The Essence of Woodbutchery

Ponder Jim Toews in writing to Ponder Mark Goodall said:

Mark,

I can easily relate to your frustration when something doesn't work out right.

“Dang it! I cut it twice, and the blasted thing is still too short”, I hear you cry.

However, for me much of the challenge of woodworking is figuring out how to fix those mistakes in such a way that the repair looks planned, or even improves the final project. I have had much experience doing this, too! I can't think of a project I've built that has not been "improved" (out of necessity) in some way or another. And I rarely make the same mistake twice, at least not in the same project!

But there have been times that, in retrospect, I've been mighty glad I didn't have an axe handy at the time.

Keep on learning! Jim

In my response, I said:

Ah, yes. Maybe people think woodbutchery is poor workmanship resulting in crappy work. Could be. But Woodbutchery is the art of, well, everything you said. I can't improve on that.

Last updated: 27 January 2009