Restoring a compass part 1: What went wrong and how I decided to repair it.
I love to use pencil compasses in my woodshop. Unlike regular drafting compasses, which are fitted with fragile lead that tends to break easily, pencil compass are [...]
Tabletop stool part 3
After checking that all the joints fit, I began to work on the details. I tapered the legs, I chamfered the top's edges, I band sawed arches on each leg and, lastly, I rounded the [...]
Tabletop stool part 2
Two days after I emailed out the drawings I called my client to decide on his favorite design. The one he liked best was the "Arts & Crafts" option. We decided on [...]
Tabletop stool part 1: My most unique commission to date
Building a commissioned piece is one of the most exciting aspects of being a designer/maker. Early this fall in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan, I gave a workshop on [...]
An affirmation: John Townsend Highboy to be sold at Sotheby’s for $3,554,000
Fellow woodworkers! Don't lose hope. Even in this dire economical situation, where commissions are scarce and patrons are difficult to find, there is hope. In 250 years one of your (maybe [...]
A candy store for woodworkers part 2: 3rdWard’s Woodworking tool event in Brooklyn, NY
Matt Bickford is a Connecticut based woodworker who produces a remarkable line of wooden rabbet and molding planes. Matt was happy to explain how to use these planes to produce either simple [...]
A candy store for woodworkers part 1: 3rdWard’s Woodworking tool event at Brooklyn, NY
A week ago 3rdWard hosted a woodworking tool event led by Lie Nielsen's Toolworks. I came by to see/try tools and talk to some of my friends from Lie Nielsen and Gramercy Tools of Brooklyn. [...]
Jack of all trades: Jack Mauch, a woodworker, metal-smith, ceramicist, animator
It took him a while but at last my dear friend Jack Mauch has finally launched his website. For a few years Jack and I taught woodworking at Harvard University, Eliot House. Now Jack is a Core [...]
Shaker step stool part 6: Completed pieces + screws and plugs
We finished assembling the pieces and all that was left to do was screw in the screws, make the plugs that hide the screw heads and glue them in. After the glue on the plugs dried my [...]
Shaker step stool part 5: Dry-assembly and glue up
Once all the parts were shaped we decided to give the stool a test run. It is important to dry-assemble all the parts prior to gluing them together. We do it to foresee problems that [...]
Shaker step stool part 4: Design
I believe that personalizing a project is imperative for engaging a student in a particular subject and that teachers should make every effort to do so. In the case of the Shaker [...]
Shaker step stool part 3: Grooves and Dados
As we finished cutting all the parts to their designated dimensions, we set up the table saw with the dado blades. I explained to my students that our aim is to cut grooves and dados [...]
