Dedication In A.S. LIV I was honored to be asked by Their Majesties to steward Collegium. Any event, of course, is a team effort. Kingdom events add more complexity. Collegium had the added labor of creating and managing a large on-line database and repository of scholarly works. This last part was well beyond my skill... Continue Reading →
Interpreting the Oseberg 178 Chest
The Oseberg 178 chest was one of four pieces I made based on extant examples found in ninth century Viking Age burials.
From Tree to Chest
Preface As my interest in vernacular furniture has grown, so has my curiosity about the processes which went into making household items. What tools were used to shape and join them? What were the materials and how were those materials prepared? What methods of production did cabinetmakers practice? Inspired by the late Jennie Alexander, author... Continue Reading →
Three Boxes
I haven't posted in nearly a year, but that hasn't been for lack of productivity. Writing about what I have been working on took a back seat to working on the next project, and the next one, and the next one... So this post will condense the work done in learning to make carved-front boxes. ... Continue Reading →
A 15th Century Trestle of Oak and Maple
"Would you like to go in together on a project for a charity auction?" my friend Alasdair Mac Roibeirt asked me one day in January 2018, "We have a whole year." Foolish me, I tempted fate and replied "Sure, sounds like fun!" Out of this project came hours of practicing the carving of panels, lessons... Continue Reading →
A Medieval Workbench: the foundation upon which mobilier are built
In March of 2018 I was fortunate in acquiring a large pile of red oak beams salvaged from a rail yard. These beams had been used as dunnage in the transport of train and rail parts from the East. Ten feet long and heavy as sin, they were ugly, blackened, marred, stained, and dominated the... Continue Reading →
On Making a Folding Table
A good project for anyone with a little more than Beginner's level woodworking skills.
The resulting table is suitable for a meal for two, doing on-site illumination, or keeping any number of smaller items off of the ground.
A Coffer of Oak and Gratitude
Several years ago my good friend, known in the SCA as Aelisia of Cambrewell, agreed to be my running-mate as candidates for the Baronage of Glymm Mere. We were both ready for the job and capable for what lay ahead, but as I look back on the past three years I can confidently state that... Continue Reading →
On Making a Six-Board Chest
Six-board chests, or blanket chests, were common and utilitarian pieces of furniture listed frequently in household inventories and seen in the backgrounds of medieval domestic images. They are relatively simple to make and can be inexpensive, yet sturdy and aesthetically pleasing to the eye. In the SCA, they are very useful for the dual purposes... Continue Reading →
Pierced panels: Gothic tracery in frame-and-panel construction.
My friend Holland (Alasdair MacRoibert in the Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA)) is an accomplished professional woodworker. So I (and others) had been encouraging him for some time to enter pieces in competition and to seek other opportunities for showcasing his work. When a Request For Proposals for new thrones for the SCA Kingdom of... Continue Reading →
