Splinters with Gary Rogowski

The Chair: Considered Feb 20, 2025

Q&A #3 Feb 06, 2025

Q&A #2 Jan 01, 2025

Setting Up Shop Dec 17, 2024

Q&A on Woodworking Nov 29, 2024

Nuts and Bolts and Screws Nov 17, 2024

I Get It Oct 08, 2024

To Be Seen Sep 08, 2024

Teaching Styles Aug 08, 2024

Flow in the Shop Jul 11, 2024

Lyricism Mar 21, 2024

Precision Jan 17, 2024

Creativity: Hustlers, Fakers, & Thieves Jan 04, 2024

Cutting on the Wrong Side of the Line Dec 03, 2023

Reading the Fish Oct 31, 2023

Musing on Mastery Oct 05, 2023

Creativity and You, the Student of It Sep 13, 2023

A conversation with Matthew Lynch, OMP graduate, Part One. Matt and Gary talk about the two year program and its challenges and rewards.

Addled Aug 18, 2023

Dead Bird Jul 16, 2023

My First Shop Jun 19, 2023

Setting Up Shop Apr 28, 2023

Flow Feb 23, 2023

What Happened? Jan 27, 2023

Open That Door Nov 13, 2022

Counting the Rocks Oct 10, 2022

What If? Jul 13, 2022

Rock Climbing and the Online Mastery Program Jul 05, 2022

Pay Attention May 24, 2022

Bird Brain Apr 07, 2022

Footsteps Feb 28, 2022

Dead Weight Jan 02, 2022

Borrowing My Chisel Dec 21, 2021

At the Bench Nov 28, 2021

https://northwestwoodworking.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/At-the-Bench.mp3

Question Your Assumptions Nov 08, 2021

Why Do This Work? Oct 13, 2021

Gargantua Sep 28, 2021

Which Wood, Why, reprise Jul 26, 2021

Change Jul 12, 2021

I hate change. I love change.

The Problem at the Bench As Well Jun 27, 2021

A Spoon in the Road Jun 14, 2021

Something Useless May 31, 2021

Stuck Again May 18, 2021

Playtime May 04, 2021

Test

Transitions Apr 19, 2021

Shuck and Jive Apr 05, 2021

The Joy of Gluing Mar 24, 2021

Choosing Lumber Mar 08, 2021

Balancing Act Feb 23, 2021

Slack Feb 09, 2021

Deadlines Jan 28, 2021

Pass the Wine Jan 13, 2021

Salt Dec 28, 2020

The Garrett Wade Catalogue Dec 15, 2020

The Garrett Wade Catalogue has been bringing fine tools to the woodworker since 1975. The offerings have expanded in some areas like gardening and woodsman tools today. But the idea of starting a company with nothing to build a brand of quality items is an intriguing one.

Jumbo Shrimp Nov 30, 2020

My First Mistake Nov 17, 2020

Keep your head on a swivel when working alone.

Cheese and Chairs Oct 20, 2020

Ratso’s One Lone Post Oct 05, 2020

Tolerances Sep 21, 2020

Nuts and Bolts Sep 07, 2020

The Sentry Aug 24, 2020

A story about Jimmy the Beagle and his watchful eye. Also information about our Online Lectures and Workshops. Plus a brief description of our new Online Mastery Program coming this Fall.

The Trail Ride Aug 10, 2020

Inlay Magic Jul 27, 2020

Inlay is a mark left behind by the maker. A mark that says I built this. It was important to me.

Why Planes Jul 13, 2020

Why hand planes are time savers at the bench.

The Lowly Scraper Nov 01, 2020

Milling Lumber Jun 15, 2020

Shadows Again Jun 01, 2020

Stay the Course May 18, 2020

Stuck May 04, 2020

That’s the This Apr 20, 2020

The beauty of language.

Straight Apr 06, 2020

The concept of straight is as important as any at the bench. Get that straight.

Balance Mar 23, 2020

How do we find balance in a world that has gone topsy turvy? How do we find balance in our work at the bench?

Don’t Think Mar 09, 2020

Slow Down Feb 24, 2020

The best way to move quickly is to move slowly with purpose. Fast work of things usually makes mistakes.

Restraint Feb 10, 2020

Restraint refers to so many things in our life. But also to breadboard ends.

Mastery Jan 27, 2020

A chat about the Mastery Program at the Studio. Its values and value.

The Bandsaw Jan 13, 2020

Bandsaws are the most versatile machine in the furnituremaking shop.

Resistententialism Dec 30, 2019

You know it when your tools hide from you, resist your efforts, thwart your progress.

The Nature of Quality Dec 16, 2019

To be involved with one’s work is not just a question of what gets produced but how it gets produced. This is in the nature of Quality.

Gathering Inspiration Dec 02, 2019

Our muses can be difficult to locate on some days. Pay close attention to them.

