Woodworking in America

Registration is Now Open








Big news for anyone wishing to attend this years Woodworking in America Conference; registration is now open!

The scheduled events provide in-depth explorations of subjects important to woodworkers and are brought to you by two of the most trusted names in woodworking information—Popular Woodworking and Woodworking Magazine. Presented by leading experts in the fields of woodworking, tools and furniture, the Conference sessions are useful and informative (and also a ton of fun!) for woodworkers of all skill levels and interests. In addition, the Marketplace area lets you try out the newest woodworking tools, talk to their makers and find the right equipment for your workshop.

I hope to see you there!

Mark Harrell

aka ~ Bad Axe Tool works

















Here's another quick update from Mark at Technoprimitives. He recently sent me some new pics and an update on his back saws. I've been lucky to be able to correspond with him over this past year; to watch as he gears up to launch a new business is an exciting thing for sure. From the initial ideas of his logo and etchings to the spectacular medallions and environmentally friendly packaging I wonder what it takes to make this kind of leap of faith into a market that is really a niche to most. I've often thought about how Tom Lie Nielsen must have felt 25 years ago, when he first left the security of a day job to begin his own dream...a boat load of courage and a whole lotta love besides the sheer talent it takes to manufacture a top quality hand tool. Then to turn this ideas into a reality, a flourishing business-especially through this past year of economic uncertainties. If Marks saws are anything like the magic he puts back into the vintage hand saws he's been refurbishing these past few years then I really don't think he'll have any problems. Maybe I'll be blogging about him and all of his success with Bad Axe Tool Works in 25 years from now!
Stay tuned...

Chopping a Haunched Mortise

This is not Paul Simons Door

Well I'm busy as hell and goin' crazy like a bag of hammers...chopping out the mortises these last few days I don't have time for a full blog so I thought I'd post a video with a few minutes of real time working. The quality is 'Blair Witch' shaky and the audio track is my old record player in the corner...I was listening to Graceland-Paul Simon's wonderful album from way back when? How old am I now? This is one of the best parts of a hand tool shop, being able to work and listen to records. Bet you can't say that over the deafening drone of a table saw!
In this clip I'm chopping the haunched portion of the mortise using a massive Hirsch Mortise Chisel,(by the size of these things I can only assume they're manufactured in the magical land of Giants where everyone has hands like silver back gorillas.) Then I establish the depth of the haunched portion with my Veritas Large Router plane. I clean out the waste with a swan neck chisel from Henry Taylor in England and some paring with a large Japanese bench chisel. I think that covers it...sorry for the rushed post but I've gotta keep going on this.
Cheers.