The following is excerpted from Nancy R. Hiller’s “Making Things Work: Tales from A Cabinetmaker’s Life.” Standing in contrast to James Krenov’s “The Impractical Cabinetmaker” from 1979, Hiller’s “Making Things Work” is not about waiting for a particular plank of wood to tell you its true purpose. It is not an exhortation to fuss over…
Read moreWe kicked off the Chairmakers’ Gathering with a welcome, then a few words from Patrick Cecil, a ladderback chairmaker from Cannon County, Tennessee. Patrick shared the rhythm of his work week, from cutting parts to loading 20-30 chairs onto a truck on Fridays – then doing it again the following week. He learned from and worked alongside…
Read moreChris is out of town this weekend, but Wally and I are here and ready to answer your woodworking and cat-treat-related questions. But unlike Chris, I will not start responding at the buttocks-crack of dawn – I like to sleep in a bit on Saturdays. And every day. (And Wally sleeps about 18 hours per…
Read moreMost of my students last week at the Port Townsend School of Woodworking are much stronger than am I. They cranked those K-bodies down … probably more than need be to close the baselines of their Anarchist’s Tool Chest dovetails. And because we used shims over the tailboards (so the clamp heads weren’t seating on…
Read moreThe following is excerpted from “The Intelligent Hand,” by David Binnington Savage. It’s a peek into a woodworking life that’s at a level that most of us can barely imagine. The customers are wealthy and eccentric. The designs have to leap off the page. And the craftsmanship has to be utterly, utterly flawless. I am…
Read more