MCR Designs

MCR WOODWORK is a timber and woodworking studio focused on structure, design, and craft.

Our work is grounded in historic timber frame restoration, barn preservation, the design and installation of reclaimed timber structures, and tailored woodwork. Michael Rosenberger is a 3rd generation woodworker born and raised in Callicoon, NY from the Catskills mountains. His traditional and creative craftsmanship fosters a modern design that preserves the natural beauty and detail, delivering

a clean fine edge finish. As a master woodworker his range of experience stems from original and collaborative designs that have been distributed across the United States in personal homes, businesses and installations.

09/01/2026

THIS MONDAY, YOU ARE INVITED TO COME WATCH PEOPLE WORK ON LABOR DAY

SEPTEMBER 7TH | 12 PM – 5 PM | MCR WOODWORK
4296 route 17b Hortonville, NY

LIVE DEMONSTRATIONS & CONVERSATIONS
Timber Framing • Barn Preservation • Saw Milling •

Woodworking • Stained Glass • Wellness • Squeezing Lemons

PARTICIPANTS
Jerome Dally • Zeke Boyle • Michael Rosenberger •

Eugene from Sprouting Dream Farms • Ernie Porcelli • Addilyn Johnson

SUPER SQUEEZE LEMONADE STAND
Addilyn will be providing beverages.

SAWMILL DEMONSTRATION
Begins at 2 PM in the top field.

RAIN OR SHINE

Parking is available in the top field for anyone who would have difficulty walking up the hill.

08/31/2026

TOOLS OF THE CRAFT: TEMAGARI JAPANESE SAW

The Temagari is a traditional Japanese saw with a curved, single-edge blade designed for aggressive field cutting rather
than fine joinery. Its arc-shaped blade concentrates cutting force at the apex of the curve, allowing a craftsman to drop
through greenwood, fresh-cut logs, and thick branches faster than any straight blade of the same length.

What is it used for?
The Temagari is the saw you reach for when you are working in the woods or on site with green timber and need to move
fast. It cuts through freshly felled logs, thick branches, and rough structural members before they are brought to the shop for
fine work. Its curved blade is equally effective on the pull stroke in tight quarters where a long straight blade cannot
maneuver.

How is it made?
The Temagari blade is ground from high-carbon steel and curved along its length so that the cutting edge arcs away from
the handle. The teeth are typically impulse-hardened for extended edge life in demanding field conditions. The handle is
designed for a secure grip during the powerful pull strokes needed to cut through dense greenwood without the blade
binding.

When was it made?
The Temagari belongs to a long tradition of Japanese specialty saws developed for specific tasks in forestry, timber
harvesting, and site work. Japanese tool culture has always valued purpose-built tools, and the Temagari represents the
application of that philosophy to the demands of cutting in the field. It remains in active production and is used by both
traditional craftsmen and modern timber workers.

08/25/2026

Frame & panel pine doors, built from dimensional 2x12 s

08/24/2026

TOOLS OF THE CRAFT: DOZUKI JAPANESE SAW

The Dozuki is a Japanese pull saw with a rigid brass or steel spine along the back of the blade, similar in function to a
Western dovetail saw. The spine keeps the blade perfectly straight during cuts while the fine teeth leave an almost polished
surface. It is the precision instrument of the Japanese hand tool kit.

What is it used for?
The Dozuki is the saw you reach for when a cut has to be exactly on the line and the surface has to be clean enough to glue
without planing. Timber framers use it for fine tenon shoulder cuts and flush-trimming treenails after assembly. Finish
carpenters use it for tight joinery where any gap is unacceptable.

How is it made?
Dozuki blades are ground extremely thin, typically 0.3 to 0.4mm, with impulse-hardened teeth that hold an edge far longer
than traditionally sharpened teeth. The back spine keeps the blade rigid during the cut. Most modern versions use
replaceable blades. Traditional versions are sharpened by hand by a specialist.

When was it made?
The Dozuki developed alongside Japanese joinery traditions during the Edo period when the demands of temple
construction and fine furniture making pushed tool makers to refine cutting precision to its limits. The pull-stroke design and
spine construction were established by the 18th century and remain the standard form today.

08/10/2026

TOOLS OF THE CRAFT: ADZE

The adze is one of the oldest woodworking tools in human history. Its curved blade is set perpendicular to the handle, which
lets the craftsman swing downward and scoop material off the surface of a timber in controlled strokes. Before power
planers existed, the adze was how beams were shaped.

What is it used for?
In timber framing, the adze is used to hew round logs into flat-sided beams and to flatten uneven surfaces before joinery
begins. Skilled hands can produce a remarkably smooth finish straight from the blade. On restoration work, it lets you match
the hand-hewn texture of original beams without power tools.

How is it made?
The blade is forged from high-carbon steel and ground to a hollow bevel on the inside face. The weight sits in the head,
driving the cut on the downswing with minimal effort. A well-made hickory handle absorbs shock and keeps the tool in
control through hours of work.

