An Introduction to Gothic Tracery (With a Router)

This week I’m finishing up work on an aumbry for a future issue of Popular Woodworking Magazine. More than anything, this project has been about exploring Gothic geometry. But as with any project, I always have a lot of detours and dead ends. The pierced carvings on the front of the aumbry are fairly simple, yet I was afraid they would be off-putting for some beginning woodworkers. So I started […]

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Straight or Spiral

In the November issue of Popular Woodworking Magazine I wrote an article outlining the router bits I consider to be the core of any powered shop. The workhorse bits of that core set are the straight bits. Straight router bits come in three varieties: Spiral-upcut, spiral-downcut and straight-cut bits. The choice of which to use comes down to the specific job and your preferences. The difference between straight and spiral […]

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Another 21st Century Workbench

Every day I receive dozens of e-mails. Everyone suffers from this affliction, but when you’re on the staff of a magazine you’re an attractive target for photographers, illustrators, PR people and marketing gurus. I wade through them all, and every now and then I’m pleasantly surprised to get a message from a reader with a photo of his version of something I’ve designed and built for Popular Woodworking Magazine. That […]

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Circular Cutting Board

by Robert W. Lang A well-equipped kitchen deserves to have a nice maple cutting board, especially if the kitchen is in a woodworking household. The cutting board may be an animal-shaped survivor from 8th grade shop class, or a more sophisticated design. For many woodworkers it is an introduction to working with shapes that aren’t straight. Maple has been used as a food preparation surface for hundreds of years and […]

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Furniture Spotting

Beginning with my first job in journalism, I self-imposed a rule to not discuss my political thoughts in public – so the below is in no way constitutes personal commentary on President Obama and his administration. But no matter what one’s thoughts on any past, current or future office holders, there’s no arguing that those in power have access to some mighty fine furniture. Case in point: Today’s New York […]

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On the Merits of Blue Furniture

I’m sure you get asked the following question a lot: “What’s your favorite style of furniture?” My answer to that question has always been rambling and indecisive – I love styles from the 15th century up to mid-century modern. But I now have a simple and direct response: I like blue furniture. If you subscribe to color theory, people react physically to different colors. Reds, yellows and oranges increase our […]

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Hello – I’m Mike Wallace (No, not that one)

I’m excited to be the newest addition to the Popular Woodworking staff. I’ve spent my career as a reporter, editor or copy desk chief for a number of newspapers, but most importantly, I’m an avid hobby woodworker. I’m the least accomplished woodworker on staff by far, but I have a passion for the subject and I’m looking forward to learning from readers and my co-workers. (Pins or tails first? Uh, […]

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Design by Substitution

I’ve enjoyed Chuck’s and Bob’s posts on design and recently had cause to think about them while working on a coffee table for an upcoming book on Mid-Century Modern furniture. At the risk of over-simplifying, these posts suggest an axis for approaching furniture design: on the one end, evaluate a class of furniture and synthesize elements to produce a design; on the other end, reproduce a piece to really understand […]

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Lots of Woodworking Resources for Little Money

I’m gonna let you in on a little secret: I don’t read all the e-mails we send out. (I know, I know – there are too many; I’m pleased to let you know that we’re reducing the number.) So I’m guessing you don’t always read them all, either. But sometimes, you do miss something good. Really! Every month, we select a group of product organized a single theme, be it […]

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The Manufactory, Our Local Makerspace

A couple of weeks ago, we took an afternoon field trip to “The Manufactory” a makerspace here in the Cincinnati area. Back in June we visited two makerspaces in Columbus (read about that visit here) in preparation for an article in an upcoming issue of Popular Woodworking Magazine. If you’re not familiar with the term, a makerspace is a lot like a health club, but with a fully equipped woodworking […]

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The Peabody Essex “In Plain Sight”

Nathaniel Gould has long been associated with some of the finest period furniture to come out of Salem, Massachusetts, but we didn’t know how much until recently. In 2007 three of Gould’s account books were discovered locked away in the Massachusetts Historical Society and they showed he was far more prolific than originally thought – the ledgers document over 3000 pieces made between 1758 and 1783. The ledgers have been […]

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‘Practical Woodworker’ 4-Volume Set – Now in Paperback

