Notes I kept because I knew I would forget

This is a working notebook, not a publication. Entries get written when I solve something awkward and rewritten when I find out I was wrong. Nothing here is finished, and a few things are certainly still incorrect.

If you arrived from a search and the entry contradicts the manual, believe the manual.

Recently edited

• Sharpening a plane iron without a jigThe freehand method that finally worked, after four that did not.18 Aug
• Reading a Victorian tithe mapField numbers, apportionment books, and why the acreage never matches.02 Aug
• Sourdough at 14°CTimings for an unheated kitchen in winter. Mostly about patience.27 Jul
• Repointing with lime mortarMix ratios, and the three weeks of aftercare nobody mentions.11 Jul
• Bicycle wheel dishing by earTension by pitch, checked against a gauge. Closer than expected.29 Jun

Longer pieces

• Everything I know about apple graftingNine seasons of notes, including the failures, which are the useful part.rev 12
• A field guide to hedgerow datingCounting species per thirty metres, and where the rule breaks down.rev 7
• Keeping a paper index in 2026Why I went back to cards after eleven years of trying every application.rev 4

Entries carry the date they were last touched rather than when they were written. An old date is not a warning; it usually means the note has held up.

How this is organised

Everything is one flat list with cross-references, no categories. Categories were tried twice and abandoned twice: the moment a note belongs in two places, the tree starts lying to you. Search and links have worked better.