TomD
Great picture Ellis, (one legged stance) looks serious. As far as I can deduce though, Japanese Cabinetmakers did not work that way. Swensson was profiled working like that, and he picked it up from Imai, who is a timberframer. In the lexacon of early influences we still don't have a reference who is a cabinetmaker. We have Imai school and Odate school, both of whom where jobsite guys. These days there are craft tour over there, so if anyone knows...

This has paralleled itself on the western side to some extent. Both of the big early names on that side, Underhill, and Abrams, are both carpenters from the house side. Now we have the enormous popularity of Roubo's bench which while it wasn't jobsite expedient, was not a cabinetmaker's bench either. There is something in the water where the not for real benches are more appealing. It's a bit like those schools in art or fashion that from time to time idealize human forms that, were are at least told, could not deliver a baby. Though having delivered a baby myself (finally a sport were you get credit for just showing up unprepared), I have always been skeptical of that claim also.