The perfect workshop....

I've been following woodworking blogs for a number of years now and every so often, very predictably, the subject of workshops and their set up / layout crops up. I've particularly enjoyed some of Peter Follansbee's posts about seventeenth century carpenters workshops and benches and love some of the original illustrations going back to medieval workshops.

I happened to come a cross a set of books in a charity shop that I thought Ju's little boy would love as its about a boy who helps his dad who is a carpenter in an old-fashioned Apalachian type homestead- nicely illustrated stories by a well know American kids' author. The books are called Will and Pa and not only do I love the pictures of Pa who always has a pencil behind his ear, tools protruding from his pockets and leaves a trail of screws and nails wherever he goes, but the picture on the inside cover of each of the books, that shows Pa's workshop, is just wonderful - I want it, it's the perfect workshop.

I just love the detail in this picture, all the tools, the hardware and shavings. It has been incredibly well researched.

 On an entirely different note, I have had a number of spoons sat in oil for a couple of weeks, then hung them to drip dry and was just thinking how great they look. I use wallnut oil and it seems to give the spoons a really nice glazed look. I don't think you can see it too well in the pictures, but on the darker, laburnum spoon, I think you can see what I mean - you could be forgiven for thinking they'd been varnished. I know they look wet, but they are actually not.