chemical desire
one of the greatest debates in biology is what is “natural” for an animal or plant. the simple answer is that natural things are genetically-determined while other things are environmental — reactions to experience. for example, if a tree grows one ring per year, this is written in its genetic code but if it twists that’s a reaction to sun, wind and soil — it’s not natural as much as…
secret dovetails?
i’ve been on a bit of a trend of beginner woodworking articles lately so i wanted to tackle something a little more involved — sliding dovetail battons and table glueups. this is something that’s extremely popular, especially with students looking to go beyond their basic projects to make something truly useful for their homes. a dining-table is often quite large — 1m x 2m, sometimes closer to 1.5m x 3.5m…
once a year but twice for me
tomorrow is my thirtyninth birthday. that is not cause for celebration. after nearly two years being trapped in a place i have hated since the moment i arrived with no end in sight as world borders remain tightly shut against the twentyfirst-century plague, the result of our disrespect for animal life and desire for freedom over peace and harmony, marking another year of aging feels even less desirable than it…
sharing a joint
the first step to good results in furniture construction (after acquiring the wood, of course) is jointing your boards. it’s so fundamental, it was common for traditional shops to allow apprentices to do any task (and potentially make mistakes) except the seemingly-most-basic and most-labor-intensive, rough-milling the stock. while this may seem counterintuitive, an error made in jointing can have disastrous results and mean your furniture project is fit for nothing…
