Earlywood: ‘Experto Crede’

Publisher’s note: Welcome to Earlywood, where we talk about all sorts of tingles and throbs. Every Saturday, we publish a free excerpt from one of the thousands of pieces I’ve written since 1996. Sometimes it’s from a magazine article. Or a blog entry. Or (in this case) a book, “Ingenious Mechanicks,” published in 2018. Each entry has been updated or annotated with some modern context or point of view. We hope you enjoy it.

No trespassing. I like to go places that haven’t been interpreted by museum personnel or academics (nothing against these people, but I like to draw my own conclusions). This unrestored coastal artillery facility is nothing like the touristy one down the road.

Sometimes I wonder why I research old workbenches, build them and write about them. I know my critics and friends wonder the same thing.

The truth is, I have a gland – well, it feels like a gland – deep inside my torso. It’s located a bit above my tailbone and in front of the base of my spine. Ever since I was a…