Information about using and maintaining woodworking tools, especially Japanese chisels, planes and handsaws
There s no clear water from a muddy well. -Patrick Rothfuss, The Wise Man s Fear Sawdust production is the essence of woodworking, but a little planning early in the process will always result in more efficient work. In this article we ll examine the four planning tools and documents critical to efficient woodworking, and which beginners to Continue reading Beginning Tools Part 2 Planning Tools
When you want to help people, you tell them the truth. When you want to help yourself, you tell them what they want to hear. Thomas Sowell A couple of questions prospective Beloved Customers frequently ask your humble servant is what variety Japanese chisel(s) they should purchase, and the best width(s). In this article I Continue reading The Best Striking Chisel for the Job?
All that is gold does not glitter,Not all those who wander are lost;The old that is strong does not wither,Deep roots are not reached by the frost. From the ashes a fire shall be woken,A light from the shadows shall spring;Renewed shall be blade that was broken,The crownless again shall be king. J. R. R. Continue reading Trees, Wood, Carbon and Bugs
Preventive Maintenance: Don t start today by doing yesterday s work. Deniece Schofield High-quality handplanes are not cheap, and when you have a good one in good fettle, the time and effort it takes to maintain it ready to rock and roll immediately is never wasted. Indeed, it s a solid investment that pays higher dividends than Continue reading Japanese Handplanes Part 9 Maintenance Storage
A man in love is incomplete until he has married. Then he s finished. Zsa Zsa Gabor This is the last article in our series about designing and making a handle for a Japanese gennou hammer. In previous articles in this series Beloved Customer completed designing, shaping and fitting the handle of your gennou hammer Continue reading The Japanese Gennou Handle Part 23 Finishing the Job
True perfection is unattainable, but if you chase perfection you will catch excellence! Vince Lombardi In previous articles in this series about a craftsman-made gennou hammer handle, we discussed how to design and make a handle to fit Beloved Customer s body and way of working. This article assumes you ve mostly completed your handle, attached the Continue reading The Japanese Gennou Hammer…
No one should be ashamed to admit he is wrong, which is but saying, in other words, that he is wiser today than he was yesterday. Alexander Pope In the previous article in this series we finished fitting and shaping the handle of our gennou hammer in accordance with our design document. Some refinements may Continue reading The Japanese Gennou Hammer Handle Part 21 Installing the Head
Woodworking minus patience equals firewood. Author Unknown In the previous article in this series, we selected and prepared the wood for our gennou handle and layed-it out in accordance with our design drawings. The next step in the process is to gather our tools and begin the fun work of making sawdust. Yeeehaaaa! Continue reading The Japanese Gennou Hammer Handle Part 20 Making Sawdust
Not all those who wander are lost.” J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring Introduction In previous articles in this frightfully sexually-charged series, Beloved Customer produced a design drawing for your gennou handle based on the parameters of your actual gennou head and your body. You should have also selected, or at least rolled Continue reading The Japanese Gennou Handle Part 19…
I m not only a philosopher, sir, I m a fatalist. Somewhere, sometime, there may be the right bullet or the wrong bottle waiting for Josiah Boone. Why worry about when or where? Doctor Josiah Boone, Stagecoach, 1939 This series of articles is about tools that have been around a long time, used by nearly every craftsman Continue reading Ancient Tools: The String Line Straightedge