While I was teaching a chairmaking class at the Woodworking School at Pinecroft last week, school manager Katie Bister offered to plait the handle of my Exeter hammer with the woody stalks of broom corn.
Katie is a multi-talented craftsperson in fiber arts and woodworking, so I immediately said yes. I offered her a Crucible brass center square in trade. Plaiting is similar to braiding. Many times it is decorative, though it can be used to strengthen the area of a broom where the handle intersects the head, Bister says.
In this case, the plaiting adds some grip to the hammer handle, which is nice. You can see Bister’s plaiting work all over the shop at Pine Croft, including the handles on one of the tool cabinets.
The plaiting process took 23 minutes, according to the time codes on my photos. Here’s what it looks like.
Rob Spiece, director of Woodcraft, shows off the Dulci-Matic.
Like most Kentuckians, I’ve long been buying brooms and other crafts made by students working for Berea College Student Craft. The students aren’t craft majors. Instead they work for Berea Student Craft as part of their work requirement at the college (which does not charge tuition).
And I’ve visited the Berea Student Craft department a dozen times in the last 20 years. But this year, things were a bit different.
After teaching a chairmaking class at the Woodworking School at Pine Croft (run by Berea Student Craft) the students and I took a tour of the department led by Aaron Beale, associate vice president of student craft.
During the last few years, Berea Student Craft has altered direction. Instead of making traditional Appalachian crafts to sell to the public, the crafts are now designed by the students and reflect the eight “Great Commitments” of Berea College in some way, Beale says.
Aaron Beale in Broomcraft.
Example: the Chaos Tote Bag was designed by Dylan Heil to use up surplus yarn. The pattern woven by the students doesn’t repeat for a long time, so each tote is unique. And the bag reflects the college’s commitment to sustainability.
And this doesn’t mean that Berea Student Craft has turned its back on Appalachia. Quite the opposite. One the school’s eight Great Commitments is to support Appalachia. So the wood comes from its great forest; the forms of brooms (such as the turkey wing) are traditional. But the ideas look to the future.
The Community Basket is a good example of this. It’s inspired by Shaker oval boxes, but the bent bands have been staggered and arranged as a basket with some fascinating negative space. And the Dustpan and Broom set (which we love) hit the same chords.
Most of the photos I took were in Broomcraft (I love brooms, and I love a clean shop). The Berea brooms are the best I’ve ever owned, and I own a lot of brooms. They are worlds better than the inexpensive brooms from overseas. And they are well-priced compared to brooms made by individual artisans. (Order some; you won’t be disappointed.)
I found the whole thing so inspiring that I think you will see a Lost Art Press book that embraces one of the new (and amazing) objects at Berea Student Craft.
— Christopher Schwarz
P.S. If you haven’t been to Berea in a while, it is time to go back. The town now has alcohol, and the restaurants have gotten very good. Plus the Boone Tavern and its restaurant, Crafted, have been renovated and are world class. Honestly, a weekend there is just what the doctor ordered.
Join the Lost Art Press gang, along with four score of the world’s best hand tool makers and teachers, and 5,000 or so of your closest woodworking friends for the hand tool event of the year:
Roy Underhill, entertaining the Saturday morning crowd in 2023.
Admission to the event is free (though donations at the door will be much appreciated by the organizers) – but do register in advance on the Handworks website. That way, you’ll be eligible for some fabulous door prizes donated by the vendors.
On Saturday morning, Christopher Schwarz and Mike Siemsen will kick things off at 10 a.m. with what I am sure will be a slightly unhinged and thoroughly entertaining presentation. (Doors will open at 9 a.m. that morning to allow folks to find a spot.)
This is the fifth Handworks, and while I didn’t think it possible, it grows more amazing every time. It truly is a not-to-be-missed event.
A fuzzy shot from 2017 (I hope it’s similarly temperate this year; last year was a scorcher!). Who’s that young man?!
Now available in our store is Ed Zappen’s book “Thomas Jefferson’s Declaration Desk.” Inside, you’ll find construction drawings, details and techniques, as well as plenty of color photos, to guide you as you build your own faithful replica of the Declaration Desk. Plus, an overview of events that led to the American Revolution and some of the people involved, as well as a bibliography for those who wish to further study the period and the Declaration of Independence.
The original Declaration Desk, on view at the Smithsonian.
The original Declaration Desk (shown above) was made by Philadelphia cabinetmaker Benjamin Randolph (1721-1791). It’s a typical 18th-century desk for a man of letters, with a baize-covered bi-fold writing surface that is adjustable via a hinged support that rests in stops atop the desk box. The delicate drawer features tiny half-blind dovetails at the front, along with a thin inlay of satinwood that is mirrored on the back of the mitered box. The drawer interior is cleverly divided with two inkwell compartments and a longer cubby in between for quills, with room behind for paper. It’s a lovely little build – and a lovely little compact book – for those interested in 18th-century furniture and furnishings.
Below is the foreword from “Thomas Jefferson’s Declaration Desk,” written by Harry R. Rubenstein, Curator Emeritus and former Chair of the Division of Political History National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution
Within the vast collections of the Smithsonian Institution, one small item stands out for its association with the nation’s founding. It is the small wooden writing box on which Thomas Jefferson drafted the Declaration of Independence. Like many of Jefferson’s designs and writings, this seemingly plain desk reveals a greater complexity with further examination, even as it reflects his desire for simplicity and order.
As a delegate to the first meeting of the Second Continental Congress in 1775, Jefferson lodged with Benjamin Randolph, a prominent Philadelphia cabinetmaker; Jefferson commissioned Randolph to make a writing box of Jefferson’s design to keep his papers and writing instruments.
In June 1776, the Continental Congress appointed Jefferson to the five-member committee to draft the Declaration of Independence. Scribbling on scraps of paper on the slanted boards of his writing box, Jefferson outlined founding principles for a new nation and listed grievances against the British crown that led the Colonies to their decision for independence. The finished text inspired many colonists to a revolutionary cause and continues to stir democratic aspirations worldwide.
With an open mind and a bit of imagination, objects like this desk make the seemingly mythic past more real and offer insights into the lives of those who still influence us today. For those who follow Ed Zappen’s carefully drawn plans and instructions, you will have not only the opportunity to produce an excellent and faithful replica of Jefferson’s writing box, but also the chance to enter a world of talented cabinetmakers from another era. It was a time when writing required its own set of tools, when handwritten notes were a principal form of communication, and when revolutionary ideals of democracy and freedom were taking shape to create a new nation.
One of Ed Zappen’s reproductions of the Declaration Desk.
Editor’s note: Our Mind Upon Mind series is a nod to a 1937 Chips from the Chisel column (also featured in “Honest Labour: The Charles H. Hayward Years”), in which Hayward wrote, “The influence of mind upon mind is extraordinary.” The idea being there’s often room for improvement.To that end, we’ve asked you what else you have thought of, tried out and improved upon after building projects from our books.
Send us your own ideas! Email [email protected]. You can read more about the submission process here.
This tip may not rise to the level of a breakthrough, but I’ve found it very convenient in my shop.
For a sharpening station, try a sandwich of plastic lunch trays.
It keeps the dust off the stones when not in use, collects swarf water from a squeeze bottle, and keeps the stones in place while carefully draining the pond. I ended up with two different tray sizes and have never seen reason to change, but I don’t think it matters one way or another.