Last year, we released an exclusive, limited run of the 4-volume set of Bernard Jones’ “The Practical Woodworker” in hardcover, which quickly sold out. But now, you can get “The Practical Woodworker” set in paperback; it’s the same great information, but at a more affordable price – just $65 for more than 1,500 pages of expert woodworking instruction (plus an index…thank goodness!). And, when you buy from ShopWoodworking.com, you’ll get […]

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Maps for Your Journey

The search for design inspiration is a journey down many different roads, some of them fruitful and some dead-end. One of our goals within Popular Woodworking University’s online classes is to give students good maps for their searches. That way, you don’t waste a lot of time hunting around for ideas – and you can move right into planning and building! Our next 1-hour live webinars will focus on curated […]

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Hammer K3 Winner

Get European accuracy and quality at a great price. by Chuck Bender page 14 Most woodworkers only dream about owning a European sliding table saw. The size and price tend to be limiting factors, particularly for those not making a living from their woodcraft. The Hammer K3 Winner series of table saws breaks new ground on both fronts. Hammer, a part of the Felder Group, has managed to include all […]

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Hammer K3 Winner

Get European accuracy and quality at a great price. by Chuck Bender page 14 Most woodworkers only dream about owning a European sliding table saw. The size and price tend to be limiting factors, particularly for those not making a living from their woodcraft. The Hammer K3 Winner series of table saws breaks new ground on both fronts. Hammer, a part of the Felder Group, has managed to include all […]

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Woodworking Excellence

Get inspired by our 2014 winners. by Megan Fitzpatrick page 49 For our second annual PWM Excellence Awards, we solicited submissions in five categories: Boxes and Smalls; Seating; Tables; Cabinets and Casework; and Turnings, Carvings and Objet d’Art. Featured here are the Editors’ Choice and Readers’ Choice winners in each (Bruce Chaffin was the overall Readers’ Choice award recipient, for his Tansu-inspired Room Divider (page 53). It was a difficult […]

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Customizable Bevel-down Planes from Veritas

by Megan Fitzpatrick page 16 We don’t typically include tools in this column that we’ve not actually tested, but we’re making an exception for these five new bevel-down planes from Veritas (Nos. 4, 41⁄2, 5, 51⁄2 and 7 in the Stanley numbering system). I got a preview of these at Lee Valley Tools in Ottawa in August; they were publicly released Sept. 13 (just days before this issue was printed). […]

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Angle-Ease Router Base from Woodhaven

By Chuck Bender page 16 A router table that tilts opens up vast new worlds when it comes to making mouldings. The one feature that I love about the Angle-Ease (from Woodhaven) is its ability to tilt. This lift gives you the ability to make complex mouldings with a router that are impossible to make without lots of specialized hand tools (and a ton of time to develop the skills […]

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Angle-Ease Router Base from Woodhaven

By Chuck Bender page 16 A router table that tilts opens up vast new worlds when it comes to making mouldings. The one feature that I love about the Angle-Ease (from Woodhaven) is its ability to tilt. This lift gives you the ability to make complex mouldings with a router that are impossible to make without lots of specialized hand tools (and a ton of time to develop the skills […]

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Customizable Bevel-down Planes from Veritas

by Megan Fitzpatrick page 16 We don’t typically include tools in this column that we’ve not actually tested, but we’re making an exception for these five new bevel-down planes from Veritas (Nos. 4, 41⁄2, 5, 51⁄2 and 7 in the Stanley numbering system). I got a preview of these at Lee Valley Tools in Ottawa in August; they were publicly released Sept. 13 (just days before this issue was printed). […]

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2014 PWM Excellence Awards Winners

At Woodworking in America last Friday morning, I presented a slide show of the winners of the 2014 PWM Excellence Awards Winners – and now I’m sharing them with those who weren’t able to make it to this year’s conference. The winners are featured in the November 2014 issue of Popular Woodworking Magazine, with information about each piece and its maker (The issue begins mailing to subscribers (both print and […]

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Hand Drafting Skill-builder FAQ

Q: Is there ever a time in the hand drafting process when you use paper with lines on it, such as graph paper? A: If I am out in the field and do not have a portable drafting setup, then graph paper is desirable paper to have on hand. The most common graph paper is 1/4″ squares, but better office/drafting supply companies will offer it in various sizes. I like […]

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Pégas Coping Saw Blades – the Best

While teaching in England this summer I had a sudden and miraculous encounter with Pégas coping saw blades – and I am a convert. I rarely say this sort of thing, but here we go: Buy them. Buy as many as you can afford. Encourage the company to make more blades like this. If you want to skip the backstory and just order the darn blades, go to Tools for […]

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What is Shellac?

