Welcome to Heartwood, the McLaughlin Woodworks shop journal.

In a tree, heartwood is the dense, non-living core at the center of the trunk — once sapwood, carrying water and nutrients, until the tree grew past it and it became something else: the part that gives the whole tree its strength. That's what this journal is. The old projects, the lessons learned, the mistakes — at least the ones I'll admit to — the decisions behind the work, all of it becomes the core that everything at McLaughlin Woodworks grows from. Some of it is for people who care about woodworking the way I do. Some of it is for people trying to decide if custom furniture is right for them.

Start wherever looks interesting. Glad you're here.