#mortising

Mortising is the art of preparing a hole in a piece of wood so that it will receive another piece of wood into itself, tightly and with a perfect fit. Maybe this is a better way to think about a poem.

Measuring the mortise I didn’t just mark a couple of mortises yesterday. I also started cutting them. I’m still working on this saw-bench Bent, a small wooden frame that supports one end of a board while the other is the target of the attentions of my saw blade. Each of these mortises is supposed to be two inches (2″) deep, about five-sixteenths (5/16″) wide, and two inches long. I’ve made mine…

Locking The Butler’s Desk

This post continues a series in which I’m building a butler’s desk of American black walnut. In the previous post I had detailed the butler’s desk, finishing outside surfaces and chamfering edges.  I’m now on the home stretch with a few items left to complete, these items are small details but can be considered make or break for how easily usable the desk is.  The main function of the cabinet is…