Shop Notes & Rambles
Welcome to the quieter corner of the shop — the place where sawdust settles, thoughts wander, and stories take shape. These rambles capture the rhythm of the work, the lessons learned, and the craft that holds it all together.
Shop Ramble Mailing List
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Shop Ramble Mailing List 〰️
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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.
Cherry
Cherry comes from the Black Cherry tree — a fast‑growing pioneer species with tannin‑rich heartwood, pale sapwood, and a history written in its growth rings. This Ramble explores why cherry blotches, how it ages, and why its warm whiskey colour keeps it one of the most loved hardwoods in the shop.
🍁 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. This story explores how its earlywood–latewood contrast shapes its behaviour in the shop — from tear‑out to finishing — and why it remains the wood so many of us learned on.
White oak
White oak is one of North America’s toughest hardwoods — shaped by slow growth, tyloses, tannins, and a history of surviving where other trees fail. Its strength and stability made it the wood generations trusted to last.
Shop Life
Shop life is a mix of smooth mornings and sudden chaos — lost tools, kickbacks, forgotten plans, and the small moments that shift a day from normal to “oh, fuck.” This Ramble looks at the humour, frustration, and timing that shape a working day, and the quiet skill of knowing when the day is done.
Mini Kitchen
A forgotten Coleman stove, a tailgate kitchen build, and a season of hard news shaped this Ramble. It’s a story about repair, distraction, memory, and the quiet work of staying steady when life shifts — how a small project became a lifeline, and how building kept me moving when the world felt still.