LEASE contact me if you have a project that requires traditional joinery skills. I enjoy the process of restoring antique items using methods that have proven to be tried and true for many centuries. I am also capable of creating high quality reproduction items using original techniques.
If interested in this service, please use the form below to contact me and explain your project.
My Interest in Traditional Joinery
NE of my passions since a very young age has been discovering how woodworking was done in the eighteenth-century. I have long been impressed by the quality craftsmanship and ingenuity of these men working over two centuries ago with hand tools.
While it is true that some processes were slower without electricity, these skilled tradesmen worked very efficiently with a complex variety of tools. When the correct tool was in a skilled pair of hands, an eighteenth century carpenter or joiner was capable of performing nearly any task modern machinery can do! The purpose of this section is to allow you to join me in appreciating and preserving the woodworking skills of the past.
Photo above: author's portrayal of an eighteenth-century sash joiner Photo lower right: baskets have been a traditional way that English joiner's have carried their tools for hundreds of years.
History of the Woodworking Trades
HILE we often think of carpenters as being one of the only trades that entails woodworking now, historically the woodworking trades were far more specialized. Here are a few of the various trades that involved working with wood:
Cabinet Maker - creates high quality furniture.
Carpenter - responsible for putting up the framing of a house.
Cooper - makes barrels for shipping a great variety of products.
Joiner - responsible for creating doors, windows, and trim in a house. Similar to a modern finish carpenter.
Ship's Carpenter - carpenter who specializes in ship building.
Turner - primarily works on a lathe creating spindles and other turned items.