Details and Dimensions From a SketchUp Model
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One of the reasons I prefer to plan projects with SketchUp is how easy it is to extract information from the model. In my earlier days I prepared shop drawings with pencil and paper, and later on with a 2D CAD program. That type of drawing requires a great deal of care to ensure that
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posted at: 12:01am on 28-Jun-2013
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The First Recorded Workbench
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The first time I saw an 18th-century workbench, I thought: Wow. That will never work. But then I built some of these benches (dozens, actually), and I am a huge fan of the form's stability, simplicity and purity. So the first time I saw a Roman workbench from 50 A.D., I thought: Hmmm. That would
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posted at: 12:01am on 28-Jun-2013
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Patrick Edwards Knows Woodworking
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Ive known about W. Patrick Edwards and his Old Brown Glue for sometime. Ive read his blogs (click here) and been fascinated by his work. But I didnt realize how much Patrick knows about woodworking. Until, that is, I watched a free video of Graham BlackburnsWoodworking in Action hosted on Popular Woodworkings Shop Class on
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posted at: 12:18am on 27-Jun-2013
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Shagreen: Sandpaper of the Past
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With the growth of hand tools in woodworking, or should I say the return to hand tools in woodworking, many up-and-coming furniture makers think that the final pass on a panel or surface is always with a smoothing plane or scraper. If you think that you may be wrong. Furniture makers in the 18th- and
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posted at: 12:01am on 26-Jun-2013
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The Telephone Game 'Woodworking Version
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All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make the better.-Ralph Waldo Emerson You know what the Telephone Game is, right? One person starts by whispering a phrase into the next persons ear and that person whispers what they heard to the next person and this continues down the line. By the time the
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posted at: 12:01am on 26-Jun-2013
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Plunge Router Depth Adjustment Trick
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A plunge router is a versatile tool, but setting an exact depth can be perplexing. There are a bunch of knobs and levers that control how far down the bit will go, but if youre trying to make a precise adjustment you rapidly run out of hands and patience as you fight the springs and
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posted at: 12:14am on 23-Jun-2013
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Sweating the Details
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When I talk to woodworkers about drawers, particularly dovetail joinery, I mention the transition that occurs as we moved from one furniture period to the next. In general, dovetails became a drawer-joinery method during the William & Mary period; woodworkers had used dovetails earlier, but they became more widely used during the period that stretched
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posted at: 12:14am on 23-Jun-2013
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Plunge Router Depth Adjustment Trick
Furnished content.
A plunge router is a versatile tool, but setting an exact depth can be perplexing. There are a bunch of knobs and levers that control how far down the bit will go, but if youre trying to make a precise adjustment you rapidly run out of hands and patience as you fight the springs and
Read more here
posted at: 12:12am on 22-Jun-2013
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Meet Matt Cianci "The 'Saw Wright"
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Matt Ciancis initial forays into woodworking were as a luthier but his introduction to handsaws was born of necessity. I had to furnish my house and I couldnt afford to, Matt says. I made guitars, so I thought, Hey! I can make furniture! So he learned to use a saw and other tools, and was
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posted at: 12:12am on 22-Jun-2013
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New Windsor Chairmaking Classes with Richard Grell
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In his April 2013 Design Matters column, George R. Walker introduced to our pages the work of Windsor chairmaker Richard Grell, and shared the fascinating story of how a devastating fire and its aftermath proved the enduring strength of the Windsor form. Today, I received a press release
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posted at: 12:09am on 21-Jun-2013
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Building a Forgotten Classic from Kaare Klint
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For the last few years, I've studied the world of campaign furniture and the history of the Roorkhee chair, an English form of military seating that appeared in the last days of the 19th century. Most people have never heard of the Roorkhee. But many people have seen the chair that evolved from the Roorkhee
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posted at: 12:09am on 21-Jun-2013
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SAPFM Goes Digital First E-newsletter Published
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If youre unfamiliar withthe Society of American Period Furniture Makers (SAPFM) you should get to know it. Even if youre not a builder of period furniture, you need to become familiar with the groups site. Why? Because there is a storehouse of information available on that web site. You can find a list of members
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posted at: 12:00am on 20-Jun-2013
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A Slight Change in the Teaching Plan
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This week I'm in Bavaria to teach two woodworking classes at the workshops of Dictum GmbH. (And to visit my favorite coffee machine in the entire world.) However, instead of pushing the machine's buttons over and over, I'm teaching in a different workshop and making friends with a different coffee machine. Because of heavy rains
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posted at: 12:04am on 19-Jun-2013
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William & Mary Spice Chest, What Didn't Make it into the Magazine Article
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In our August 2013 issue, youll find a William & Mary Spice Chest built by Michigan woodworking Zachary Dillinger. Its a lovely little project with lots of surprises (including an ingenious way to connect the top and bottom pieces as well as hidden drawers), and the article is chock-full of hand-tool instruction (though of course,
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posted at: 12:04am on 19-Jun-2013
