Category: Woodworking
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Rehab for the kanna junkie
So you’ve taken an introduction class about Japanese kanna hand planes and excited about the potential. Though, first you have to admit that you have a kanna problem: what is your path forward to broaden incorporating Japanese hand planes into your woodworking processes? Here I give some tips for restoring used kanna to expand your…
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Preserving Urban Trees: A Milling Journey
As I was channeling the Lorax a bit when we had to take down a maple tree in our yard. Here I detail some of the take-home points that I learned while using a chainsaw to mill the tree into usable lumber.
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Course, Medium and Fine – Japanese Hand Plane Edition
Converting a rough sawn board into lumber that is planed flat and to the appropriate thickness and width is the foundation for building furniture from wood by hand. While there has been a recent revival of this hand skill, it is primarily discussed from a western handplane perspective. Here I discuss how I use Japanese…
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Kind of blue
I learned that Picasso went through a blue period where he only painted monochromatic work in shades of blue. Looking at some of my recent builds, I noticed a monochromatic theme (charred finish and waxed white spruce) and, when turning to color, I used a shade of blue milk paint for painting my Dutch tool…
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Kanna curious?
The Japanese wooden hand plane, called a kanna, seems a bit more mysterious to the western woodworker. In learning more, one might fall for several misconceptions about these tools. Here, I try to address some of these misconceptions first and then talk about what you should consider when trying to get one to work
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Putting chisels to the test
Early on in ones journey as a woodworker in the West, one hears the siren song of Japanese chisels. The only reason that one should own western chisels is if you like to sharpen tools. That’s a bit of an exaggeration but has a bit of truth to it. One of the challenges with purchasing…
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Ebonizing wood
A formal event calls for the elegance of a black dress or well-tailored black suit. The point of clothing made from black fabric is that it doesn’t have the distraction of a pattern or varying color pallet. In composing your outfit, a fine necklace or tie can provide a singular focal point. In creating a…
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Darwin’s Hand planes
Diversity in nature arises from genetic variation and fitness selection. While evolution applies to biology, the study of how man-made objects disappear or emerge provides insight into fitness landscape of market, or simply the societal context, changes with time. In that light, I think the study of western versus Japanese woodworking hand planes provides an…
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Montani semper liberi
Earlier this summer before going to bed, I decided to turn on the TV and see what still comes over the airwaves. Well Public Broadcasting does and to my delight, it was a show from West Virginia PBS on woodworking. The theme of the show was to embrace Appalachian heritage by examining a regional piece…
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