The Spirit of Woodcraft

Announcer: MAJOR FUNDING FOR "THE WOODWRIGHT'S SHOP" IS PROVIDED BY... MORE THAN 40 MILLION PEOPLE WHO CARE FOR THEIR CARS AND HOMES CHOOSE STATE FARM FOR THEIR INSURANCE.

STATE FARM--A PROUD SUPPORTER OF "THE WOODWRIGHT'S SHOP."

CAPTIONING MADE POSSIBLE BY U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION HUH.

HEY, HELLO AGAIN.

WELCOME BACK TO "THE WOODWRIGHT'S SHOP."

I'M ROY UNDERHILL.

LUKE.

I HAVE SOMETHING FOR YOU HERE.

IT'S YOUR FATHER'S LIGHT SABER.

THE WEAPON OF THE JEDI KNIGHT.

NOT AS CLUMSY OR RANDOM AS A BLASTER, BUT A MORE ELEGANT WEAPON FOR A MORE CIVILIZED TIME.

[SAW VIBRATING] SO I WAS THINKING THE OTHER DAY, WHY DOES THIS NEVER HAPPEN TO ME?

IT WAS RAINING AND IT WAS DARK, NOT MUCH ELSE TO DO, AND I WAS PROBABLY DRINKING TOO MUCH COFFEE, AND I GET TO THINKING, WHAT DOES THE JEDI WOODWORKER KNOW THAT US ORDINARY WOODWORKERS DON'T?

I THINK YOU KNOW THE GUYS I'M TALKING ABOUT.

YOU KNOW, THE FOLKS, THEY DO THIS INCREDIBLE WORK.

THEY HAVE THIS INTENSE FOCUS TO THEIR WHOLE LIVES, THIS SAMURAI CHARISMA THAT JUST DRAWS APPRENTICES TO THEIR FEET.

SONGBIRDS FLY IN THE WINDOWS OF THEIR SHOPS, BRINING THEM FLOWERS TO TRADE FOR THEIR SHAVINGS THAT THEY CAN TAKE BACK AND MAKE THEIR NESTS.

SO WHAT IS THE PATH OF THIS ZEN MASTER ARTISAN AND WHAT AM I DOING WRONG?

I MEAN, THERE'S GOT TO BE MORE TO BEING A KING THAN BEING TOSSED A SCIMITAR BY SOME WATERY TART.

WELL, I WAS SAWING AT THE TIME AND I HAD DRIFTED OFF THE LINE, AND I THOUGHT, "WELL, THAT'S IT.

IT'S MINDFULNESS.

MINDFULNESS IS WHAT I'M MISSING."

MONKEY MIND KEEPS TAKING ME OFF THE PATH.

IF I COULD JUST BE HERE NOW, BREATHE AND BE PRESENT FOR MY WORK, THEN THAT'D AT LEAST BE A START.

I MEAN, HALF OF LIFE IS JUST SHOWING UP.

AND LISTEN, YOU KNOW, I'VE READ "THE ZEN AND THE ART OF ARCHERY."

I DON'T HAVE A BOW HERE, BUT I DO HAVE A BOW SAW.

SO I TENSION THE BLADE, I FREE MY MIND OF IMPURE THOUGHTS, BREATHE AND BECOME ONE WITH THE SAW, ONE WITH THE WOOD.

I LET THE SAW DO THE WORK SO THAT EACH STROKE IS LIKE SNOW SLIDING FROM THE BAMBOO LEAVES AND THE BAMBOO SPRINGS BACK, BUT MORE SNOW FALLS UNTIL THE SNOW SLIDES OFF AGAIN.

I STAY ON THE PATH EVEN AS THE GRAIN OF THE WOOD HAS ITS OWN INTENTIONS FOR THE BLADE.

YOU WALK THE LINE AS ONE MIGHT WALK A SHARP MOUNTAIN RIDGE, BUFFETED BY WINDS BUT KEEPING YOUR BALANCE WITH YOUR FEET EVEN AS YOUR EYES LOOK STRAIGHT AHEAD.

THE BRAIN DOESN'T DO THIS BY THINKING.

THE HAND FEELS THE GRAIN AND GUIDES THE EYE AS MUCH AS THE EYE GUIDES THE HAND, AND SAWING BECOMES AS NATURAL AND EFFORTLESS AS BREATHING THROUGH THE WOOD.

YOU JUST BE THE WOOD.

NA-NA-NA-NA-NA-NA-NA.

BE THE WOOD.

NA-NA-NA-NA-NA-NA.

AND THEN I HEAR THE OLD GUYS LAUGHING--[LAUGHS].

THOSE TWO OLD NORWEGIAN BOAT BUILDERS WATCHING ME USE A SAW, AND THEY'RE LAUGHING.

NOT LAUGHING AT HOW I'M USING THE SAW BUT LAUGHING AT THE FACT THAT I'M USING A SAW AT ALL, BECAUSE TO THEM, THE SAW IS ONLY FOR THOSE WHO ARE UNSKILLED IN THE USE OF THE NOBLER INSTRUMENT--THE AXE.

BUT THEY WERE LAUGHING WITH EMBARRASSMENT FOR ME, AS IF I'D PICKED UP A WOMAN'S HAT AND, NOT KNOWING THE CULTURE, PUT IT ON.