This 11-minute video excerpt, featuring the one and only Don Williams, is a fairly complete answer to a common question – what is shellac? I say “fairly complete” because the video generated a couple follow-up questions in my mind. Fortunately, there’s WIA – our annual woodworking conference. Don spoke for 4 hours at the conference this weekend, covering shellac and a lot more. It was a real pleasure to sit […]

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Pictures from Woodworking in America 2014

Tomorrow morning, I depart Winston-Salem for a long and lonely drive to Cincinnati in the slow, loud and uncomfortable 24′-long truck (I can’t believe I’m allowed to operate this thing without a CDL license!). So I have a little time to kill. After four days of fun, frivolity and being on my feet nonstop, I just don’t think I have it in me to walk any farther than the room […]

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Customizable Bevel-down Planes from Veritas

As a crowd gathered ’round the Lee Valley Tools booth at high noon on Saturday, Sept. 13 at Woodworking in America 2014, Robin Lee, president, unlocked the chains and opened the cases to reveal a project the company has been working on for more than two years: five new Veritas “customizable” bevel-down planes (Nos. 4, 41⁄2, 5, 51⁄2 and 7 in the Stanley numbering system). I got a preview of […]

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Pressed Brass Campaign Hardware from Lee Valley

With campaign-style hardware, there are many choices out there for different budgets and aesthetics. You can go for full-on rustic, sand-cast hardware – this looks great but can be tricky to install because every piece of hardware is slightly different. Or you can opt for modern die-cast hardware – easy to install but a little too-consistent looking to look historically accurate. I have installed both kinds of hardware, and I […]

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Clever Windsor Joints

Apply the strength of dovetails to round pieces by Michael Dunbar pages 36-39 Windsor chairs are comfortable, handsome and strong. That is why for 250 years they have been America’s favorite chair. Windsors were made by hand for more than a century, roughly 1730 to 1840. During that time their designs changed as makers and customers pursued the latest fashion. The earliest Windsors were large easy chairs. In the classic […]

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Must-have Router Bits

Here are four profiles that will change your woodworking life. by Chuck Bender pages 46-48 Every woodworking shop has a few vital tools that are absolute necessities. And whether you have a strict power-only tool policy or you take a blended approach, I would argue that a router is one of the tools essential to nearly any powered shop. The problem many beginning (and some advanced) woodworkers have is that […]

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‘Bookend’ Inlay

Make four variations of Federal inlay with heat and a few simple tools. by Frank Vucolo Pages 32-35 While one revolution was winding down, another was gaining force. The Federal period, from about 1780 to 1820, saw both the rise of the nascent United States as well as a uniquely American interpretation of neoclassical design. This New World take on European design was lighter than the preceding Queen Anne and […]

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Splay-leg Table with a Twist

Tweaking a classic table design adds a contemporary feel and challenges traditional building techniques. by Tom Calisto pages 40-45 My aim was to make something fairly simple and classic with contemporary flair. The cuffs and cock bead are borrowed from the Federal period, but I added splayed legs and an angle on the cuffs to introduce more contemporary elements. At first glance the splayed legs would appear to complicate the […]

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Design Matters: Fair Curves

Dave Fisher designs bowls by touch as well as sight. by George R. Walker page 18 The words “fair curve” get tossed around by designers, chairmakers and especially by boatbuilders. It’s almost impossible to pin down any of those folks and get a precise definition. About the best you might hear is that a fair curve is sweet to the eye, where lines flow in graceful arcs to make visual […]

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To Get Perfect Seams, Remember: Don’t Stop

