Wood Shop

Welcome to December!! 

Yesterday we spent the entire day of class time in the wood working shop learning how to cut joinery by hand and then doing it. It was an amazing experience. I have always had a great appreciation for the ancient artisans who built, sculpted, and designed historic buildings but now I revere them in a whole new way. The tools used to make joinery and trim are not easy to use. The tool for creating a trim edge has to be held at a very specific angle and then run over the edge of the board several times, a foot length or so at a time. So when I imagine making the trim for a chateau.... WOW!!
Granted, these artisans were much more skilled than I am but the process was still complex and tedious. I also understand how grateful they must have been when automation made the process so much easier. 

We spent about 6 hours working with hand tools to create some of the joinery types used historically and still used today, just made by machine now. In that 6 hours, I completed 4 different joining options, and they were the more simple joinery. It is unimaginable the time it took to create the architecture, furniture, trim and other details of the historic houses. I stand in awe of those who built the historic buildings we admire today. When I look at something like this staircase at Ham house it is even more amazing now.

I have to admit that creating a mortise and tenon joint was quite satisfying. Woodworking is quite therapeutic too!