The Mortise & Tenon Podcast

This new episode of our podcast was recorded after two weeks of traveling to meet inspiring craftspeople of many different specialties. Mike and I share some of what we learned on our trips and discuss how learning hand skills is essential to surviving in a hyper-consumerist culture. Joshua also discusses his recent explorations into a pragmatic approach to wooden planemaking.

Because Mike and I just finished Issue Four, we dedicated this episode to discussing what it’s like to produce the magazine, what’s featured in this new issue, and what to expect in the coming weeks.

We had lots to talk about today. On the magazine front, pre-orders for Issue Four opened yesterday, and we’ve been releasing the Table of Contents for the past two weeks leading up to the big event. We talk about our soon-to-be-released t-shirt design, commissioned from artist Jessica Roux. In our discussion, we go over the ins and outs of setting up a workshop specifically based around the use of hand tools. We consider decisions to be made around lighting, heat, and tool storage, along with details from period shops that might inform the way we approach this task today.

This episode of our podcast is the first to feature a guest. Since our friend, Ben Strano of Fine Woodworking, was up in our neck of the woods this week, we invited him to join us in a discussion about the importance of hand skills and making things with personal meaning. And because Ben is not only a passionate woodworker, but he is a tech-nut, we also discussed how both print and digital media support those two vital things for this next generation of woodworkers. Ben describes his work behind the scenes at Fine Woodworking and tells us about what it’s like working with the woodworkers he looks up to most. Photo credit: Ben Strano

Episode 4 of our podcast is centered around sourcing lumber for furniture making. In reality, Mike and I both source our wood from all sorts of places. We harvest our own from the woods, use a lot of salvaged material, and also order from lumberyards. In our discussion, we go over the best way to store lumber for air drying (it’s simpler than you think).

This time, Mike and I tackled one of the most common discussions we have with readers: how to get started on the hand-tool route. What change of mindset is needed to make the switch from power tools to hand tools? Should we be cutting practice joints? What are the biggest hurdles we encounter on this journey? We hope this episode is an encouragement to you to get into the shop to work with your hands. Have further questions? Leave us a comment and we’d love to help. Thanks for listening!

In this episode, Mike and Joshua discuss the relationship between tradition and innovation in today's woodworking culture. This topic is near to their hearts and something they talk about often. Based on their interactions with readers about this over the past few years, this conversation touches on defining “tradition” and “innovation”, the advantages of one over the other, and how our individual and personal motivations for woodworking inform the way that balance plays out in our lives. Theme Music by: Austin V. Papp and Jesse Thompson

New book in our store: Zach Dillinger's "With Saw, Plane & Chisel" as well as new stickers. We discuss our new 200-year-old hand-hewn workshop build underway. Excerpt from our YouTube video "What is a Fore Plane?"