THE AXE IS THE PROPER TOOL FOR A MAN, 'CAUSE WHAT ARE YOU'RE GOING TO DO?

YOU'RE GOING TO HOP IN YOUR VIKING SHIP AND RAID AN IRISH MONASTERY ARMED WITH A SAW?

I THINK WOODWORKING, LIKE SO MANY DISCIPLINES, HAS A MARTIAL ARTS QUALITY TO IT, AND YOU CERTAINLY GOT TO HAVE MINDFULNESS WHEN YOU'RE USING AN AXE... MUCH MORE SO THAN WITH A SAW WITH 100 TINY KNIVES OR CHISELS OF A CROSS-CUTTER RIP SAW.

AN AXE BRINGS YOU INTO THE WOOD WITH EVERY BLOW.

IN GEORGE STURT'S BOOK "THE WHEELWRIGHT'S SHOP," HE TALKS ABOUT THESE OLD GUYS, I MEAN REAL NINJA WOODWORKERS, AND THE OLD WHEELWRIGHTS, AND HE SAID OF THEM, "THEY WERE FRIENDS WITH OAK AND IRON.

THE GRAIN AND THE WOOD HOLD SECRETS TO THEM."

AND I LOVE THAT QUOTATION, BUT WHAT WERE THE SECRETS?

WHAT WAS THE GRAIN OF THE WOOD TELLING THESE GUYS?

NOW, THEY WERE WHEELWRIGHTS, SO THE BEAUTY OF THE GRAIN DIDN'T MATTER SO MUCH TO THEM.

NOW, THEY WERE AFTER STRENGTH, AND I THINK YOU SEE THAT IN THESE PLANES RIGHT HERE.

LOOK AT THESE.

THESE ARE TWO PANEL-RAISING PLANES, BOTH OF THEM BEAUTIFULLY MADE, AND THEY'RE TO MAKE RAISED PANELS AND DOORS.

OF COURSE, YOU CAN SEE HOW THE IRON IS DIAGONAL THERE, SKEWED TO CUT ACROSS THE GRAIN OF THE DOOR PANELS.

THEY'RE BOTH BEECH, BOTH EXECUTED WITH A HIGH DEGREE OF WORKMANSHIP, BUT WITH DIFFERENT CHOICES IN THE DESIGN OF THE HANDLES, OR TOTES, AS THEY'RE CALLED.

SEE HOW THIS ONE IS MUCH LONGER AND THINNER THAN THIS ONE?

THAT'S BECAUSE OF THE ORIENTATION OF THE GRAIN.

THE GUY WHO MADE THIS ONE ORIENTED THE GRAIN OF THE HANDLE VERTICALLY, SO THIS HANDLE IS MUCH STRONGER, REALLY, THAN THIS PLANE, BUT HERE THE GRAIN IS ORIENTED HORIZONTALLY, YOU SEE.

IT COULD SPLIT THROUGH THERE.

BUT IT'S STRENGTHENED BY THAT STRONG FORWARD SWEEP, AND THAT GRAIN GOING IN THIS DIRECTION ALLOWS THIS PART TO SWEEP BACK IN A BOLD DESIGN YOU CAN'T GET IN THE OTHER, WHERE THIS COULD SNAP OFF.

STILL, EACH IS A COMPROMISE.

THIS COULD SNAP THROUGH HERE, AND THIS COULD SNAP VERTICALLY THROUGH HERE, BUT NOW LET'S LOOK AT A THIRD PLANE.

ONE THAT, AT THE TIME, HAD A HANDLE JUST LIKE THESE, BUT A HANDLE THAT BROKE OFF.

AND THE MAN WHO OWNED THIS PLANE, HE WASN'T A PLANE MAKER.

NO.

ALL HE CARED ABOUT WAS STRENGTH.

HE DIDN'T CARE ABOUT AESTHETICS.

JUST NEEDED SOMETHING THAT WOULD HOLD UP.

SO HE REPLACED THE BROKEN HANDLE WITH A PIECE WHERE THE GRAIN GOES IN BOTH DIRECTIONS.

DO YOU SEE?

THIS IS A DOGWOOD BRANCH, AND THE GRAIN FLOWS THROUGHOUT THE SHAPE.

THIS GUY KNEW THE SECRETS OF THE GRAIN.

SO MAYBE THAT'S WHAT THE JEDI WOODWORKER NEEDS.

THAT'S WHAT WE GOT TO GET.

WE GOT TO GO FOR VIVECA, DISCRIMINATION, THE YOGIC PRINCIPLE OF DISCERNMENT, INSIGHT, SEEING THE SIMPLICITY BEHIND THE CONFUSION, AS THOREAU WROTE.

THAT'S WHAT THE SUPERIOR MIND SEES.

THE ORDINARY MIND SEES ONLY THE COMPLEXITIES.

NOW, IF YOU'VE EVER READ ANNIE DILLARD'S BOOK "PILGRIM AT TINKER CREEK," YOU KNOW THAT SHE HAS ONE OF THOSE MINDS, COULD SEE THROUGH THE COMPLEXITIES THOREAU WAS TALKING ABOUT.

WHEN SHE WAS LIVING ON THE NORTHWEST COAST, HAVING TO HEAT HER LITTLE CABIN WITH ALDER WOOD, SHE WAS HAVING TROUBLE SPLITTING THE ALDER.

