The Way it Should Be - The Wood Sniffer

[clay]

I really enjoyed this:

[PonoBill]

Very nice. They're kind of hiding the sophistication of the shop, quick glimpses of serious machinery, long looks at simple block planes, but it's a good message and a very well done promo.

[LaPerouseBay]

Nothing BUT 'sophisticated' tools in these videos PB, including Clay's.  "Simple" block planes are anything but.  Hand tools ARE 'serious' machinery.  As serious as an eight inch angle grinder with 40 grit - in the hands of Jimmy Lewis.         

Here you go Clay.





I'm a huge fan of the Amish.  Very, very fast builders. 

[CascadeSup]

[LaPerouseBay]

Yikes, that's a big wheel.

The first real carpenter I worked for is an old fart timberframer.  He also restores and maintains wind powered grist mills in New England.

He let me replace the spokes and rim in this wheel.  It had similar tenons at the rim.  The hub end was also tapered, and had double shoulders, like a little staircase.  Old time carpenters were studs.  25 years later, I may have the chops to build a hub like that, but it would take a month of head scratching and drawing.  Those old guys would just whack them out like nothing.  With no electricity.  I was lucky to work with old timey stuff early on, fascinating trade.  I remember looking down in that mortise with the double shoulders thinking "what the, how the, holy crap that's insane"  I wish I had a pic of that hole.  Got tighter and stronger with use.  Carpenters had mad skills back in the old days.  Very fast too. 

     

[stoneaxe]

Very cool....funny timing. I came on tonight to post about a new bard I'm thinking about......here it is. New thread in the shape shack.

[clay]

Digging the posts!

The Japanese carpentry blows my mind.  I am amazed that a building can be made entirely of wood with no metal and last for centuries in a earth quake zone, incredible!

I was looking into replacing a deck earlier this year and discovered the Japanese wood burning/preserving technique: Shou sugi ban , blew my mind again!




A few years ago we Island hopped aboard a recreated Voyaging Canoe in Fiji, really opened my eyes to how sophisticated our ancestors are:

[clay]

Oh and at the Dolphin Club in San Francisco they make their own boats, very cool to see.


This guy, in a row boat, "stand up paddled" from the golden gate bridge to the Giants stadium (and back?) and made it look effortless.  I was very impressed.