Elbow Grease

people powered

person centered

hand tool woodworking

Without the use of power tools, woodworkers develop an intimate understanding of wood’s properties and preferences. Elbow Grease seeks to collaborate with wood fibers, and to develop embodied knowledge sparkling from fingertips to elbows.

building self-confidence and collaborative teamwork, Elbow Grease is an initiative to empower and adapt traditional woodworking techniques to be safer and more accessible to woodworkers with different levels of experience and hand skills.

What can one hand learn from the hand of another?

What can we accomplish with many hands and elbows?

Have an idea about a commission, tool donation, or a collaborative project? Connect with Elbow Grease by reaching out to malcolm@elbowroompdx.org

At Elbow Room, we’ve completed complex building projects, like hand carved chairs, a sturdy workbench with stout mortise and tenon joinery, dovetailed boxes, and more.