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To Sweep; To Sweep: Perchance to Clean
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Ive been a woodworker for a few decades now and read many a woodworking text and tome and have yet to read an article on how to sweep. Sweeping is the first job any woodworker learns but I find that there are actually few who can do it well, they stir up a cloud of
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posted at: 12:01am on 18-Jun-2013
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Bob Lang's Books Now in the Popular Woodworking Store
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I came to work at Popular Woodworking Magazine in a roundabout way. I spent most of my adult life working with wood professionally, and along the way I read a lot of books and magazines. I was passionate about furniture of the Arts & Crafts period, and wished there was a book of measured drawings
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posted at: 12:00am on 14-Jun-2013
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A Top 10 Woodworking Jig
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Years ago, I stumbled upon this woodworking jig. Years since, it still ranks high in usage when Im working on a large number of dovetails (but I generally teach and make hand-cut dovetails). Its a simple-to-build jig, as are most of the jigs we use here at the magazine and those published in 55
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posted at: 12:00am on 14-Jun-2013
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Iconic Design, Wharton Esherick
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Now that the June 2013 issue of Popular Woodworking Magazine is off the newsstand, I'm free to share one of my favorite articles from it (for the no doubt very few of you who read this blog but dont read the magazine). Its Chuck Benders piece on Wharton Esherick. Not only does Chuck do a
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posted at: 12:00am on 13-Jun-2013
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Scoop a Chair Seat on the Table Saw with Mario Rodriguez
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Mario Rodriguez of the Philadelphia Furniture Workshop has an article in our August 2013 issue (which mails to print and digital subscribers later this week, and is on newsstands June 25) that shows you how to build a clever table saw jig he uses to carve chair seats for his contemporary chairs; its a jig
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posted at: 12:03am on 12-Jun-2013
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Plane Facts
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Now that Im officially on board I figure Ill get the obligatory plane post out of the way early. Sure, I did my touchy-feely First Day post last week. And while I was in the PopWood offices (Im back home in Penn. now until we make the final move) I got a chance to play
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posted at: 12:12am on 11-Jun-2013
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Plans: A Simple Bowsaw
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While I have used a lot of bowsaws in the last two decades, Ive never made one. But during the last few weeks, Ive made five. The reason is that I fly to Germany on Friday to teach a couple woodworking classes. One class on building Roorkhee chairs, plus a one-day class on building a
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posted at: 12:02am on 10-Jun-2013
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Make a Joint Stool, Make Some Friends & Have a Lot of Fun
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Peter Follansbee tells me that in his Make a Joint Stool from a Tree class at The Woodwrights School, there are still a few seats available. The class runs from July 15-19 at Roy Underhills school in Pittsboro, N.C. You should go. I took this class during a blazing North Carolina summer two years ago,
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posted at: 12:03am on 08-Jun-2013
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The Simple "Dirty Mahogany" Finish
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Here is one of my favorite finishes for any wood that is ring-porous or diffuse-porous. I call it "dirty mahogany" or "creepy janitor." First a warning: I think this finish looks like crap on woods that have a closed pore structure, such as maple or cherry, and on softwoods. It looks great on anything with
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posted at: 12:24am on 07-Jun-2013
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Playing with the Jet 719200 Wood Lathe
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My first week on the job and I get to have some fun playing with the new Jet 719200 JWL-1221 Wood Lathe. Actually, Im reviewing the lathe for the October issue of the magazine but it sure seems like playtime. Im not much on mini/midi lathes but this thing is pretty well built. Coming in
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posted at: 12:24am on 07-Jun-2013
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Hand Tool Woodworking Project
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Heres a recent hand-tool woodworking project that makes life in the shop much better and its a pleasant way to spend an hour or two in the shop. I started with a piece of walnut, planed the edges and faces to perfection and marked three angled lines, about 23/128″ apart. Its vital that the wood
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posted at: 12:23am on 07-Jun-2013
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The Simple "Dirty Mahogany" Finish
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Here is one of my favorite finishes for any wood that is ring-porous or diffuse-porous. I call it "dirty mahogany" or "creepy janitor." First a warning: I think this finish looks like crap on woods that have a closed pore structure, such as maple or cherry, and on softwoods. It looks great on anything with
Read more here
posted at: 12:23am on 07-Jun-2013
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Roorkhee Chair Design Document
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Whether you know it or not, you've probably seen a Roorkhee chair (or its children) at some point in your life. The chair was supposedly invented at the end of the 19th century for the British military. But it had a long life that extended into the 20th century and influenced many modern designers: Marcel
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posted at: 12:03am on 06-Jun-2013
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Make Tenons Using a Bump-cut
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As my article on building the Southern Gents Mirror Stand, in the August 2013 Popular Woodworking Magazine (issue #205), passed through design and begin routing (being passed from editor to editor for each to read and mark corrections), my terminology was called into question. What are bump-cut tenons, I was asked. As I
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posted at: 12:25am on 05-Jun-2013
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Wait, Leather Already?
