In this episode, Joshua and Mike discuss something they both feel strongly about – the primacy of wooden hand planes. In unpacking Joshua’s article in Issue Twelve (heading to mailboxes as we speak!) about making your own fore plane, they go over why wooden planes are just plain better than their metal-bodied counterparts, and how approachable the craft of planemaking can be.
Most modern woodworkers view toolmaking as a craft dependent on NASA-level precision, but in his article, Joshua dispels that popular misperception. In this podcast episode, he and Mike talk through the pre-industrial process of planemaking, explaining that appropriate tolerances are determined more by the eye than rule.
SHOW NOTES
Issue Twelve
In this latest podcast episode, Joshua and Mike tackle a particularly thorny question head on: What is “craftsmanship,” exactly? While woodworkers of all kinds share a mutual appreciation for craftsmanship, surprisingly, there have been different ideas of what it even means. Is “craftsmanship” the same thing as “making” or is there something more to it? Can woodworking skill be reduced to the ability to repeat precise hand motions? Joshua and Mike argue that there’s more to it than that. Throughout the course of the discussion, they explain that the aim of technology is to displace skill for the sake of ease and precision. While technical developments provide real, tangible blessings in so many areas of life, Joshua and Mike...
In this episode, Joshua and Mike don their proverbial tool belts and discuss a restoration project that will occupy the bulk of their focus in 2022 – reconstructing an 1810 New England Cape house. Starting at the beginning, before Mortise & Tenon Magazine even existed, they recount the perilous task of deconstructing the building, raccoon droppings and all. They lay out a plan for restoring and modifying the old frame to meet the needs of a modern family, while maintaining the integrity and history so palpable in this old house.
SHOW NOTES
The M&T Daily Dispatch
The M&T Apprenticeship Program
In this episode of the M&T Podcast, Joshua and Mike take a big-picture, global look at pre-industrial handcraft. This was not a region-specific or time-bound set of practices or traditions but was much more diverse and variegated than we can possibly imagine. Try to picture the breadth of creative work done by human hands before the homogenizing effects of the Industrial Revolution came into play, and you’ll begin to get the picture. Starting from their recent efforts to source an obscure Spanish chairmaking tool, they discuss the fascinating pursuit of studying handcraft heritages around the world, and how we can learn more about ourselves in the process. SHOW NOTES: Amy Umbel's Article from Issue Eight William Coperthwaite, A Handmade Life The...
In this episode, Joshua and Mike dive into that spirited and controversial arena known and feared by all hand-tool woodworkers… Sharpening. Looking at historic references and new practices alike, they make their case for developing the skill of freehand honing – the method they teach their students in the M&T Apprenticeship Program. This method frees you from a reliance on expensive jigs and stones, and allows for fast, repeatable, and reliable results.
SHOW NOTES:
Roy Underhill, The Woodwright’s Companion
Joseph Moxon, The Art of Joinery, Revised Edition
King Basic Stone Set, Lee Valley Tools
Welp… in this episode, Joshua and Mike lay their cards on the table. In case you still wondered about their thoughts on digitally meditated existence, they put it all out there, warning not only of the social implications but also of the implications for handcraft. They ponder whether we can outsource our craft and still feel a sense of ownership of the creative process? They also ask, “How can we utilize digital technologies to make real connections and grow in the craft instead of simply consuming others’ experiences?” Gather ’round, you whippersnappers, and hear how it was in the good old days in which humans were grateful to live in the “universe.” SHOW NOTES: M&T Apprenticeship – https://www.mtapprenticeship.com/apprenticeship-program M&T...
In this new episode, Joshua and Mike talk about how there’s no hope of ever coming to the end of this rabbit hole. As it turns out, handcraft is a bottomless pursuit. There are so many skills, so many trades all involved in the making of furniture. And, for the relentlessly curious, there is a lifetime ahead of exploration. No matter what your career, what your interest, there is so much to celebrate in the world.
Show Notes:
M&T Apprenticeship Program
Joshua’s Bitstock article
Carpenters Without Borders’ Blacksmith Shop Build
Nevan Carling’s Loom Project
You might have to take a seat for this one; chairmaking, as it turns out, is quite a controversial thing. The recent issue of M&T (#11) features several authors holding up different takes on this ancient craft. How does an artisan work efficiently to be able to compete in the chair market? How does the use of a lathe open a can of worms that has led some to an industrial mentality? What does 20th-century management theory have to do with the way we pick up tools in our own shops today? All these questions and more are explored in this episode. SHOW NOTES: Issue Eleven Fredrick Taylor, Principles of Scientific Management Jögge Sundqvist in Issue Six Amy Umbel...
In this (occasionally tongue-in-cheek) episode of the podcast, Mike and Joshua talk about the great “Sedgwick Mobile Internet Crisis of 2021,” and how dependence on technology and infrastructure can become crippling when those rickety structures are knocked away. They discuss the concept of “resilience,” how broadening a “good,” broad skillset is more valuable than being “great” at just one thing, and how hand tools like the axe have value far beyond use in a zombie apocalypse.
SHOW NOTES:
Issue Eleven
The First Three Issues article on Skip Brack and the Liberty Tool Co.
The Resilient Farm and Homestead by Ben Falk
The Mortise & Tenon Apprenticeship Program
Mortise & Tenon Magazine · 28 – Should Work Be Easy? This question of ends (goals) and means (methods) is an important issue in woodworking discussions. Some swear by hand tools and wouldn’t touch a table saw with a 10' pole. Others see hand tools as inherently backward and nostalgic. Many say each has a place but are fuzzy about what that place is exactly. In this episode, Mike and Joshua tackle this thorny question head on. When do they choose pre-industrial methods over modern technology? Don’t they see the irony in podcasting and blogging about hand tools? How do they see these things as coexisting? In this episode, they suggest that before examining our “means,” we would...
