Brian Holcombe
Let's not forget that those 'scruffy' joints were sawn 200 years ago, and likely 100 of those years were daily use.

It's easy to cut a clean joint off the saw and look like a hero by comparison but we haven't shown what 200 years looks like on our stuff. I like to look at my work after a few years of regular use and see where I can improve. Wear and seasonal movement are what really tell you that. Sometimes I go back and repair things that could have been better done.

So commonly we're simply held hostage by the temperament of the material, good material that doesn't move much really helps the 'craftsmanship'. Material that moves in surprising ways really makes one look like a hack.

I often wonder if the reason for much of these 'poor fitting joints' is that someone took an antique finished product made with material that was air dried then stuck in a retail shop for years that had the heaters on full blast. Not surprising that when you take material that was 12% and bring it down to 8% that is shows gaps.

In 200 years craftsmen may look at the quality of tools that we had available to us and wonder why often people still chose to make something such as kitchen cabinetry with wire brads and pocket screws. I wonder still if there would be any surviving examples.