Shop Notes & Rambles
The Rambles are the stories lived and learned over decades — the moments, the lessons, and the shop life that shaped the craft. They accumulate here, sorted by publish date. If you want the curated version, explore the Workshop Library.
Hickory
Hickory wood — one of the toughest North American hardwoods, known for extreme strength, shock resistance, and the durability behind axe handles, mallets, and heavy‑use tools.
American White Elm
American white elm — rope‑fiber grain, wild colour variation, and a century‑long fight against Dutch elm disease. This story traces elm’s rise, loss, survival, and rediscovery across North America, from the great elm cities to the modern return of urban‑milled elm lumber. A species shaped by history, craft, and resilience.
Ash
Ash trees across North America — green ash shelterbelts, white ash hardwood, black ash heritage, and the emerald ash borer now threatening every species.
Poplar
Poplar is the paint‑grade workhorse of the shop — a fast‑growing pioneer hardwood that’s stable, predictable, and perfect for the quiet jobs behind the scenes. This Ramble explores how poplar grows, why it’s so reliable, and why every woodworker depends on it.
Walnut
Walnut has a reputation bigger than the tree itself. People treat it like a rare, luxury hardwood, but in the shop it’s just walnut — honest, stable, beautiful, and one of the most enjoyable woods to work with. This Ramble cuts through the hype and looks at black walnut as it really is: the tree, the lumber, the grain, the chemistry, and the truth behind its reputation.
Cherry
Cherry wood is known for its whiskey‑warm heartwood, pale sapwood, sweet almond scent, and the way it darkens in sunlight. This story explores the Black Cherry tree — how it grows, why it blotches, how gum pockets form, and why cherry’s grain and colour come directly from the tree’s history.
🍁 Hard Maple
Hard maple comes from the sugar maple — a northern, slow‑grown hardwood shaped by freeze–thaw cycles, tight grain, and dense, closed‑pore anatomy. This Ramble explains why it burns on dull blades, shines under sharp tools, and remains one of the most reliable woods in the shop.
Oak vs Oak
Oak on the Prairies meant different things in different eras — white oak in early 1900s heritage homes, red oak in the builder‑grade kitchens of the 70s–90s. This Ramble explains the real differences between the two oaks, the history behind them, and why each species carries its own story.
Red oak
Red oak is open‑pored, fast‑growing, and honest — a hardwood defined by earlywood pores, latewood strength, and the tear‑out that teaches every woodworker patience.
White oak
White oak — a slow‑grown hardwood built from tyloses, tannins, and tight rings, making it one of North America’s strongest, most decay‑resistant woods for furniture, floors, barrels, and anything meant to last.
Bur Oak: Giants and Legends
There are trees that grow fast, live fast, and vanish without leaving much behind. And then there are the giants — the ones that shape a land, raise generations, and carry centuries in their bark. This is the story of the bur oak, and the story of the prairie people who grew up under them.