Over the last year, my wife has been getting together and playing Mah Jong with her sisters, work friends from her first job out of college, and with a group that I call “her little elementary school friends” (they met in elementary school a bit more than a couple years ago). To start the game, the tiles are shuffled and stacked in four “walls” on the table. Being that my wife, one of her sisters, and all of the old work friends are accountants, those walls have to be perfectly straight and aligned 90 degrees to each other. And, after selecting the tiles for each players’ hand, those same accountants want the tiles to be organized and aligned. Being a non-accountant with ADD I see little need for any of this orthogonality, but as a woodworker, I offered to create wood things to make it happen anyway.

For the alignment of the pre-game “walls of tiles” I needed to make simple flat sticks to align a wall that’s 18 tiles long and two tiles high. The push stick design was easy; I merely stacked up a wall and measured the length plus enough room for a couple fingers on each end to hold and push. This came out to be about 24” long and 2” high. That’s where the fun began.

As a woodworker, I’ve never seen a piece of wood that I didn’t think “Ooo baby, that’s nice I could make something someday with that.” That means there are pieces of all shapes, sizes, and lengths around my shop, around the basement outside my shop, and along the walls of the garage. A few years ago, I received a Saturday morning text from my cousin Marc from Philly who asked “do you want some free wood?” I’m not sure, but I think I said yes before he sent me the photos. About six months later we were in Philly and picked up a random stack of live edge planks, a couple 2-foot square by 2” thick chunks, and some oddly shaped sections that seem to have been cutoffs from larger live edge planks.

Fast forward a couple years and I’m looking for interesting wood for these push sticks. Being just flat plates, I figured (woodworker pun intended) that I could make them interesting via wood selection. There was one piece of walnut that had “tons of character.” In this case that meant about half sapwood and wormholes throughout. It was long enough to make the push sticks but only thick enough to make three of the four I needed. One of the oddly shaped cutoffs was also walnut and had beautifully figured grain and some knots. (I’m still planning to make another figured walnut push stick so there will be two of each style, but I was in too much of a hurry to do that originally – ADD raises its head again)

After selecting the wood, I cut the push sticks to length, width, and thickness then cut round contours on the ends. I then planed them flat and smooth with my trusty 1890’s vintage Stanley No. 7 Jointer plane (my all-time favorite tool). Now, it was time to put a finish on them. Years ago, I trusted guidance from “Understanding Wood Finishing” by Bob Flexner and used amber shellac on a walnut clock stand for a brass ship’s clock given to me by my grandfather (making it a grandfather’s clock which can’t be mixed up with the actual 7-foot-tall grandfather clock that belonged to him and came to me via my parents’ house). The shellac gave the walnut an amazing warm color and accentuated the grain on that project so I went the same direction on these walnut push sticks. After about a dozen coats of 1 to 2-ish pound cut of shellac the sticks looked great. The figured walnut piece has a chatoyance (learned this word from Eric Curtis’ woodworking videos) that just makes it look other-worldly. I finished the finish with some paste wax to get that buttery smooth surface texture that makes woodworkers feel warm inside.  The paste wax was home-made based on a modified version of James Wright’s recipe - I added 25% carnauba to the beeswax and used a citrus solvent to reduce the stank in my shop.

The in-game tile holders of tiles for each player need to hold 13 tiles (plus one extra for the player starting the game). The plan was to make the holders “L-shaped” in contour with the inside corner slightly sloped back. After a few prototypes, we settled on 16” long, 1” high, 1 ½” deep, and a 10 degree back slope (see photos).

Now it came to wood selection and I reached way back into the “Ooo, that’s nice I could make something someday with that” stack of boards and found some curly maple I bought over 5-6 years ago for a project that ended up being made with different wood. To make the glued up two-part tile holders, I first cut ¾” by 1 ½” pieces then sliced them on the diagonal by setting my table saw at 80 degrees. To make the cut, I placed the fence to the left of the blade as it tilts right and I wanted the blade to be pulling the board towards the fence.

This seemed to be a bit of a squirrelly cut, so I used the Bow products GuidePRO featherboard (as seen in Albert Kleine’s shop) to hold the wood tightly to the fence and to keep my fleshy bits away from the blade. This worked well and left only a little bit of circular blade marks on the cut surface. I then carefully marked the pieces, planed them smooth, and kept them together to ensure I glued up the right parts together to ensure the grain matched. The “inside faces” of the cut were opened up like a book to create the 90 degree “L-shaped” contour. To make the 90-degree angles work, I had to recut a bevel on the bottom of the back piece to get the 90 internal angle and 90-degree back angle.

Now it was finishing time again. To make the curl pop and add some dramatic color, I used TransTint Honey Amber. After two coats of dye to get uniform color, I used Osmo Polyx Oil for some protection as these racks will have tiles clacking and sliding on them during the heat of game play. As with the push sticks, a couple coats of paste wax were added to finish the finish.

