In woodwork tradition is everything. I often hear myself say to students “Why reinvent the wheel?” Absolutely, why would you? In woodwork though, like with the wheel, advancements and improvements have been made. Woodworking processes have modernised, and traditional processes can often be achieved much more efficiently. These advancements have made high quality joinery much more accessible.

These are our new traditions. The mortise and tenon has been replaced by the Domino Joiner, tongue and groove by the Biscuit Joiner. Like the wheel, some aspects of woodworking remain the same and a balance is struck. Timber is still transformed by process; the preparation of material, marking out, cutting, joinery, gluing and clamping, the clean up, and the finishing.

The process is the constant, and there is a rhythmic predictably to the sequence.

This is what there is to learn.