THE TOPS JUST KEPT SPLITTING OFF LIKE SHE WAS DOING FLINTS, BUT AS SHE WROTE, ONE COLD NIGHT, SHE HAD A DREAM IN WHICH SHE WAS GIVEN TO UNDERSTAND BY THE POWERS THAT BE HOW TO SPLIT WOOD.

YOU AIM, SAID THE DREAM, OF COURSE, AT THE CHOPPING BLOCK.

YOU AIM AT THE CHOPPING BLOCK, NOT AT THE WOOD.

THEN YOU SPLIT THE WOOD INSTEAD OF CHIPPING IT.

YOU CANNOT DO THE WORK CLEANLY UNLESS YOU TREAT THE WOOD AS THE TRANSPARENT MEANS TO AN END, BY AIMING PAST IT.

AND SPLITTING WOOD, PARADOXICALLY... FINDS THE PLANES OF WEAKNESS IN THE GRAIN, AND THEREBY CAPTURES ITS STRENGTH.

SO THERE YOU ARE.

YOU EXPLOIT THE WEAKNESS OF THE GRAIN WHEN YOU WORK THE WOOD.

YOU EXPLOIT THE STRENGTH OF THE WOOD WHEN YOU USE IT.

[DING] SO, I THOUGHT, THAT'S IT.

PERHAPS THE NINJA WOODWORKER JUST FINDS THE FORCE IN THE WOOD AND UNLEASHES IT.

A TRUE ARTISAN WORKS FROM THE CRAFTSMANSHIP OF RISK INTO THE FLOW OF NATURE, AND FROM THAT FORCE, DERIVES THE FORM.

AND NOW, ALL OF A SUDDEN, I'M OFF IN DAVID PYE LAND AND EVERYTHING I KNOW IS WRONG.

GATHER ALL THESE JEDI WOODWORKERS TOGETHER IN THE COUNCIL CHAMBER AND ASK EACH OF THEM WHAT SHAPED THEIR PATH, AND THEY'LL ALL ANSWER DAVID PYE'S BOOK "THE NATURE AND ART OF WORKMANSHIP."

THAT WHOLE CONCEPT OF THE CRAFTSMANSHIP OF RISK AND CRAFTSMANSHIP OF CERTAINTY, THAT COMES FROM HIM, AS DOES THE CONCEPT OF THE SELF-JIGGING TOOL.

I MEAN, LOOK AT THIS ADZE.

IT'S LIKE AN AXE.

IT SEEMS WILD, BUT YOU SEE HOW EACH BLOW IS GUIDED BY THE SURFACE THAT IT HAS JUST CREATED.

IT IS A SELF-JIGGING TOOL.

THAT CONCEPT COMES FROM DAVID PYE.

WE SEE IT AGAIN IN THE GOUGE WHEN WE'RE ROUGHING IN FOR A MOLDING, WHEN WE'RE ROUGHING OUT A PLACE FOR THE PLANE TO RUN.

WE RUN THE GOUGE TRACKING IN THE CHANNEL THAT WE JUST MADE.

WE WORK ALONG LIKE THIS, GOING NOT JUST WITH THE FLOW OF THE GRAIN BUT WITH THE FLOW OF THE WORK THAT WE HAVE DONE.

THIS IS FROM DAVID PYE, THE CONCEPT OF THE SELF-JIGGING TOOL, AND THIS, OF COURSE, PREPARES THE WAY FOR THE PLANES, A TOOL THAT IS STILL RELATIVELY FREE BUT A HECK OF A LOT LESS WILD AND RISKY THAN THE AXE.

YOU CAN SEE HOW IT HAS THE SHAPE THAT WE WANT ENCODED IN IT, AND WE TRANSFER THAT SHAPE TO THE WORK.

NOW, OF COURSE, THERE'S SOME TOOLS WHERE THIS GUIDING PRINCIPLE'S REALLY OBVIOUS.

AH.

WE'RE GOING TO CENTER BIT WITH A CENTRAL PIKE.

SEE HOW THIS HAS A CENTRAL PIKE, AND IT UNDERSTANDS THE WOOD IN THE MOST ELEGANT MANNER.

THE CENTRAL PIKE IS THE AXIS AROUND WHICH REVOLVES THE NICKER HERE AND THEN THE SWEEPING CHISEL.

HOLDING IT IN ORBIT.

WOW.

THE CENTRAL PIKE BORES DOWN.

IT'S GOOD AT WHAT IT DOES, IT BORES A WONDERFUL HOLE, BUT I TELL YOU, IT CAN'T DO MUCH ELSE.

PERFECTION HERE IS GAINED AT THE COST OF FREEDOM.

THAT'S WHY THEY CALL IT BORING.

[LAUGHS] BUT WE CAN REVERSE THAT CONSTRAINT, TURN IT ON ITS HEAD, AND FIND FREEDOM AGAIN BY SPINNING THE WOOD RATHER THAN THE TOOL.

ON THE LATHE, WE HOLD OUR WOOD ON A CONCENTRIC ORBIT AROUND AN AXIS, BUT NOW WE'RE FREE TO FIND SHAPES ALONG ITS LENGTH.

THE TOOL, AGAIN, IS SELF-JIGGING, RUBBING ON THE PREVIOUSLY-CUT SURFACE.