The Screwdriver Nov 18, 2019

The screwdriver. One of our most indispensable tools.

On Creativity Nov 04, 2019

Molly Major, metalsmith, and Gary discuss creativity.

Mistakes Oct 28, 2019

You can handle a mistake in several different ways. Choose the one that yields the most for you.

On Beginning Oct 21, 2019

Starting out can be a challenge. Keep an eye on the prize.

Starting Out Oct 14, 2019

There is no shortcut to learning skills. It’s just like taking a hike. All the steps have to be made.

ReCo Bklyn Lumber Sep 30, 2019

Roger Benton runs a wood resource center in Brooklyn, New York. His sawmill saws up tons of wood every year rescuing these trees from the landfill. He does this to save beautiful wood to produce incredible slabs, dimensional lumber, and to build his own line of furniture.

The Jointer Revealed Sep 16, 2019

The jointer is as sensitive a piece of cast iron as exists in the shop. Learn how to tune and use yours to get the results you are after.

My Top Five Hand Planes Sep 09, 2019

These hand planes I find indispensable at the bench. They are time savers for me.

Get On With the Work Sep 02, 2019

There are a lot of tools one needs at the bench. Being able to bounce back from a mistake or two is one of them.

Glue Changes Everything Too Aug 27, 2019

A reprise of a favorite episode, our Season Two opener.

Which Wood Why, Rewind Aug 20, 2019

Picking out your lumber and milling it makes a difference in the look and longevity of your piece. Learn some of the qualities of wood to watch for.

Accuracy Too Aug 13, 2019

Slow down, I’m in a hurry.

Chapter 12 Reprise, Handmade:Creative Focus in the Age of Distraction Aug 06, 2019

Sharp, Dull, Sharp Again Jul 30, 2019

Time to sharpen again. Not because I’ve been using so many of my tools and made them dull. No, it’s our summer break now and this is a podcast broadcast in Season One. Enjoy.

Chiseled Twice Jul 23, 2019

Chisels, the wedge, the most important hand tool in the shop.

The Top 5 Machines Not Named the Table Saw, Once More Jul 16, 2019

This is a list of the top machines that a furniture maker needs in the shop.

Splinters Again Jul 09, 2019

This podcast came out in Season One. During a short summer break, please listen to this story of not paying attention and the cost.

Intention Jul 02, 2019

A recorded DESIGN: Open House chat about Intention with John Eisemann, choral master, and Gary Rogowski, furniture maker. Two very different perspectives on considering the creative process.

Shadows Jun 25, 2019

Forgetting your last mistake.

Best Books Jun 18, 2019

Encyclopedia of Furniture Making Ernest Joyce Cabinetmaking for Beginners Charles Hayward Understanding Wood Bruce Hoadley Sharpening Leonard Lee Hand Applied Finishes Jeff Jewett A Reverence for Wood Eric Sloane Tools of the Trade Jeff Taylor 18th Century Furniture Making Jeffrey Greene A Cabinetmaker’s Notebook James Krenov Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain Betty Edwards The Nature and Aesthetics of Design David Pye.

Blade Geometry Jun 11, 2019

Tear-out when hand planing can be a frustration. There are simple techniques you can use to change the cutting angle of your blade or your chipbreaker. These will eliminate tear-out in the nastiest of grains.

SawStop Saws with CEO Matt Howard Jun 04, 2019

This is a fascinating chat with Matt Howard, CEO of Sawstop Saws. They have blade technology that shuts off a saw before it can cut through a finger. Crazy and interesting stuff.

The Mastery Program May 21, 2019

At The Northwest Woodworking Studio, we offer a school of thought and practice in the skills of design and woodworking.

The Nature of Workmanship May 14, 2019

The very act of building/ creating/ making furniture is an act filled with implications about you and your goals.

Models and Design May 07, 2019

Front end load your design work and you will feel better at the back end when you finish a piece. Sketching, full scale modeling in cardboard, and quarter scale models are enormous aids in discovering what’s right and what’s wrong about your design ideas.

Pad Sanders I have known Apr 23, 2019

I know plenty of pad sanders. But I’d trade them all away for a sharp hand plane. Hand planes can be time savers when it comes to smoothing surfaces. They also fight that perfectionism that pad sanders lead you to.

10 Things to Know about Wood Apr 16, 2019

Wood doesn’t just sit there. It’s alive. It moves, it changes dimension, it colors over time. Learns some essential facts about wood so you can choose your wood for your next project with more information at hand.

Beginners Mind Apr 09, 2019

Everyone starts at the beginning. Yet our expectations rarely match our skills then. The hardest thing is to be patient as we learn.

The Total Body Work-out Apr 02, 2019

This April Fool’s Day lecture is on the value of working out with your woodworking.