The next Mah Jong game is in a couple weeks and we’ll see how this all came out.

Enough reading – go make something.

Core Elements of Craftsmanship

• Mastery of Technique: A high level of technical skill and expertise developed over years of practice.

• Attention to Detail: The rigorous focus on precision, from the initial design phase to the final finishing touches.

• Quality over Speed: An underlying philosophy of doing what is best for the project, often prioritizing durability, aesthetic beauty, and care over mass production.

• Distinctiveness: The unique character and individuality that a maker imparts to their work, which distinguishes it from generic or factory-made goods.

Looking at these points, I see my previous definition of workmanship in the first two.  The other points relate to immeasurable aspects of the work such as beauty and uniqueness. The craftsman can display the same extraordinary degree of skill and precision, but augments that by incorporating their passion and personality into the design and thus moving the work from workmanship to craftsmanship.

I was originally visualizing these concepts in the context of woodworking but as a bass player, I see this definition is relevant to musicianship too. A studio musician or member of a cover band (Or should I be more respectful and say “Tribute Band”) can play exactly what they are directed to play, putting them in the “workmanship” column. But I’d put the musician that writes the song or their part of the song into the category of craftsman.

Based on my own definitions, I’m neither a workman or a craftsman. My woodworking and bass playing skills are at the journeyman level. I can cut passable dovetails that have minimal gaps and are laid out in an aesthetically pleasing configuration but I am still basing many of my design decisions on the work of others. I’ve also been expanding my musicianship by beginning to write songs for my band. But so far, that’s been writing riffs and basslines that need help to grow into full-fledged songs.

I’m finding that striving for craftsmanship is helping me develop my workmanship skills and developing my workmanship is opening up new ways to display craftsmanship. My eyes are bigger than my stomach and I’m always biting off more than I can chew. This is compelling me to try new techniques, build new skills, and pay more attention to detail (a common problem for me). As a non-diagnosed dude with ADD, this is exhilarating. And….as a non-diagnosed dude with ADD, this is frustrating. The exhilaration comes from trying new things every day and the frustration comes from trying new things every day – without focusing on the perfecting the new thing I tried yesterday.

For example, I’ve got a stack of chair seat and leg blanks staring at me every time I walk into my shop. I took a Plane Wellness hosted class on building a three-legged stool from Shea Alexander and got so excited I bought the tools and lumber necessary to build four kitchen chairs…..but….I was already in the initial planning stage of a wall shelf/cabinet which is first on the to-do list. That piece is based on a Mike Pekovich design and includes a small Kumiko square….which is another new technique…..and I’m trying to improve my slap bass skills as I’m hearing that sound in my head as a perfect match for one of the band’s songs, but can’t quite make it flow out of my fingers yet.

I’ve been in cover bands and in bands that play original music and I’m much happier being on the originals side of the record. Making up my own stuff is incredibly rewarding and requires less effort to remember as I came up with the music myself and am not trying to remember the notes some other bass player wrote. I’ve also built things to plan and come up with my own designs for other projects, and as with the music, the improvising is where the fun is for me.

Now back to the thread of categorization. The last category is that of the artist. An artist incorporates their passion and personality into their work but may or may not have or need a “traditional” degree of skill and precision. The key characteristic here is creativity and imagination while the necessary “non-traditional” skill correlates with their ability to translate the art they see in their head from thought to practice. Some beautiful art doesn’t require a high level of skill but merely requires a unique perspective. A beautiful song may have only a few simple chords, but they are played in a manner that’s uniquely distinctive and harmonious.

So you’re probably ready for the end so I’m thinking that the bottom line is: you can demonstrate workmanship OR an artistry without being a craftsman but you can’t be a craftsman without the ability to demonstrate workmanship AND artistry.

Enough reading – go make something.

The program brings in a new cohort of “apprentices” every six months. I began volunteering in January which coincided with a new crew. One of the struggles I had as a teacher was an inability to motivate some of the apprentices to make the effort to maximize the quality of their work. “Whatever, it’s good enough” was a common retort. I wanted them to strive to put forth the best effort but didn’t explain why it even mattered in the first place.

We are currently ramping up to begin the next session and will be meeting tomorrow to discuss the curriculum. My goal is to incorporate “workmanship” and “craftsmanship” into every aspect of the woodworking program (What is craftmanship, how is it different from workmanship, and why does it matter is a discussion for a later post). To explain why workmanship should be a focus of the program, I first need to answer the questions mentioned in the previous paragraph.

1. What is workmanship?

2. Why does it even matter in the first place?

So, I googled “Workmanship” and found some useful results which I’m plagiarizing below.

What is Workmanship

• Degree of skill with which a product is made or a job done

• Quality of work done, focusing on the execution and precision of a task

Why does workmanship matter to the Maker?