BUT IF YOU'RE BOLD, YOU CAN MAKE THESE WONDERFUL SHAPES.

AND YOU'RE GUIDED BY, AGAIN, PRINCIPLES OF THE GRAIN.

ALWAYS CUTTING FROM THE LARGE DIAMETER TO THE SMALL, THINKING OF THE DESIGN AS IF IT WERE A WATER BALLOON BEING CONSTRICTED BY THE RINGS.

SO PERHAPS THAT IS SOME HARMONIOUS BALANCE OF FREEDOM AND CONSTRAINT THAT WE NEED IN OUR WOODWORKING.

OPPOSITES LINKED IN A DYNAMIC CONTRADICTION.

G.K. CHESTERTON SAID TO US THAT CONTRADICTIONS ARE JUST THE TRUTH STANDING ON ITS HEAD TO GET OUR ATTENTION, AND CONTRADICTIONS ABOUND IN THE SHOP, LIKE HERE ON THE SHAVING HORSE, WHERE THE HARDER WE PULL ON THE WORK, THE HARDER IT GRIPS.

THE ACTION IS A CIRCLE.

IT GOES THROUGH MY FOOT, THROUGH THE SHAVING HORSE, THROUGH THE WORK, THROUGH THE DRAW KNIFE, THROUGH MY ARMS, THROUGH MY BODY, DOWN MY LEG, THROUGH MY FOOT, INTO THE SHAVING HORSE AGAIN, IN AN ENDLESS CIRCLE THAT ALLOWS US TO WORK WITH EASE THROUGH THE CONTRADICTION.

AND, OF COURSE, THERE IS THE CONTRADICTION OF THE DRAW BORE, WHERE WE DELIBERATELY OFFSET PEG HOLES TO BRING THE JOINT TIGHTER.

WE BORE THROUGH THE CHEEKS OF THE MORTICE, JUST ALONE, AND THEN MARK THE SPOT WHERE THE HOLE WOULD GO THROUGH THE TENON IF WE WENT STRAIGHT THROUGH, BUT THEN WE OFFSET THE HOLE IN THE TENON JUST A LITTLE BIT TOWARDS THE SHOULDER, SO THAT WHEN WE PUT THE JOINT TOGETHER, THE HOLES ARE MISALIGNED, BUT WHEN WE DRIVE IN THE PEG, IT TRIES TO STRAIGHTEN OUT THE MISALIGNMENT, AND THROUGH THE MISALIGNMENT COMES PERFECT ALIGNMENT.

BOING.

SO, LET ME ASK YOU, WHAT INDEED IS THE SOUND OF ONE HAND SAWING?

[SAW VIBRATING] WELL, NOW WE'VE WANDERED WAY OFF IN MY QUEST FOR UNEXCELLED, COMPLETE AWAKENING IN WOODCRAFT, BUT AIMLESS WANDERING, THAT'S STILL A ZEN THING, YET I DON'T THINK THE MASTERS ARRIVED AT THEIR HIGH LEVELS OF WORKMANSHIP BY JUST WANDERING AROUND.

I MEAN, LOOK AT THE COMPETENCE AND CONTROL THAT WENT INTO MAKING THESE PLANES.

THINK OF THE WORK OF THE SHAKERS.

NOW, THESE WERE ALL MADE BY FOLKS WHO KNEW WHERE THEY WERE GOING, AND YOU LOOK AT THEIR TOOLS, AND YOU CAN SEE THE WAY THEY'VE BEEN CARED FOR, PUT AWAY CAREFULLY, BEAUTIFULLY SHARPENED, AND YOU THINK MAYBE THAT'S IT.

CONTRAST WITH THE WAY SOME PEOPLE TREAT THEIR PLANES.

NOW, I DON'T KNOW WHO IT WAS-- IT'S PROBABLY THE GUY WHO PUT THE DOGWOOD HANDLE IN THIS PLANE, BUT FOR SOME REASON, HE OPENED UP THE THROAT, REALLY TO LET THE SHAVINGS OUT, PROBABLY.

WELL, THAT WAS A DELIBERATE MODIFICATION, A CHOICE MADE FOR FREEDOM AT THE COST OF CONTROL, BUT HERE, HERE WE SEE JUST PLAIN ABUSE.

ON THIS NICE BEATING PLANE, YOU CAN SEE THAT SOMEBODY HAS CONDUCTED VIOLENCE AGAINST THE THROAT.

THE SHAVINGS HAVE BEEN CLEARED FROM THE THROAT WITH A SCRATCH-ALL, MAKING A ROUGH POCKET IN THERE THAT TRAPS EVEN MORE SHAVINGS, SO THE PROBLEM GETS EVEN WORSE.

THIS IS KARMA.

HERE'S ANOTHER THING YOU SEE--CHISELS.

JUST--IT'S DISGUSTING.

LOOK AT THAT.

WOULDN'T PUT A WOODEN HANDLE, SO THEY JUST BEAT ON IT.

BEAT IT TO BITS.

MUSHROOMED IT.

NOT ONLY MESSES UP THE TOOL, BUT WHAT A PROFOUND SHOW OF DISRESPECT.

THIS IS OBSCENE.

I MEAN, HOW CAN YOU DO GOOD WORK WITH RUSTY TOOLS IN A SHOP A SHAMBLES?

I DON'T KNOW.