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With this class in building Roorkhee chairs, I bit off way less than I could chew. After the second day, we just have to finish up a couple details on the leather and metal work before we start finishing the mahogany. Tomorrow, I hope we will finish all the chairs with shellac and black wax
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posted at: 12:25am on 05-Jun-2013
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Cutting Drawers for a Period Chest
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Drawers from the William & Mary period (circa 1690-1730 in the Colonies) were often constructed in a manner that might seem odd to modern furniture makers. Rather than having the bottom ride in plowed grooves, they were often housed in rabbets cut into the front and sides of the drawers. The bottom would then be
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posted at: 12:25am on 05-Jun-2013
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First Day
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As we pull up curbside I get out and follow a coworker inside, new sights and sounds adding to my nervousness. The hallway, filled with the acrid smell of sweat and cleaning fluid, feels a mile long. A new task master awaits. Youthful questions fill my head. Will this master be kind or harsh? Will
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posted at: 12:06am on 04-Jun-2013
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Woodworking Fundamentals, They're for Everyone
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Woodworking fundamentals are what we all have in common, beginner, intermediate or advanced. We all use the basics. Some might say, in fact, that the only difference between expert and novice craftspeople is that the experts know and use their basic skills better than the novices. One of the best days I had in
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posted at: 12:06am on 04-Jun-2013
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Roorkhee Chairs, Day 1 (Then What?)
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Most classes I teach end up being a "dovetail death march" (in a good way). There is a lot of traditional joinery, late nights, sore feet and little hope of finishing the project in five days. But this class on Roorkhee chairs at Kelly Mehler's School of Woodworking promises to be different. If we don't
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posted at: 12:06am on 04-Jun-2013
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"Bench Duck" New Workholding From Veritas
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At the HandWorks show in Amana, Iowa, last month, Veritas introduced publicly its newest innovation in workholding, a cam-lever hold-down that to me, looks like a duck. So until Im told the official name of the tool, Im calling it a Bench Duck. (Ill likely call it that even after I know the official
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posted at: 10:22am on 03-Jun-2013
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New Video: Bob Lang and the Voysey Mantle Clock
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The cover project for the upcoming August 2013 issue of Popular Woodworking Magazine is like many of the pieces Ive made for articles. Picking projects is one of the best parts of my job and when I meet readers, one of the common questions asked is How do you guys decide what pieces to build?
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posted at: 12:04am on 02-Jun-2013
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If You're Reading This...
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If youre reading this, you may be part of the e-book era, or at least close to it. I know a little about woodworking and a little about publishing. Thats more or less why I have a job here. What both of these endeavors have in common, besides owing their lives to trees
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posted at: 12:16am on 01-Jun-2013
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Video: Watch Mary May Carve a Linenfold Panel
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Woodworkers are visual people. Tell a woodworker how to do something (myself included) and you may have to tell them more than a couple of times. If, however, you show a woodworker how things are done, once is often enough. (Thats why magazines use photos.) I am particularly this way when it comes to carving.
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posted at: 12:16am on 01-Jun-2013
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5 Bowsaws Later
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I leave for Germany in a couple weeks to teach classes on making Roorkhee chairs (piece of pie!) and bowsaws. Yup. Making bowsaws. You've probably seen my international treatise on bowsaws: "Bowsaws: An Anthropological View of Three Sticks and Some Cat Innards." No? Well that's because I haven't written it. I've used and owned many
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posted at: 12:16am on 01-Jun-2013
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