When was it made?
Stone adzes date back over 10,000 years and appear in nearly every culture that worked with wood. Iron versions came
with the Bronze and Iron Ages. Timber framers have used the adze in essentially its current form for at least 2,000 years.
The design has not changed because it has never needed to.

08/07/2026

Built-in desk installed in a Catskill farmhouse. Painted furniture grade plywood, wall-integrated shelving, and pull-out shelf.
Every inch accounted for.

with

08/03/2026

TOOLS OF THE CRAFT: TREENAIL (WOODEN PEG)

A treenail, also called a trunnel, is a turned or hand-riven wooden peg driven through a bored hole that passes through an
assembled mortise and tenon joint to lock it mechanically. It is one of the most important fasteners in traditional timber frame
construction and has been used in virtually every culture that built in wood.

What is it used for?
In timber framing, treenails are driven through holes bored simultaneously through the mortised and tenoned members after
the joint is assembled. In drawbored joinery, the holes are offset slightly so that driving the peg draws the joint surfaces
together under tension. White oak is the traditional material because it is hard, dense, and swells with moisture, tightening
the joint over time.

How is it made?
The strongest treenails are riven, meaning split from the log along the grain, rather than turned on a lathe. Riving keeps the
grain fibers continuous through the peg, making it far stronger than a turned peg cut across the grain. A rounder plane is
used to shave the riven blank down to a consistent cylindrical diameter sized to the bored hole.

When was it made?
Treenails predate iron fasteners in woodworking history and appear in some of the earliest surviving timber frame structures
in Europe and Asia. They were the primary fastener in timber frame construction and wooden shipbuilding for centuries.
White oak treenails remain the preferred fastener for major structural joints today because they are strong, they expand with
moisture, and they are entirely consistent with the material they join.

07/27/2026

TOOLS FO THE CRAFT: TIMBER BORING MACHINE

The timber boring machine is a hand-operated mechanical boring device designed specifically for drilling through large,
heavy timbers. A system of gears multiplies the force of the hand crank, allowing a single craftsman to bore clean, deep
holes through dense hardwood beams with consistent accuracy. Antique examples still show up on traditional timber
framing sites today.

What is it used for?
In timber framing, the boring machine is used to drill the through-holes that accept the wooden treenails locking mortise and
tenon joints after the frame is assembled. Because the hole passes through both the mortised and tenoned members
simultaneously, the peg locks the joint with mechanical precision. The gear reduction makes this possible through 8 to 12
inches of dense hardwood.

How is it made?
The timber boring machine body is cast from iron with a gear train that typically provides a 3 to 1 or 4 to 1 mechanical
advantage, multiplying hand crank force into torque sufficient to drive a large auger through dense wood. A depth stop
controls hole depth. The bit is a long ship auger or spoon auger designed to clear chips from deep holes without clogging.

When was it made?
Mechanical timber boring machines were manufactured primarily in the United States and England during the height of the
timber framing and shipbuilding trades in the mid to late 1800s. Manufacturers like Millers Falls and Goodell-Pratt produced
well-regarded versions. Antique examples in good condition are still used by traditional timber framers today because they
do the job better than any modern substitute.

07/20/2026

TOOLS OF THE CRAFT: 3 3/8 SLICK

The 3 3/8 inch slick is a specialty paring chisel used on the most demanding timber frame joinery, where joint bearing
surfaces are too broad for any standard chisel to cover in a single controlled stroke. Like all slicks it is never mallet-driven.
Body weight and two-handed pressure do the work, removing precise shavings from surfaces that have to be perfectly flat to
carry structural load.

What is it used for?
At 3 3/8 inches this slick is sized for the largest structural connections in a timber frame, principal rafter seats, major bent
joints, and heavy plate connections where a smaller tool would require multiple overlapping passes and risk leaving ridges.
One controlled stroke with a 3 3/8 inch slick covers the full bearing surface and leaves it flat in a single pass.

How is it made?
At this width the blade spine must be thick enough to prevent any flex across its face during a paring stroke or the cut will
dish rather than flatten. The handle is extra-large diameter and often features a rounded shoulder at the end that rests
against the craftsman's chest, allowing full body weight to drive the cut in a single controlled movement. The bevel is ground
to 25 to 30 degrees.

When was it made?
Slicks in specialty widths like 3 3/8 inch were historically made to order by toolmakers for individual timber framers who
needed a specific blade width to match the joinery they cut most often. That tradition continues today. Small specialty
makers produce non-standard slick sizes on request for traditional timber framers who know exactly what dimension they
need and why.

07/17/2026

Barn door night …. Reclaimed from many historic buildings in the area and installing tomorrow …
We love wood !

Address

Hortonville, NY

Website

http://mcrwoodwork.com/, https://www.instagram.com/mcr_woodwork/

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