YOU HEAR THESE GUYS GOING ON ABOUT SHARPENING.

YOU THINK, WELL, MAYBE THAT'S WHAT I'M MISSING.

MAYBE IF I WAS BETTER AT SHARPENING, I COULD DO BETTER.

WELL, HERE I AM.

I'VE BEEN DOWN THAT ROAD.

I'VE GOT MY SANDSTONE WHEEL AND I CAN KEEP IT WET AND I TAKE CARE OF IT.

I KEEP IT OUT OF THE SUN.

I USE IT, OF COURSE, TO GRIND THE BEVEL... AND IT DOES THAT FINE.

AND THEN I'VE GOT MY BELGIAN HONE, AND I GET IT WET, AND I HONE ON THE BELGIAN HONE, AND IT DOES JUST FINE, AND THEN I'VE GOT A STROP AND I STROP IT DOWN, AND IT DOES JUST FINE, BECAUSE I HAVE GOT THAT "IT'S SHARP ENOUGH, LET'S GET TO WORK" PHILOSOPHY, 'CAUSE I KNOW WHAT A TRAP SHARPENING CAN BE.

SHARPENING HAS THAT ZEN THING TO IT AND--THE OBJECT OF SHARPENING IS NOTHINGNESS.

WE HAVE TWO BEVELS THAT CONVERGE AT THE THICKNESS OF THE BLADE.

GET SMALLER AND SMALLER AND SMALLER UNTIL RIGHT DOWN AT THE POINT, IT'S NOTHING.

IT'S NOTHING TO SUCH A DEGREE THAT WHEN YOU HOLD THAT EDGE IN THE LIGHT AND LOOK RIGHT AT THE EDGE, THERE'S NOTHING TO BOUNCE BACK EVEN A CORPUSCLE OF CREPUSCULAR LIGHT BACK TO YOUR EYE.

IF YOU SEE SOMETHING HERE, YOU'VE GOT NOTHING, BUT IF YOU SEE NOTHING, THEN YOU'VE GOT SOMETHING.

AND SHARPENING DOES HAVE SOMETHING OF THAT JAPANESE TEA CEREMONY TO IT, BUT JUST AS THERE'S A RIGHT BALANCE BETWEEN AN EDGE THAT IS STRONG BUT TOO OBTUSE TO CUT EASILY AND AN EDGE THAT IS ACUTE, AND CUTS EASILY BUT IS TOO WEAK TO HOLD UP, WELL, SO, TOO, CAN SHARPENING GO OVER THE EDGE INTO AN OBSESSIVE DISTRACTION.

AS A POET NAMED SHARPE HIMSELF SAID, "EACH IS GIVEN A BAG OF TOOLS, "A SHAPELESS MASS, AND A BOOK OF RULES, "AND EACH MUST MAKE, ERE LIFE HAS FLOWN, A STUMBLING BLOCK OR A STEPPING STONE."

AND SHARPENING HAS TO BE A STEPPING STONE, BUT FOR SO MANY FOLKS, IT BECOMES A FETISH, A STUMBLING BLOCK.

YOU WATCH THE TRUE MASTERS SHARPEN AND YOU'LL SEE THAT IT IS NOTHING SPECIAL.

THEY DO NOT STINK OF SHARPNESS, AS SOME OF THE PRETENDERS DO.

ER, BUT NOW I'M GETTING JUDGMENTAL.

YOU SEE, JUST LIKE THIS ABUSE OF THE TOOLS, THAT CRITICAL, JUDGMENTAL ATTITUDE VIOLATES THE PRINCIPLE OF A [INDISTINCT] OF HARMLESSNESS TOWARDS OTHERS AND THINGS, BUT LET ME SEE.

THERE I HAVE TRIED TO DO RIGHT.

I DO ALL THIS WORK BY MUSCLE POWER THAT USES RECENTLY CAPTURED CARBON BALANCED BY THE PLANTS THAT GREW THE CARBON.

MY BODY OXIDIZES THE CARBON IN THIS APPLE, RELEASING CO2 THAT'S USED, IN TURN, BY THE TREE THAT GREW THIS APPLE.

BUT AT LEAST I'M NOT COOKING THE PLANET BY RELEASING FOSSILIZED CARBON INTO THE MIX.

WORKING THIS WAY IS A CARBON-NEUTRAL ACT, BUT, OF COURSE, THE MINUTE YOU START GETTING SELF-CONGRATULATORY, YOU KNOW YOU'RE OFF THE PATH.

YOU'RE SHOWING OFF AGAIN.

YOU NEVER KNOW FOR SURE.

THERE'S ALWAYS THE LAW OF UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES.

"NEAR THE END OF MARCH 1845, I BORROWED AN AXE AND WENT DOWN TO THE WOODS BY WALDEN POND," AND, OF COURSE, YOU KNOW THOREAU BUILT HIS CABIN DOWN BY WALDEN POND WITH THAT BORROWED AXE, WRITES "WALDEN" WHILE WALKING UP THE RAILROAD TRACKS EVERY EVENING TO SPONGE DINNER OFF THE WALDO EMERSONS UP IN CONCORD, BUT HE WRITES THAT THE AXE HEAD BECAME LOOSE ON THE HANDLE, AND SO HE WAS VERY PROUD OF THE WAY HE STUCK THE AXE IN WALDEN POND TO MAKE THE WOOD SWELL UP.