Brian Boggs, Master Craftsman Mar 26, 2019

Brian Boggs is a chairmaker, artist, designer, and engineer extraordinaire. He is also quite a philosopher on the nature of work and workmanship, the value of excellent work, and how tooling affects design.

Discipline and Practice Mar 19, 2019

Practice is what brings us first to competency and then to mastery. Listen to some stories of discipline that allowed practitioners to work through their own limitations. Quality doesn’t have a shortcut to it.

The Lowly Scraper Mar 11, 2019

The scraper is a small wonder. It is capable of cutting in most any direction without tear-out. How to get one sharp can be frustrating. Listen to one simple tip that will change your method and make sharpening a scraper a snap.

Hock Irons Mar 05, 2019

An interview with Ron Hock of Hock Tools, maker of plane irons and knives. This is a fascinating discussion about starting a business, metallurgy, and the rise of civilizations.

Drilled and Screwed Feb 26, 2019

Drilling and screwing a box together. What could be simpler? But it often turns out to be a test of your patience, your dexterity, and your ability to forgive yourself.

The Block Plane Feb 19, 2019

All block planes are not created equal, even ones with sentimental value.

Thomas Lie-Nielsen Interview Feb 12, 2019

Thomas Lie-Nielsen and Gary chat about tools and hand tools specifically. What drives his company to build quality tools in a throw-away society? And what is the value of Quality?

Hand Tools vs. Power Tools Jan 29, 2019

What tools do you always carry to work? Is it all in one sector or another? There is a middle ground for woodworkers who both seek quiet at the bench and results at the end of the day.

Flow Jan 22, 2019

The ease with which you produce work depends upon how smooth your flow is at the bench. The distractions you allow, the interruptions you permit or block, all contribute to your success. Achieving flow is the key to successful work.

Purpose vs. Intenet in Design Jan 15, 2019

An episode in which we discuss the idea of purpose vs. intent in a design. This difference is that between the absolute basic functional requirements of a piece and its plan to entice, soothe, or beguile a viewer.

Glue Changes Everything Jan 08, 2019

Glue changes everything in an assembly. An assembly that has gone together dry several times with no mishaps, no errant angles, no parts stuck in odd places, now, with the introduction of glue, can be difficult, anxiety producing, and vocabulary building. Why is that?

Gift Giving Guide Dec 03, 2018

Here are some gift ideas certain to please every woodworker. Or ones that will make a great list to place where your gift giver can see and seize the Aha! moment.

My Top Ten Tools to Take to a Desert Island Nov 12, 2018

Which tools are the most necessary at the bench? There are so many choices and limiting it to just ten of them makes for hard decisions. Learn what makes the cut in this episode.

The Woodworker in Captivity Nov 05, 2018

Come with us to observe the Woodworker in Captivity. They are a shy proud and circumspect beast. Approach with caution, perhaps with beer, but always with a healthy respect as we spy on their unusual behavior at the bench.

What Is Sharp Oct 29, 2018

Learn about the methods for sharpening. Sharp tools cut better and cleaner. And if you cut yourself with one you heal up faster too.

Accuracy Drives Me Nuts Oct 22, 2018

Everyone has standards of accuracy. What are the ones that you can adopt that won’t drive you crazy trying to be perfect? Give a listen to this podcast on being accurate and how it can affect your time at the bench.

The Top 5 Machines in the Shop Not Named the Table Saw Oct 15, 2018

A furniture maker needs several machines to build their work. But a table saw isn’t one of them.

Splinters I Have Known Oct 08, 2018

Splinters are a sad and pointed part of a woodworker’s life. Reminders of several truths to be found at the bench. There are the attractions of wood, its beauty, its luster, and its grain. And then there are the moments when we forget how sharp wood can be and how direct. Listen to tales from the bench on memorable splinters and their removal as well as a short chapter from the new book: Handmade, Creative Focus in the Age of Distraction.

Which Wood, Why Oct 01, 2018

Your choice of wood can make a difference to your happiness in the shop. Learn about the differences between hardwoods, ring porous vs. diffuse and semi-ring porous woods, and how grain will affect the look but also how a piece moves over time. These little bits of information can help you choose the right wood for you and the job.

Handmade Sep 09, 2018

Our very first podcast opens with a chat about the new book by Gary Rogowski called Handmade: Creative Focus in the Age of Distraction. www.handmadecreativefocus.com. Gary is a furniture maker, author, former contributing editor at Fine Woodworking Magazine, and the Director of The Northwest Woodworking Studio, A School for Woodworkers, in Portland, Oregon. This maiden podcast is a short practical and philosophical stroll through some of the topics to be found in his new book. He touches on subjects like the only two things that woodworkers can agree upon, the “Right Way” of doing things at the bench, and forgiveness in the wood shop. The book argues for taking a chance on your creativity and the value of working with our hands in this digital age.

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