For this discussion, I’ll be defining the “maker” as the ASF apprentice. Many of the apprentices have had issues with law enforcement, some have not succeeded in school, and many may suffer from anxiety or depression. One of the key goals of the program is to enable the apprentices to gain confidence, as a step towards a path toward self-sufficiency. Many of them have had little traditional success in their lives and have a negative mindset with respect to self-worth. Showing them that they can learn to make something with their own hands opens their mind to new ideas and positive thought patterns. Workmanship in this context matters as it is a physical expression of their emerging capabilities and leads to a more positive self-worth. “Making a thing” that is high in quality builds a level pride that our apprentices may not have experienced in any other aspect of their lives.

My best moments in the shop are when apprentices succeed in doing a skill they weren’t previously able to execute. I had one of these positive moments while teaching an apprentice how to use a coping saw. If you’re a woodworker, you know that cutting with a coping saw is not easy and the saw blade allows you to make tight turns with little effort. The downside is that the saw will often make these tight turns when and where you don’t want them if your sawing technique isn’t smooth. The apprentice I was working with had a very negative mindset and showed little confidence in his abilities. After cutting a simple round curve as quickly and aimlessly as possible, he wanted to rush ahead of the rest of the group to the next step in the project he was making. Instead, I drew an “S-curve” on a 1x4 and asked him to cut along the line. After saying “I hate you” (with a wry smile on his face) he reluctantly began cutting the curve. The first half of the curve was rough, wiggly, and barely followed the line. The second half of the cut was smooth, a consistent 1/16” outside the line, and perpendicular to the surface. He showed me the piece and said “see, I suck at this.” I responded by pointing to the rough first half of the cut and said “I’m learning, I’m learning, I’m learning” then pointed to nearly perfect second half of the cut and said “I got this.” The aggravated look on his face changed as he could see the difference between the two halves of his cut. He beamed with pride as he could see that the second half of the cut was high quality. I’m hoping that at some level he understood that he was able to focus on the task, improve his abilities, and do something he was sure he was not capable of doing.

While this individual and most of the apprentices may never need to use a coping saw, or any saw, what they are realizing is that workmanship can be learned and is fully within their reach. The understanding that you have the ability to learn a new skill is a valuable capability unto itself.

Last week the ASF gave me the opportunity to accompany two of our apprentices on a voyage on the Pride of Baltimore. As I look back on the time we spent sailing up the Chesapeake Bay to Baltimore, I’m starting to understand that it was much more than just an exciting cruise on a majestic 157 foot sailing vessel.

When we first came aboard, the crew saw us as “guest crew” and generally ignored us while going about their jobs. As the time passed, we showed that we were there to help, we were not just passengers. When a rope needed to be pulled we were there, when a dish needed to be washed, we were there, and when the copper in the captain’s cabin needed to be polished, we were there. Trust isn’t granted, it is earned and passengers don’t help achieve the objective.

Raising and trimming the sails on a large schooner takes many sailors. Each activity requires significant horsepower to achieve, and the only horsepower available came from the hands of the crew. The mainsail and associated rigging weigh hundreds of pounds and to raise it, the entire crew was needed to “pull in the same direction.” That’s a phrase I’ve used many times, but now I understand what it truly means. To raise the sail, we all needed to pull in a straight line and pull together with the same cadence. Anyone who was pulling offline or out of sync made it harder for the rest of the crew.

As I look back at my time aboard, I’m beginning to see that I not only learned what it takes to sail a ship, I learned that each of us can be part of the team and has something we can give to others. I’m remembering that on that line, pulling in the same direction, were crew members that were experienced, inexperienced, black, white, Asian, male, female, young and old (like me). It didn’t matter if you were working class, a wealthy guest who paid $1,000, or part of the paid crew, all that mattered was that you did what was needed and pulled in the same direction.

In addition to hauling lines, I was directed to take the helm while the ship was sailing at 10.5 knots with nearly all our sails up. To maintain course, I needed to watch the horizon to see where to go, watch the compass to ensure I was staying on the right heading, compensate for the constantly varying forces of the wind on the sails that wanted to point the ship in various directions as conditions changed, and do all that via the ship’s wheel which I’d never held before. That wasn’t easy, but I had guidance and support from the crew. When I “lost the bubble” one of the crew stepped in to get us back on course and showed me how to better maintain the proper course. The assistance was given without judgement and the lessons were accepted with humility. My ship driving skills improved, and by the end of the hour I was keeping the ship on course without support.

Today is July 4^th and as I look at my fellow citizens, and others that are striving to become citizens, I am thinking about the lessons I learned aboard the Pride of Baltimore. I learned was that I need to always be open to learn from anyone that’s willing to teach and to pass on what I know to whoever is willing to listen.

And to achieve something bigger than ourselves, we need to come together and “pull the rope in the same direction.”

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