Hurrah! Over the last two weeks, I’ve announced all of the Issue Twenty-One articles, and you can find the entire Table of Contents listed below:
Jay Smith – “In the Throes of Construction: The Adventure of Building a Viking Ship”
Andrew Gonzales – “Hidden Legacy: Colonial New Mexican Woodcraft”
Kenneth Schwarz – “Working Within Compass”
Mike Epworth – “Displaced: Folk Furniture’s Connection to Place, People, & Time”
Joshua A. Klein – “On the Outside: The House by Hand Exterior”
“Under the Table: An Examination of an 18th-Century Tavern Table”
Andrew S. Hogeland – “Voices of the Lost Boys: Tales by Early American Woodworking Apprentices”
“It Never Gets Old: A Visit to Bonhams Skinner Auction House”
Alex Ellis – “Seeds of Craft: On Replacing the Temporary with the Enduring”
Book Recommendation – Nevan Carling – “Five Timber Framing Books”
The cover photo for this issue depicts offcuts from my house’s front trim (windows, columns, entablature). I made several profiles for all of these architectural elements (see the link to my article post above for more about that). The entablature (molding over the front door) design was based on a few local houses and Asher Benjamin and Batty Langley’s period books on classical design. It was quite a task handplaning all those large moldings – especially when I miscut the biggest ogee piece after triple checking my measurements! (The second one went faster than the first, by the way.) The front and back covers contain several of the profiles I made for that project. It was an absolute blast getting this fancy after all the years of rough carpentry.
This issue is currently in the hands our our copy editor, Jacob Caselli. Once I get it back from him and the fine tuning is done, this one is off to the printer! So, heads up that the final cutoff for subscriptions that will include Issue Twenty-One is the end of the day Thursday, August 27. Make sure you’re subscribed to get this issue from the printer!
-Joshua
Facts Only
* Jay Smith wrote an article on "In the Throes of Construction: The Adventure of Building a Viking Ship."
* Andrew Gonzales wrote an article on "Hidden Legacy: Colonial New Mexican Woodcraft."
* Kenneth Schwarz wrote an article titled "Working Within Compass."
* Mike Epworth wrote "Displaced: Folk Furniture’s Connection to Place, People, & Time."
* Joshua A. Klein wrote "On the Outside: The House by Hand Exterior."
* An examination of an 18th-Century Tavern Table was included.
* Andrew S. Hogeland wrote "Voices of the Lost Boys: Tales by Early American Woodworking Apprentices."
* Alex Ellis wrote "Seeds of Craft: On Replacing the Temporary with the Enduring."
* A book recommendation was made for Nevan Carling’s "Five Timber Framing Books."
* The cover photo features offcuts from house front trim.
* The entablature design was based on local houses and period books by Asher Benjamin and Batty Langley.
Executive Summary
Full Take
The structure of the content draws a strong line between high-level historical craft narratives and tangible, hands-on artisanal practice, positioning woodworking not merely as a hobby but as an engagement with deep temporal and spatial legacy. The author bridges the abstract concepts of legacy (furniture connection to time) with the concrete execution of skill (handplaning moldings). The pattern suggests a value placed on embodied knowledge—the transmission of techniques found in historical sources—as a form of resistance against ephemerality, evidenced by the focus on replacing the temporary with the enduring. The operational context involves a careful management of production timelines and editorial workflows, suggesting that even creative output is subject to structured, logistical constraints (e.g., deadline for subscriptions). This framing implies an understanding that true innovation often emerges from mastering inherited, material-based systems rather than pure theoretical abstraction.
Bridge Questions: How does the tension between the narrative history of artifacts (Viking ships, colonial woodcraft) and the contemporary emphasis on craft education influence the perceived value of material objects today? What are the unspoken assumptions about the relationship between place, time, and craftsmanship that underpin this body of work? What systems—beyond the publication process itself—are required to sustain the transmission of these complex, multi-generational skills?
Sentinel — Human
The text exhibits strong human markers, characterized by a distinct, personal voice and specific anecdotal detail regarding a physical craft project and publication logistics.