I am grateful for living at a spectacular time—a moment in human history when technology has dramatically transformed our lives. As a kid, black-and-white television was still new, the NBC color peacock was a few years away, and Disney’s Wide World of Color didn’t premier until 1961—I was old by then, somewhere between nine and ten. Read the full article…
“How did you start the Roadshow?” I can’t count how many times I’ve been asked that question. There are two answers—a long one and a short one. The short one is: hard work, luck, and opportunity. The long answer… Read the full article…
Like every part of my new home in Southern Oregon, I wanted the garden fence and gates to reflect the architectural style I enjoy the most—the craftsman style that I learned to love while living in California, surrounded by bungalows and Greene and Greene homes.
I can’t count how many times I’ve visited the Gamble House in Pasadena and the Thorsen House in Berkeley, among others. Viewing those homes is like eating almonds…you just can’t eat enough of ‘em.
A few years ago, I built the front gates incorporating the same style, mimicking a gate from the Thorsen House. Read the full article…
Producing the Katz Roadshow has provided benefits I never imagined. One reward has been the almost electrical experience of meeting carpenters who share the same passion for craftsmanship—which in our business also means a passion for productivity and solid profits; a passion for education and teamwork; a deep distaste for waste, and an eye for almost microscopic detail—all of which can be summed up in a single word: Respect. Since we first began publishing THISisCarpentry, our mission statement has been “Honor Your Craft.” You could just as well put it: Respect Your Craft.
Murphy Beds are incredibly popular, probably because they help us use space more efficiently, and today, with living space at a premium, that’s critical. It sure was for me. I wanted to use the guest cabin I built down by the river as a yoga studio—after all, guests aren’t that common, but yoga is.
Not long ago, on the way to a Katz Roadshow event in southern California, Scott Wells and I stopped off to visit an old friend of mine—Mark Martinez. I’ve known Mark for nearly twenty years; yet I’ve never really known him, not until he visited my place just a week before we toured his facility.
Mark’s been swinging hammers since the summer of 1970. Read the full article…
Years ago, after all the trips back and forth to my truck for small hand tools began to tire me out more than the work, I started carrying a milk crate, fitted with a shoulder sling. But all the smallest tools, and the screws, driver bits, drill bits, wrenches, etc., ended up in a confused mess at the bottom.
I needed something I could organize and something I could stand on, something that would get me to the very top of a 6/8 door, something that would help me reach the pins on an 8-ft. door, something that would let me see over the top shelf in a closet. And I wanted something I could sit on, too, while chiseling tricky mortises in a jamb or drinking a cup of coffee on a break. Read the full article…
My brother is a year older than me, and because of that, he’s far more experienced and much smarter. But the thing that bugs me is that everything always has to be ‘just so’ with him. Sometimes, when I think about my brother I remember the last words in Faulkner’s The Sound and the Fury: “…each in its ordered place.” Even the pencils and pens on my brother’s desk have to be ‘just so’ before he’ll answer a ringing phone; his door bench is the same way: every tool has to be razor sharp and in its proper place before he’ll start work on a door.
It took me years to understand why. I have to thank Paul Akers, from FastCap, for helping me see my brother in a totally new way. Read the full article…
When I bought my little house in southern Oregon, I knew I’d be removing the existing concrete patio and the funky patio cover. The concrete had been mixed in a wheelbarrow and poured in sections, maybe over a decade or two, at least that was the forensic evidence. In some places the finish was smooth as glass, in others there was a heavy broom texture, and in a few sections, no finish at all. It was cracked and heaved. Read the full article…
This article might not appeal to all TiC readers, but that’s not the point of THISisCarpentry. Our goal isn’t to reach everyone. Our mission is to provide quality educational material for carpenters, even if it’s only a few of them. Still, I expect that even if you never have to install doors to meet HVHZ code, you’ll learn a few interesting things from this demonstration, things that will probably apply to normal door installation, too. Read the full article…
Rarely a day goes by, especially when I’m on the road doing lumberyard events, where I don’t pinch myself and acknowledge how lucky I’ve been. I’m not talking about a career or an investment portfolio, or how big the steelhead was that I caught last summer. I’m talking about the people I’ve been fortunate to meet because of the Katz Roadshow: the carpenters and contractors; the manufacturers—marketing, production, and sales representatives; and especially the folks at the lumberyards we work with.
Sanford & Hawley is a perfect example. Read the full article…
JLC magazine recently asked me to answer a reader’s question: What’s the right height for chair rail and wainscoting? Of course, everyone always wants the short answer, so here it is: Somewhere between 26 in. to 32 in. off the floor.
Now here’s the same answer I wrote in JLC, and I’ll bet you’ll regret asking this question! Read the full article…
We recently did another Katz Roadshow Finish Carpentry event at Jay-K Independent Lumber, in New Hartford, NY. This yard is one of our favorite Katz Roadshow hosts—these folks really get it; they want to help their customers by providing quality educational events. During one of the breaks, Jonas Kelly, the current President of the yard, suggested that before leaving town, we stop by their Woodshop. He said their shop foreman might surprise me. Boy, was he right. But first, some background. Read the full article…
Co-authored by Todd Murdock
When it comes to rules of proportion, I never understood the whole picture. At least not until recently, not before spending the last three years studying the classical orders with Todd Murdock—one SketchUp rendition at a time. Now I know why I had such a hard time understanding the rules of proportion. There are none. They don’t exist. But there are guidelines. Read the full article…