An interesting link, so thanks for that. However his detail on the thousands of years development of Japanese timber work is confined to pictures of a couple of scrolls taken from Coaldrake's book, and in the one spot I do see a reference, plate 31, he gives an inaccurate term for a Japanese pit saw. It's not called an 'oga'.
So, in that realm of investigation/scholarship at least, it appears he could study a bit more. His one source, Coaldrake's book, suffers from errors in its content, as does pretty much any book on a trade written by an academic who does not practice the trade with his/her hands. Zero depiction of Chinese timber framing also, of which there is much extant evidence.
A few neat pictures, but that presentation appears to be a very general survey. Carpentry history is a big topic!
Last edited by Chris Hall; 10/28/10 02:34 PM.
