Woodcraft Ninjas

You probably know that I have another blog (but I promise I am not cheating on you). This one is called a “substack” and is titled “The American Peasant.” It’s about my efforts at writing my next book, but it is also a place where I shank the crap we are force fed. And I…

After carving 106 of these spell panels for “The American Peasant,” Megan painted all of them with three colors of Allback linseed oil paint – Holkham Green, Old Red and Old Blue. The stuff takes 24 to 48 to dry. And we let the panel sit around for a full week to really harden. The…

On Friday, I knocked together a cupboard inspired by Romanian peasant furniture for my next book, “The American Peasant.” The piece was made entirely by hand, but using Western tools instead of Eastern European ones. All the joints are drawbored and glued (with gelatin glue I made here in the shop). When I went to…

For the last 20 years I’ve used mostly milk paints and acrylics on my furniture. I have reservations about both kinds of paint. On milk paint, I find it inconsistent and a lot of work. When it works, it’s great. But it takes significant effort and time (for me) to get good results. And just…

This year I am returning to hand-cut mortise-and-tenon joinery for my new book “The American Peasant” (I have a whole substack going about the book). All the parts for the projects in this book are processed, joined and finished by hand (using split stock when possible). Why? Because now I can. When I left Popular…