One of the best pieces of woodworking advice is, “Go slow, it’s faster.” But that doesn’t apply to gluing up narrow boards into panels. When I have to glue up panels, I start in the morning by jointing and planing the stock to its finished thickness (assuming I’m using machinery), and then I immediately joint the boards’ edges and glue up the panels that same day. By compressing all that […]

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Flexner on Finishing: Furniture Deterioration

Cracking, crazing and physical wear have specific causes and remedies. by Bob Flexner page 59-60 Everyone who buys, sells, works on or collects old furniture, or who has some in their house, has to be concerned with deterioration. It’s staring them in the face every time they look at the furniture. Totally stopping the deterioration isn’t possible, but it can be slowed. To do this you need to understand its […]

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End Grain: Losing the Love of My Life

With great pain comes great amounts of casserole. by Joe McMahon page 64 The Bride wanted to start with one, but I wanted a dozen. Then one warm summer day, the Warden whispered in my ear those magical words: “Which would it be?” I spent the next eternity, silently ticking the days off, scraping and saving every penny, for I knew that the expenses would be great. And then the […]

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What’s Important in Organizing a Shop?

I’ve worked in a 2,000 square-foot professional shop and I now work in a one-car garage shop, and the one thing that’s universal for all shops is that you’ve got to be able to find stuff. Whether it’s the marking gauge that was on the bench just yesterday, or that ogee router bit that is in either the router or the drawer, disorganization is a big hang-up. You can waste […]

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A Good Look at Some Marcou Handplanes

At Woodworking in America 2010, the award for having traveled the farthest went to Philip Marcou, a toolmaker in New Zealand. I was joking on Twitter a few days ago that we were looking at New Zealand as a potential site for a future conference (in which case we’d have to call it Woodworking Ex America, I suppose)…because I desperately want to go there. We’re not, of course; while I’m […]

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12 Rules for Tool Chests

Christopher Schwarz has produced some terrific blog posts recently on the topic of hand tool storage. For those of you who read those posts and decide to build a traditional tool chest, the following excerpt from the Chris Schwarz archives may be very helpful. It provides some additional depth on each of the key “rules” for floor-based tool chests. Looking for maximum depth on the tool chest topic? Buy our […]

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Shop Talk Sessions at Woodworking in America 2014

At Woodworking in America 2015 (for which I leave in one week…and to which I’m possibly driving the truck with the benches), in addition to the education sessions in the classrooms from such woodworking luminaries as Will Neptune, Roy Underhill, Drew Langsner, Phil Lowe, Patrick Edwards, Don Williams and more, we’re offering a variety of hour-long Shop Talk sessions in the Marketplace (included with admission). Here’s the schedule: Friday, Sept. […]

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Better Panel Glue-ups Have Little to do With Glue

I’ve watched a lot of beginners glue up panels and end up disappointed with their results. Their routine goes something like this: Find two boards the correct length. Work the boards’ edges until they come together perfectly. Glue them together. While the glue seam might be perfect and tight, the panel itself usually looks jarring. The color or the grain flow is mismatched. Sometimes the problem isn’t obvious until there […]

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Woodworking Philosophy 101

As the “new guy” on the Popular Woodworking Magazine team (and you may, or may not, know there’s an even newer guy on the team now – Mike Wallace…no, not that Mike Wallace, but more from and about him later) I was asked to record a video that illustrates my woodworking philosophy. Being a period furnituremaker that tried to produce in appearance accurate reproductions of pieces made in this country […]

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Woodworking in America Give-a-ways

Each year at Woodworking in America (WIA) there are prizes awarded in the marketplace. You know we have give-a-ways in the cards this year as well. But this year we upped or game – technically SawStop and JET upped our game, one great prize awarded to a WIA participant simply for attending the conference, and a second “cutting edge” machine to a lucky attendee of the marketplace. (Where else can […]

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Silas Kopf Named ‘Master of the Medium’

Congratulations to Silas Kopf, who has been named the winner in the wood category of the 2015 James Renwick Alliance of the Smithsonian Institution’s Master of the Medium Award. The cabinet above, “Bad Hare Day,” was acquired by the Renwick in 2008, and his work is on display in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, the Brooklyn Museum of Art and the Milwaukee Art Museum, and he’s represented in many […]

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