Arts & Mysteries

Writing for PW is really cool. People I tell about it often ask whether I feel great about seeing my name in print or the validation of being published. I don’t mean to sound ungrateful but [...]

In my latest article, I discussed the construction of the guts of my standing desk and attempted to relate those innards to formal desks from mid (18th) century Philadelphia. Fortunately, I had [...]

This is a tiny drawer from a Philadelphia secretary, circa 1760. Notice the shimmed dovetail. Make you feel better? …

When we think of drawers, we invariably think of drawers like those found in our kitchens. You yank on the pull, they slide out effortlessly, then a bump from the hip has them shut. Such drawers [...]

I began woodworking in my thirties with the specific intention of making period reproductions. But I initially intended to “power up” my shop. When I started, I hadn’t made the [...]

On Sunday, July 22, my friend Paul Dzioba and I will be demonstrating the execution of mid century joinery in one of the finest houses in North America. Mount Pleasant was built 1762-1765 by [...]

I thought you would like to see what a messy hand tool shop looks like! When was the last time someone commented on how nice your shop smelled? It really is a nice way to work wood. – Adam [...]

I can think of only a few 18th c furniture forms where carcass dovetails can be seen at all. As I recall, none can be seen from the front. Dovetails have become for modern woodworkers what Alfred [...]

Double entÃ?©ndres (if that’s the right term for it) continue in this series and on this blog. The post below is really about some of the often-overlooked benefits of hand-tool usage. My [...]

If you’ve tried to add a comment and failed or if your comment has disappeared, it’s our fault. We’ve had some problems with our servers. Everything is now back up and running. [...]

I’m not exactly Norm, but I do have specialty tools that make the job go faster. These tools are solely for mortise and tenon work and are typical of those available in the 18th century. [...]

In my mind, I only have two choices. I either leave the line when I cross cut saw, then plane the end grain down to it, or saw to the line and deal with my mistakes. In my experience its …