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.
The Value of Wood
Wood built the fur trade. Winter logging, frozen muskeg crossings, river transport, and hand‑built York boats formed the timber economy that kept Hudson’s Bay Company and North West Company posts alive. This story traces how wood powered York Factory in 1817 — and why the material that meant survival then still matters every time we pick up a board today.
Outdoor Wood
Outdoor wood faces sun, snow, floodwater, ice, and 200 years of Prairie weather. This story explains how bur oak, tamarack, cedar, Douglas fir, treated spruce, and modern HDPE survived (or failed) in real conditions — freeze‑thaw cycles, river floods, soil contact, and decades of exposure. Built from fieldwork across Manitoba, it’s the long Prairie record of outdoor wood: what lasted, what didn’t, and why our choices still matter today.