An experiment about craft, nice things, and fixing up old homes


Zen and Japanese Carpentry - Begins
Teachers, priests, monks, and students gathered at the temple on a Sunday afternoon, in the back of a valley.

Zen and Woodworking: Final Preparations
A flurry of milling, layout, and tool preparation before the class

Somakosha in the New York Times
I had the opportunity to interview Jon Stollenmeyer of Somakosha about his path becoming a carpenter in Japan for the New York Times about his start at Nakamura Sotoji Komuten and most recently at Somakosha with Kohei Yamamoto. The interview was about 4 hours formally, and about 7 days, informally

A Dozen Sawhorses
The wood for the frame had showed up. But before I could get to milling it up, I needed to build some sawhorses.

Japanese Woodworking and Carpentry Classes (This year)
Most 2025 class schedules for my favorite woodworking teachers are online.

Quarter-Ton Dog Step
Gathering materials, off island and on; A dog step bench meant to support a quarter ton.

A Table for Liljestrand House
Replicating a historic table made from framing lumber and nails (but with joinery)

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