Perpetual Beginner Mentality

Posted on January 1, 2016 by Greg Merritt

The following is written for those of you, like myself, who are amateur/hobbyist woodworkers.  We just want to build things with wood and enjoy the process as well as the result.

In days gone by, when the apprenticeship system was in full swing, a person knew where they stood in the hierarchy.  You entered as an apprentice and worked your way up through the ranks.  Crossing milestones along the way that advanced you to the next level.  Eventually working your way up until you were considered a master craftsman, or whatever similar rank, depending upon your chosen profession.  My assumption is, that as these individuals moved up in the system their attitude changed as well.  Gaining both confidence and a sense of responsibility to the profession.

That was then, this is now. Continue reading →

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WP 2015 in Review

Posted on December 30, 2015 by Greg Merritt

I’m humbled.  Thanks for a great year!

Wishing all a Happy New Year!

Here’s an excerpt:

The Louvre Museum has 8.5 million visitors per year. This blog was viewed about 130,000 times in 2015. If it were an exhibit at the Louvre Museum, it would take about 6 days for that many people to see it.

Click here to see the complete report.

Posted in 8-Miscellaneous | 14 Comments

Hillbilly Tsuitate Screen-Part 3

Posted on December 29, 2015 by Greg Merritt

My earliest memory of my grandparents on my father’s side is Sunday afternoon visits.  Grandma always seemed to have cookies, cake or pie at the ready and plenty of sweet tea.  My grandpa Merritt was a firm believer that children should be seen and not heard.  As a consequence my sister and I were always given something to do to keep us busy and quiet.  There was a closet full of old toys, games and puzzles.  My favorite, by far, was an old cobbled together tin of Tinker Toys.  Hours of my childhood were spent on my grandparent’s living floor building “masterpieces” with those Tinker Toys.  I wonder if that is where my love of joinery first took root?  Funny the things you think of sometimes.  But that memory flooded into the space between my ears tonight as I made a dry-fit of my screen. Continue reading →

Posted in Hillbilly Tsuitate-000 | Tagged , | 7 Comments

Hillbilly Tsuitate Screen-Part 2

Posted on December 26, 2015 by Greg Merritt

I made a start on the tsuitate screen today.  Starting with a couple of fir 2×4’s I was able to cull all of the parts that I needed and managed to avoid almost all of the knots.  If your going to use 2x construction lumber you might as well get used to the idea of incorporating the occasional knot or two.  Clear, straight-grained lumber can be boring sometimes anyway.  So embrace the knots.  🙂 Continue reading →

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Hillbilly Tsuitate Screen-Part 1

Posted on December 20, 2015 by Greg Merritt

The tsuitate is a Japanese freestanding low screen.  Typically consisting of a single wood or paper panel and often very ornate.  Many examples are decorated with paintings.  Others have panels that are constructed from a particularly beautiful piece of timber.  This screen is a sort of jack of all trades piece of furnishing.  Sometimes used as a status piece at the entrance to a home.  Other times used to simply block a draft or divide off a space. Continue reading →

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Blind Dovetail Thru Mortise and Tenon

Posted on December 15, 2015 by Greg Merritt

Blind Dovetail Thru Mortise and Tenon

This joint shows up fairly regularly in books that document joinery and it seems to be predominately utilized in timber framing applications.   Continue reading →

Posted in 6-Joinery, Bind Dovetail Mortise and Tenon | Tagged , , , | 24 Comments

Cross Lap with Mitered Corners-Part 2

Posted on December 12, 2015 by Greg Merritt

Thanks to a couple of commenters, Stan and Johan, I can now add a little background information and a written reference to my record for this joint.  The overwhelming evidence is that this joint has been historically employed primarily in applied moldings.  Think paneled library, coffered ceilings and window mullions.  A written reference Continue reading →

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Cross Lap with Mitered Corners-Part 1

Posted on December 6, 2015 by Greg Merritt

Well, I might as well start this journey.

Cross Lap with Mitered Corners

 

I have, as yet, been unable to find any written reference to this joint.  I have seen an example of it from two sources.   Continue reading →

Posted in Cross Lap with Mitered Corners, Illustrating | Tagged , , , | 36 Comments

Joinery Journey

Posted on December 5, 2015 by Greg Merritt

I love joinery.

There is something magical about fitting two or more pieces of wood together.

Before the advent of mechanical fasteners, joinery reigned supreme.  At that pre-industrial time is was the cheapest, fastest and strongest way of building with wood.  As nails, bolts and screws became less expensive they began to displace joinery for building with wood.  Mechanical fasteners required less skill and were faster. Continue reading →

Posted in 6-Joinery | Tagged | 23 Comments

Piddlin’ Around

Posted on November 29, 2015 by Greg Merritt

I’m not ready to start a new project just yet.  So the remainder of my holiday weekend shop time was spent making a few accessories for the new bench and trying out a couple of new joints.

In Mike Siemsen’s YouTube video, “Work Holding on a Viseless Bench“, he demonstrates a couple of accessories for work holding.  One is a doe’s foot batten and the other is a vise chop that utilizes holdfasts for the clamping action.  The doe’s foot batten Continue reading →

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