with sturdier wood and get what I want, which is the reason I never bought one of the kind in the first place. John repaints the bench ends with dark…
I recall these words from time to time and dwell on them for reflection. Quotes taken out of context somehow become diminished because the value relates to the whole and written text usually gives a context by which the words find meaning. The quote above has a certain expectation to it for me. Children soak…
Notes from my journal Time was that a man who worked diligently to master his skills in a chosen craft applied to be accepted by the Guild as an approved workman skilled in his field. Those examining him were fellow craftsman in the Guild. The applicant would be time-served, both as an apprentice and a…
Notes from my journal For some time I have talked fairly extensively about the creative sphere of work and the creative workspace. This is not so much ethos and philosophy, but how or where we working craftsmen develop work as practicing artisans. I in no want to or intend to differentiate between men and women,…
Another thought. When I was a boy, an apprentice, I had about 8 craftsmen that oversaw my work. There was an older apprentice or two too, but they were more at the tail end of their time. Anyway, 8 craftsmen can deploy and train an apprentice easily without affecting their work too much. I have…