Behind the grain
This is the quiet room in the house — the place for the stories that sit just outside the shop lights. The personal notes, the health updates, the Knotty Dave bio, the business shifts, the website growth, and the reflective pieces that shape the maker. These aren’t wood stories or craft lessons. They’re the life around the work — the grain behind the grain, the part you only see when the tools are silent.
Health & cancer journey
Stories from the harder seasons — honest pieces about pain, recovery, resilience, and the shifts that reshape a craftsman’s life.
New Beginnings at Knotty Dave’s
A story about the shift that reshaped the shop — chronic pain, a new business model, the move into content creation, and the launch of a website built to carry the next chapter. A turning point where the old way gave way to something fresh, honest, and forward‑moving.
Explore New Beginnings at Knotty Dave’s
THE SHIFT — LIFE DOESN’T WAIT
A reflection on illness, time, and the urgency that arrived with a cancer diagnosis — the moment life changed, priorities sharpened, and the craft became a way to stay present, steady, and stubbornly alive. A story about building with purpose when later is no longer guaranteed.
Explore The Shift — Life Doesn’t wait
Mini Kitchen
A spring build sparked by an old Coleman stove — a small project that became a shield against fear, a way to stay busy, stay steady, and remember where the craft began. A story about making something for yourself when life demands a place to breathe.
Recovery Ramble
A quiet update from the early days of healing — a look at pain, pacing, small shop tasks, and the slow return to normal after surgery. A story about recovery measured not in big milestones, but in steady days, honest reflection, and the work you do when your body sets the limits.
Cleaning the Shop, Living With Cancer
A shop reset shaped by surgeries, stamina, and the small rituals that keep a maker standing. A story about clearing shelves, reclaiming space, and finding steadiness in the Walnut Wagon, a blank wall, and a little wood stove waiting for better days — the work that helps when life tilts.
Peripheral stories
Stories that live at the edges of shop life — softer, slower, and meant for the days when the work teaches something unexpected.
The Power of Lazy
A story from a 1988 autobody shop about why the “lazy” workers—the ones who slow down, pay attention, and do the job right the first time—produce the cleanest, smartest, and most reliable work. A lesson in craft, care, and why not rushing is the most productive thing a maker can do.
the world runs on pencils
A light, nostalgic look at the smallest tool in the shop — the pencils that vanish, reappear, get sharpened on belt sanders, and quietly hold the whole craft together. A story about shop life, humour, and the truth that nothing gets built until the pencil shows up.
Explore The World Runs On Pencils
how to arrive at perfect
A look at perfection in real woodworking — the tear‑out, grain reversals, stubborn boards, and the honest marks that show up no matter how careful the build. A story about why handmade work never behaves perfectly, why that’s the point, and how embracing imperfection becomes the only path to “perfect” in the shop.
Explore How To Arrive at Perfect
shop life
A look at the days that run smooth and the days that fall apart — the lost hammer, the missing tape, the kickback that shifts your mood, and the timing that decides whether you push through or call it quits. A story about humour, frustration, and the quiet skill of knowing when the day is done.
Grandpa’s toolbox
A return to the basement shop of the 80s — the plywood benches, the old tools, the smell of sawdust and oil, and the hand plane that passed from Grandpa’s hands to yours. A story about heritage, craft, and the quiet weight of the tools that shape a woodworker long before he knows what they mean.
The Mistake Every New Woodworker Makes (And I Made It Too)
A beginner’s lesson every woodworker learns the hard way — the moment you try to force wood into behaving, only to discover it has its own ideas. A story about a stubborn spruce bench, the twist that broke the illusion, and the truth that real craft begins when you stop fighting the grain and start listening to it.
