This Crafted World

Harry and Shane are back for Season 2. Harry talks about finding a balance between what is work and what is hobby. They discuss the importance of sustainably managing work for money, work for fun, growth projects, hobby projects, and life outside of woodworking. They share their individual experiences about woodworking as work vs hobby. Shane has been getting ready for his year awa

The final episode of Season 1 revisits the question Harry and Shane had at the beginning about trying to define what it is in this field that they find so particularly important. Trying to step away from conversations of hand tools vs machine tools or pre-industrial vs post-industrial, Shane puts forth three aspects that for him define craft the way the he engages with and apprecia

Harry and Shane are joined by Designer/Maker Peter Spaulding (@Iwao_wood.and.art) who takes over pitching duty. The three discuss their complex feelings about river tables and snobbery in the field. Peter proposes a virtue of newness and discusses how his experience writing poetry has informed his approach to design. Shane is concerned when newness is over-valued. Harry finds it im

Shane and Harry are joined by cabinetmaker and author Nancy Hiller. Shane discusses one of Nancy's publications, 'Historic Preservation in Indiana' and its relevance to an idea of things that aren't the supposedly important things. He claims that this is his entry into the design conversation, even though it's not about design at all. They talk about the importance of how objects t

Harry tries in the nicest way possible to talk about why he doesn't like most student exhibition and gallery furniture pieces. Shane put's forth some concerns about the designer/maker focus in schools and some concerns about his own biases. They discuss leaving maker's marks in their work and the nature of just learning to be a good craftsperson vs making something new. Shane is fe

Shane and Harry discuss challenges to staying focused on tasks and the various things in our lives that pull us out of it, along with the difficulty of working a normal day. Harry recommends watching the movie Soul, but blatantly ignores one of it's major themes. Shane discusses why he doesn't like working in an office and finds being attached to one very distracting and unpleasant

Shane and Harry are joined by Ben Strano from Fine Woodworking to talk about learning from masters. Ben is a passionate professional hobbyist woodworker who's job is often to distill the knowledge of professionals for hobbyists at home. Shane and Harry talk with Ben about professional pacing, the value of seeing in person what a professional result looks like, how being the biggest

Harry talks about woodworking courses seem to either have students make a product or learn skills and asks about making skills based courses more engaging. Shane talks about separating out each skill and giving every technique its own space and focus, and they discuss whether having a project is more engaging or a distraction. Harry is getting to the end of his drawered unit projec

Harry and Shane finally got a couple questions! Shane adds a few more notes to the conversation on Made To Last including agents of deterioration and  whether things should last forever. Marc asks about self-employment vs normal employment and Robbie asks about using a linisher to flatten a plane blade. Shane's been cutting wooden threads and teaching finishing, while harry ke

Harry talks about what it means for something to be 'made to last' and questions which aspects of an object most impact its longevity. Shane complains about longcase clocks. Harry mentions his transition from showy joinery to something more likely to be repairable, and they both agree it is important to give something the best possible chance it can have. Shane talks about prep he