Five Lessons from Mid-Century Modern Furniture
As a material object, a piece of furniture reflects the taste of its designer, the skill of its maker and larger cultural influences. For example, Shaker furniture shows the elegance of [...]
When Rasps Aren’t Fine (or Small) Enough
For curved and sculptural work, nothing beats a good rasp. But there are many times that I need to do precise and fine work that most rasps aren’t capable of (at least the rasps I’ve seen or can [...]
Roubo Moulding Planes with Caleb James
In the April 2016 issue of Popular Woodworking Magazine, Caleb James gives us a look into his take the Roubo moulding plane. If you haven’t picked up your copy, then you are missing out on [...]
Steve Voigt on Using Wooden Planes
Steve Voigt, a maker of superb double-iron wooden planes, was one of the many exhibitors at the Lie-Nielsen Hand Tool Event at Braxton Brewing Co. in Covington, Ky., last weekend. You can read [...]
The Wonderful Everyday
Shop time has been limited in recent weeks, but that’s normal for most of us and perfectly fine. I’ve been keeping the house quiet during the weekends as my wife is coming to the end [...]
Build a Frame Saw Part 4: Shaping the Arms and Finishing the Project
Once the “H” frame parts were ready the time came for some ergonomics and design. My handle is quite simple, it includes a few curves that can be cut with a band saw or a coping saw, or chopped [...]
Shaker Workbench No. 2 at Pleasant Hill
The first workbench I encountered at Pleasant Hill was a little non-standard by Shaker standards, but the second workbench was unusual by most any measuring stick for modern workbenches. It is a [...]
Synthetic Aniline Dyes: Where Did They Come From?
Before 1856 all dyeing, and for that matter, most coloring, whether on cloth or wood, was done using natural materials. Being natural materials, they varied, so it was difficult to predict the [...]
Shaker Workbench No. 1 at Pleasant Hill
When most people discuss Shaker workbenches, they conjure up images of massive cabinets with drawers and doors that are topped by a workbench top – plus a tail vise, leg vise and probably a [...]
Dry Ground & Live Edge
I spent last week on vacation at Kentucky Lake. My girlfriend and I wanted to have a week away before she graduates law school in May and goes directly into study mode for the bar exam. We had [...]
Build a CNC Router is Back!
Our Build a CNC Router course is coming up again in April, and I’m really excited about it. I love building, programming and using CNC routers, but seeing the photos from students in this class [...]
Lacquers Vary in Coloring
Lacquer is a very versatile finish, especially because of its widely understood easy application in different weather conditions. You can speed up or slow down the drying by adding the right [...]
