My Little Dig into Henry Williams
So, I got caught up in this whole Henry Williams thing a while back. Wasn’t planned, just sort of happened. I was clearing out my grandad’s old shed, you know, one of those weekend jobs that turns into a month-long saga. Found this old, beat-up wooden box. Nothing special, but inside, tucked under some rusty tools, was a weird-looking measuring tool and a faded note. The note just said, “Made the H. Williams way.”
Naturally, I got curious. Who’s Henry Williams? What’s his way? I started asking around. Dad didn’t know. My uncle thought maybe he was an old carpenter from town, but wasn’t sure. So, I did what anyone does these days, I went digging online. Didn’t find much at first. Lots of Henry Williamses, but none seemed to fit this old tool vibe.
I spent a few evenings just poking around different forums, history sites, stuff like that. It felt a bit like chasing a ghost. Was this guy even real? Or just some name grandad made up?
Trying to figure it out
Then I stumbled onto some local historical society website. Buried deep in their digital archives was a mention of a Henry Williams who ran a small workshop back in the early 1900s. Apparently, he was known for his really precise joinery, but he was kind of eccentric, didn’t share his methods much.
- First, I tried to understand the tool. It wasn’t like any modern square or level I’d seen. Had weird markings.
- I took photos, posted them on some woodworking forums. Got a few guesses, nothing concrete.
- Then I tried to replicate how it might be used, based on the wear marks on the tool itself. Lots of trial and error. Mostly error.
- Got frustrated. Put the box away for a week.
- Came back to it, thinking maybe the “H. Williams way” wasn’t about the tool, but the process.
This reminded me of my first job, working for this old grouch who had his “own way” of doing everything. Drove me nuts back then. Everything had to be done exactly his way, no questions asked. Didn’t matter if there was a faster or easier way. His way was the only way. Maybe this Henry Williams was like that?
So I stopped focusing on the tool itself and just started trying to make really clean, simple joints using basic hand tools, the kind grandad had. I focused on being super patient, measuring twice, three times, cutting slow. Took ages. Made a simple little box. Nothing fancy.
Was it the “Henry Williams way”? Heck if I know. Probably not. But the process, slowing down, focusing on the basics, it was… calming. Different from the rush-rush-rush I usually deal with. I didn’t find some secret technique. I didn’t uncover a lost master craftsman’s legacy.
What I did was spend some time messing around with old tools, thinking about some guy I’ll never know, and finding a bit of quiet focus in my own garage. Sometimes the chase is more interesting than what you find at the end, right? That old box is still on my shelf. The tool’s still a mystery. But the whole experience wasn’t a waste of time. It got me using my hands again, thinking differently. That’s something, I guess.
