A swivel lid box.

One important question about sharpening has to do with which method to use (waterstones, oil stones, diamond stones or sand paper.) I think we concluded that each would bring the tools to a useful edge.

On Saturday I mentioned David Pye to my students and then became distracted before telling them the important part.  Pye, wrestling with how to find value in a craftsman's work in the machine age, decided that craftsmanship of risk in which there is potential for the craftsman's growth was of greater value to society than machine made craftsmanship of certainty in which no immediate growth was certain in the character of the craftsman, and in which the man operating the machine became machine like in his actions and thoughts.

Yesterday I did home maintenance and am always pleased that I have a few tools at hand.

Today in the Clear Spring School wood shop, my elementary school students will be making toys.

A friend in Oregon shared the box images in this post, based on a box design in my book Beautiful Boxes Design and Technique. Naturally he made some changes in the design, using mitered joints instead of the modified butt joint I used in the book. The spalted wood on the top has been strengthened and stabilized by a polymer process, so it will not decay any further. Nor will it expand and contract as does normal wood.

I take credit for the original design, but Bob Sokolow's craftsmanship is superb. It is a pleasure to see one of my boxes offered so beautifully through the hands of a friend.

Make, fix and create.