BUT, OF COURSE, THIS MAKES THE WOOD SWELL UP SO MUCH INSIDE THE IMMOVABLE STEEL OF THE HEAD THAT IT CRUSHES THE CELLS OF THE WOOD, AND WHEN IT DRIES, IT SHRINKS UP EVEN SMALLER THAN BEFORE, AND THE AXE HEAD IS EVEN LOOSER THAN BEFORE.

NEXT PERSON TO USE IT, WHEN HE RETURNS IT, IT GOES FLYING OFF THE HANDLE, HITS MRS. EMERSON IN THE HEAD WHEN SHE'S HANGING OUT THOREAU'S LAUNDRY.

THAT'S THE LAW OF UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES.

AHH.

BUT STILL.

SOMETIMES, LIKE THOREAU, YOU JUST HAVE TO MARCH TO THE BEAT OF A DIFFERENT DRUM.

I DON'T KNOW IF YOU'VE BEEN IN WOODWORKING FOR A WHILE.

YOU MAY RECALL THE PANICS THAT COME THROUGH, LIKE THE CIGAR HUMIDOR PANIC OF A FEW YEARS BACK.

SUDDENLY, CIGARS WERE IN.

EVERYBODY'S GOT TO MAKE A HUMIDOR.

EVERYBODY'S GOT TO MAKE A HUMIDOR.

GOT TO MAKE A HUMIDOR.

GOT TO GET HUMIDOR PARTS.

AND MY BROTHER FINALLY GOT TO BE A DOCTOR, SO I HAD TO MAKE HIM A HUMIDOR, AND I RUSH OUT TO GET THE CEDAR TO MAKE HIM A HUMIDOR, AND IT DAWNS ON ME THAT I'M JUST CAUGHT UP IN THE PANIC AGAIN AND WHAT DOES A DOCTOR NEED WITH A CIGAR HUMIDOR, BUT I'D ALREADY BOUGHT THE CEDAR, AND SO I DECIDED TO MAKE SOMETHING HE COULD USE WITH THE KIDS WHEN HE DOES HIS ROUNDS-- LITTLE FINGER PUPPET TOOLS THERE, AND I USED THE CEDAR TO MAKE A LITTLE BOX, A LITTLE TOOL BOX, AND THE KIDS CAN KNOCK ON THE TOP OF THE BOX, AND THEY GO...[KNOCKING] HELLO, HOW YOU DOING THERE, KIDS?

YEAH.

THERE YOU GO.

SO, THIS IS GREAT.

SOMETHING NICE.

THIS IS A [INDISTINCT] HARMLESSNESS.

ISN'T IT GREAT?

YEAH, BUT YOUR WORK STILL IS NOT UP TO SNUFF.

YEAH, I KNOW.

THEY KEEP REMINDING ME.

AS I LOOK AT THE DOVETAILS ON THE SIDE, AND WE'RE TALKING ABOUT WORKMANSHIP, THE DOVETAILS THAT TAKE ME AN HOUR TO CUT.

THEY'RE ALL SLACK AND SLOPPY COMPARED TO THE ONES THAT FRANK KLAUS CUTS IN TWO MINUTES.

WELL, FRANK IS A TRUE MASTER.

YEAH, WELL, AH, HE'S A TRUE JEDI, THAT'S TRUE, BUT I DON'T KNOW WHAT I'M DOING.

THAT'S THE PROBLEM, I SAY.

THEN I THINK, WELL, I LOOK AT THE ANGLE OF DOVETAILS CUT BY FRANK KLAUS, AND I THINK, THAT IS AN ANGLE THAT BELONGS TO FRANK ALONE.

SO I GUESS THE QUESTION IS: WHAT IS OUR ANGLE?

WHAT'S MY ANGLE?

WHAT'S YOUR ANGLE?

AND I'M NOT SURE, BUT SOMEHOW RIGHT NOW, IT'S BECOME PHILOSOPHICAL DISCUSSION WITH FINGER PUPPETS, SO MAYBE WE BETTER GET BACK TO THE NATURE AND ART OF WORKMANSHIP, ALL RIGHT?

'S ALL RIGHT?

'S ALL RIGHT.

ALL RIGHT.

ALL RIGHT.

SO, ONE THING DAVID PYE SHOWS US ABOUT WORKMANSHIP--HE SAID, "WHAT IS IT?"

IT'S THE FAITHFUL MANIFESTATION OF THE INTENTION OF THE DESIGN, AND IT'S EASIEST TO SEE IN SIMPLE THINGS, LIKE A CIRCLE.

TAKE A LOOK AT THIS OLD FLYWHEEL FOR A TREADLE LATHE, AND INDEED IT DOES THE PURPOSE.

IT'S INTENDED TO BE A CIRCLE WITH SPOKES, AND YOU CAN SEE THE WORK IS VERY ROUGH--IT'S NOT HIGHLY FINISHED-- BUT, I MEAN, THE JOINTS ARE, LIKE, WAY SLACK.

THEY'RE NOT TIGHT ENOUGH TO REALLY MEET THE INTENTION OF THE DESIGN.

IT'S DISTURBING.

YOU CAN SEE THE WORKMANSHIP.

