This section of European redwood pine shows 135 years of growth rings. It measures 3/4″ thick and the growth distance is 4″. I am using it on a Shaker candle box I was making yesterday. Each time I looked at it my mind told me that some time in the past I had laminated to…

The woods drew me from the workshop for an hour’s lunchtime walk today and I was amazed at shifts that evidence the ever-changing sphere I live and create in. Blossom-filled trees slowed me down to think about men like Doug Stowe in Eureka Springs in Arkansas, a craftsman investing himself in the lives of young…

I would like to briefly discuss the size of bench you choose to make. I know it’s important to you and it must of course be fit for purpose, your purpose. My son Joseph, the violinmaker, uses a short bench three feet long. He has the same Record vise that holds stock for working and…

Not many men can boast seven decades of working wood for a living or even being able to work for seven decades. I am nearer than most having worked wood for five. This gentleman joined the throngs in my workshop yesterday and made the passing comment most do about bringing back “fond memories.” I stopped…

The day seems bright in future hope despite the political circus emanating from zoos around the world. A hand lifts the wood and a shoulder carries the beam to the sawhorses and sanity seems set for the day. Soon the plane lands on the runway and people spill onto the conveyor belt for the next…

I have many different tenon saw types made by makers from the USA and England. I have used some from other European countries, but have not found the quality or a history for making fine tenon saws. Whereas Henry Disston (nothing to do with modern-day Canadian Disstons, which have made extremely low grade handsaws since…