I happened again across Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s poem “The Village Blacksmith” recently and took my time reading through it. Longfellow was from Maine (it was part of Massachusetts at the time, but we try to forget about that unfortunate era) and was familiar with the sights and sounds of the Portland waterfront and the shops of the tradesmen that lined the streets. His travels around the world gave him plenty to draw on for poetic inspiration, but he mostly returned to the stories and scenes of his beloved New England in his writing. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, 1868. Courtesy Wikimedia Commons. I find this poem compelling. Not because it’s a lofty hagiography of some imaginary hero figure (it isn’t), not because...
After this weekend, the $9 discount code for our latest course Back to the Bench: Restoring & Using Heritage Tools will expire. This code is available to all subscribers of the M&T Daily Dispatch. If you’re already signed up for the Dispatch, you will find the code under the “Membership” tab. If you want to try out a one-month trial ($5), you will also receive your code in our “Welcome” note. Thanks for your support, everyone! Mike and I have been getting notes from very happy customers – and we love it when that happens. From the looks of it, there are lots of old tools getting back in working order now after years of neglect. One customer (Michael O.)...
It was a flurry of activity around here during the filming, editing, and organizing of our most recent online course. Back to the Bench: Restoring & Using Heritage Tools is a very practical look at finding old tools and getting them working wood again, quickly. We feel strongly that heritage tools are often the best tools for the job for both supremely practical reasons (high quality, bargain prices, etc.) as well as intangible values (they’re beautiful, they connect us with the people of the past). The use and enjoyment of antique tools, for me, is one of the singular attractions of hand-tool woodworking. That said, I do love a good bargain. Being budget-conscious when it comes to purchases, I find...
Let’s not let these tools go to waste. They’re workhorses with lots of good work left to do. We’ve already been getting great feedback about our latest course, Back to the Bench. I can tell this material was long overdue.
-Joshua