FOR WHATEVER REASON-- MAYBE THE GUY WAS IN A HURRY-- IT'S NOT GOOD, AND IT STILL FUNCTIONS AS WELL AS IT WOULD IF IT WERE BETTER EXECUTED, BUT FUNCTIONALITY IS NOT WHAT THIS IS ABOUT.

THIS IS ABOUT WORKMANSHIP.

THIS DOES HAVE THE ASPECT OF WORKMANSHIP IN TERMS OF DURABILITY, 'CAUSE IT DID LAST.

WE CAN LOOK AT SOMETHING AND SEE IF IT'S GOING TO LAST IN ITS INTENDED JOB.

WE'LL SEE IF IT HAS LASTED.

HERE--LOOK AT THIS.

HA HA.

THIS [INDISTINCT] HERE.

THIS WAS ALWAYS DISTURBING TO ME, BECAUSE I HAD MADE A LONG, LONG, THIN HANDLE TO IT, AND IT WAS ALWAYS DISTURBING BECAUSE I KNEW IT WAS NOT GOING TO HOLD UP.

AND YOU CAN SEE THAT THE PROBLEM KIND OF CORRECTED ITSELF THERE.

BUT NOW IT'S A GOOD CLUB FOR MY [INDISTINCT].

SO, STILL, IT WOULD HAVE BEEN BETTER IF I HAD DONE IT AS IT WAS INTENDED TO BE INSTEAD OF WAITING UNTIL NATURE CORRECTED IT AND I GOT THAT SPLINTER THING, SO THIS TOO-SCANT HANDLE FINALLY SPLINTERED.

ANOTHER ASPECT OF WORKMANSHIP THAT PYE BRINGS TO OUR ATTENTION IS WHAT'S CALLED DIVERSITY, AND THAT'S WHAT MODERN CABINETWORK IS ALL ABOUT.

YOU SEE IT HERE IN THE CONTRAST OF THIS HIGHLY REGULATED, BEAUTIFUL FORM, THE SHAKER BOX MADE BY MY FRIEND PETER WALLACH.

HOW THAT SETS OFF THE WILD WOOD AT THE TOP WITH CLASSIC FORM-- THE WILD WOOD AT THE TOP.

COMPARE THAT WILD GRAIN NOW TO THE BLANDNESS OF THIS BASS WOOD.

NOW, HERE THE DIVERSITY COMES FROM THE STROKES OF NORA HALL'S GOUGES AS SHE SWEEPS THROUGH THE WOOD, CARVING HER LINENFOLD DESIGN.

NOW, THERE'S ANOTHER ASPECT OF WORKMANSHIP DAVID PYE CALLS--LESS CLEAR-- IT'S EQUIVOCALITY.

INCONGRUITY OF ELEMENTS, A POLISHED SURFACE AND A ROUGH EDGE, AND YOU'RE NOT SURE IF IT WAS INTENTIONAL OR UNINTENTIONAL.

IT'S DISTURBING.

ONE PLACE YOU SEE IT IS IN PLANES AND TOOLS THAT COMBINE BRASS AND WOOD.

AND JUST 'CAUSE THEY CAN WITH A BUFFER, SOME PEOPLE WILL POLISH THE BRASS TO SUCH A FINE LUSTER THERE THAT IT BECOMES ALMOST LIQUID IN APPEARANCE.

IT'S LIKE A MIRROR.

YOU CAN'T TELL THE SURFACE FROM THE REFLECTION.

YOU COMBINE THIS WITH WOOD THAT INEVITABLY RETAINS MUCH OF ITS SIGNS OF USE, AND THEY DON'T SEEM TO GO TOGETHER ANYMORE.

THE PIECES BECOME AMBIGUOUS.

FORTUNATELY, TIME AND USE WILL TAKE CARE OF THAT AGAIN.

SO, I LOOK FOR THE ANSWER IN THE PUZZLE.

THERE ARE JUST SO MANY FORCES COMING IN FROM ALL DIRECTIONS NOW.

I TRY AND TAKE THE PUZZLE OF WORKMANSHIP APART AND SEE WHAT'S AT THE CENTER, AND THERE'S NOTHING.

THERE'S NOTHING.

BUT, STILL, OF COURSE, I TRY AND DEAL WITH THAT NOTHINGNESS IN THE WAY OF MY TECHNOCENTRIC ANCESTORS-- TRY TO FIND A USEFUL APPLICATION FOR THESE PUZZLE JOINTS-- SO IF YOU TAKE A JOINT LIKE THIS THAT'S REALLY PRETTY DARN WEAK, BUT YOU ASSEMBLE IT INSIDE OF ANOTHER BLOCK OF WOOD, THEN MAYBE, GOSH, WE COULD HAVE SOME USE OUT OF IT.

WE PUT ONE INSIDE.

WE PUT ANOTHER ONE THROUGH A MORTICE THAT'S A LITTLE BIT HIGHER, SO THAT IT SLIPS THROUGH AND THEN DROPS DOWN, AND THEN WE PUT ANOTHER ONE INSIDE THERE, AND WE'RE BUILDING A JOINT INSIDE AN AXLE, AND PRETTY SOON, WE WILL HAVE WHAT IS CALLED A SPIDER JOINT.

[LAUGHS] AND, OF COURSE, THIS IS SOMETHING THAT CAN POWER A WATER WHEEL.

