About Us
OUR HERITAGE
Over the centuries, craftsmen with varied skills have been involved in woodworking. As dictated by necessity, a carpenter’s primary concern was timber frame building construction. The joiner, whose skills evolved from carpentry, used smaller materials and produced furniture by fastening wood parts with mortise and tenon joints. As the craft evolved, cabinet makers constructed case pieces of solid boards using dovetail joints.
Construction was influenced by the tools and techniques available. The 19th century saw the introduction of the power tool, resulting in a more efficient and standardized milling process and changing that process from one of risk to certainty. The original method required the craftsman to split wood from a log using a mallet and froe, flattening and edging the board using hand tools. Power tools eliminated this risk, and the skills needed in that process, as the introduction of machinery increased the craftsman’s accuracy in making the product.
The tools and machines used since the late 19th century can still be seen in use today — a credit to their design and effective results. In fact, one New Hampshire wood working shop, in existence since the 30’s, still operated machines powered by a Model T motor as late as the 1970’s. That motor sat in the frame with its wheels removed and a flat pulley attached where the wheel would be on the rear axle. After starting and shifting the vehicle into high gear and throttling up to the appropriate RPMs, a series of flat belts and pulleys were engaged to provide enough power to the entire shop!
Today, the next evolution of tools and techniques again takes the craftsman from a process of risk, operating power tools, to a process of certainty. Complex computer software used on CNC machinery can now do in minutes what would normally take hours. Though the tools and their sources may evolve with the times, one constant remains. That of the craftsman’s pursuit of excellence in quality and the satisfaction derived from the integrity of his work.