A GIANT WHEEL TO TURN AND GENERATE MORE ENERGY, MORE POWER, THAT CAN POWER OUR WORK, AND THE NEXT THING YOU KNOW, WE'RE WORKING WITH, YES, POWER, AND YOU KNOW WHAT POWER DOES.

SO, I KEEP ON.

OH.

THE LEVERAGE OF THE WHEEL IS A SIMPLE WHEEL, AND WE CAN WRAP IT AROUND AND MAKE AN INCLINED PLANE, MAKE A SCREW, MAKE ANOTHER THING, BUT I DON'T KNOW--I FEEL LIKE WORKING LIKE THAT, IT'S LIKE I'M RIDING THE OX IN SEARCH OF THE OX, TRYING TO GRASP AT THE NOTHINGNESS INSIDE THE PUZZLE WHEN IT'S THE NOTHINGNESS THAT IS THE ANSWER.

YOU CAN'T GRASP IT.

IT'S LIKE TRYING TO GET YOUR HAND TO GRASP ITSELF, AND WHAT IT SHOULD BE GRASPING IS WORK.

CHEKHOV TOLD US, "WORK IS THE ONLY ANSWER."

OUR OWN THOMAS JEFFERSON SAID, "IT IS NEITHER WEALTH NOR SPLENDOR BUT TRANQUILITY AND OCCUPATION WHICH GIVES HAPPINESS."

SO, MAYBE I JUST BETTER BE CONTENT WITH THAT.

I MUST WORK AND BE THANKFUL FOR WHERE I AM IN MY PRACTICE.

YOU KNOW, THE LIFE'S SO SHORT, THE CRAFT IS SO LONG TO LEARN.

ONCE THERE WAS AN OLD STONE CUTTER, UNHAPPY WITH HIS LOT IN LIFE, AND HE SAW A WEALTHY BUSINESSMAN WALK BY AND HE SAID, "OH, I WISH I WAS WEALTHY."

SUDDENLY, HE WAS.

THE STONE CUTTER WAS NOW RIDING IN A FINE CARRIAGE, BUT WHEN THE KING PASSED, HE WAS FORCED TO BOW TO THE KING.

HE SAID, "OH, I WISH I WAS THE KING."

AND SUDDENLY HE WAS, COMMANDING MIGHTY ARMIES BENEATH HIM.

BUT ALONG CAME A STORM WITH WIND AND RAIN THAT FORCED THEM ALL TO RUN AWAY.

"OH, I WISH I WAS THE STORM," HE THOUGHT, AND SUDDENLY, HE WAS THE STORM, ABOVE THE EARTH, COMMANDING ALL BENEATH HIM, WEARING DOWN THE RIVERS.

ALL EXCEPT FOR THE GIANT BOULDERS THAT REMAINED UNMOVED BY HIS FURY.

WELL, THIS MADE HIM MAD.

HE SAID, "I WISH I WAS THAT STONE."

AND SUDDENLY, HE WAS A MIGHTY BOULDER, OBLIVIOUS TO THE POUNDING OF THE STORM, AND THEN HE FELT SOMETHING CHIPPING AWAY AT HIM.

IT WAS A STONE CUTTER.

SO.

I THINK ALL OF THIS, WE JUST HAVE TO LET IT GO.

YOU KNOW, IT'S LIKE THE NIB ON THE END OF A SAW.

WE JUST HAVE TO LET THAT NIB BE, LET THE MYSTERY BE, BECAUSE THOSE WHO ANSWER DO NOT KNOW AND THOSE WHO KNOW DO NOT ANSWER.

REMINDS ME OF YEARS AGO.

I JUMPED SHIP IN HONG KONG, MADE MY WAY OVER TO TIBET, AND WAS TEACHING WOODWORKING, AND WHO'S IN MY CLASS BUT THE DALAI LAMA.

SO WE FINISH THE LAST DOVETAIL, AND HE'S GOING TO STIFF ME.

AND I SAY, "HEY, LAMA, HOW ABOUT SOMETHING, YOU KNOW, FOR THE EFFORT?"

AND HE SAYS, "OH, AH, IT WON'T BE ANY MONEY, "BUT WHEN YOU DIE, ON YOUR DEATHBED, YOU WILL RECEIVE TOTAL CONSCIOUSNESS."

SO I GOT THAT GOING FOR ME, WHICH IS NICE.

HEY, THANKS FOR JOINING ME.

THIS IS ROY UNDERHILL HERE IN "THE WOODWRIGHT'S SHOP."

WE'LL SEE YOU NEXT TIME.

SO LONG.

[SAW VIBRATING] Announcer: TO LEARN MORE ABOUT "THE WOODWRIGHT'S SHOP" AND TRADITIONAL WOODWORKING, VISIT PBS ONLINE.

YOU CAN FIND US AT... CAPTIONING MADE POSSIBLE BY U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION CAPTIONED BY THE NATIONAL CAPTIONING INSTITUTE --www.ncicap.org-- MAJOR FUNDING FOR "THE WOODWRIGHT'S SHOP" IS PROVIDED BY... WE ARE PBS.

ROY UNDERHILL IS THE AUTHOR OF "THE WOODWRIGHT'S SHOP" AND OTHER BOOKS ABOUT TRADITIONAL WOODWORKING PUBLISHED BY THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA PRESS AND AVAILABLE AT BOOKSTORES AND LIBRARIES.