Live Edge Class at Peters Valley Part 1: Nickys Bench
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In early July I had the pleasure of returning to Peters Valley School of Craft in New Jersey to teach a class on live edge furniture. Live edge furniture, also known as natural edge furniture isfurniture that celebrates wood in its most dramatic, organic and irregular way by showing off bark, spalted areas and cracks. When designing a live edge piece, one has the luxury of stepping back from the […]The post Live Edge Class at Peters Valley Part 1: Nickys Bench appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.
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posted at: 12:00am on 30-Jul-2016 path: /Woodworking | permalink | edit (requires password)
Goof Off has Changed
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When you roll latex paint onto walls and ceilings, some of the paint comes off the roller as spatter and lands on, and sticks to, furniture and other objects. All of us old timers know that if you want to remove this spatter without harming the finish, you get some Goof Off and rub it onto the spatter. It comes off pretty easily. Not so fast. That was the old […]The post Goof Off has Changed appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.
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posted at: 12:00am on 30-Jul-2016 path: /Woodworking | permalink | edit (requires password)
Book Giveaway: Furniture FundamentalsCasework
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When I joined the woodworking team a couple of years ago I found myself thumbing through a couple of our newest books at the time to get the lay of the land. Those two books,“Chairs & Benches” and “Tables,”are part of our Furniture Fundamentals series and cover some of the most commonly built furniture forms while teachingthe essential techniques needed for success. Recently we set out tocreate a third book […]The post Book Giveaway: Furniture FundamentalsCasework appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.
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posted at: 12:00am on 30-Jul-2016 path: /Woodworking | permalink | edit (requires password)
Woodworking in America: An Interview with Joe Zeh
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Joe Zeh isa lifelong woodworker and an engineer with experience in the computer and graphics industry. He is author of “SketchUp: A Design Guide for Woodworkers” and also teaches SketchUp in video and live courses. This September Woodworking in America will feature two sessions by Zeh on the program and how to utilize it for woodworking.He was kind enough to spare a few moments from his busy schedule to answer […]The post Woodworking in America: An Interview with Joe Zeh appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.
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posted at: 12:03am on 29-Jul-2016 path: /Woodworking | permalink | edit (requires password)
The Lever Cap Isnt a Screwdriver (Or is it?)
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When I bought my first Stanley No. 5 in the mid-1990s, I regularly used the lever cap as a screwdriver to adjust the tension screw in the center of the frog and to tighten and loosen the cap iron screw. Then one of my fellow employees dressed me down. You should never do that, they told me, because that illicit activity could chip the lever cap. This is advice repeated […]The post The Lever Cap Isnt a Screwdriver (Or is it?) appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.
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posted at: 12:00am on 27-Jul-2016 path: /Woodworking | permalink | edit (requires password)
Bleaching the Color Out of Wood
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Sometimes you want to make wood lighter than it is in its raw state. This is common when trying to match the wood to something that already exists. The way to do it is to first bleach out the color of the wood, then apply a stain, if necessary, to achieve the match. You can bleach the color out of most woods with a widely available bleach that comes in […]The post Bleaching the Color Out of Wood appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.
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posted at: 12:00am on 26-Jul-2016 path: /Woodworking | permalink | edit (requires password)
An Imperfect Surface
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For those of you who think that sanding and abrasive technology is a fairly new thing, I have news. Sanding is older than handplaning. As Geoffrey Killen points out in Egyptian Woodworking and Furniture (Shire, 1994), Egyptians did not use handplanes. Those tools were invented by the Romans or Greeks. Instead, Egyptian woodworkers used an adze to dimension pieces and then finished off the wood with sandstone. His book shows […]The post An Imperfect Surface appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.
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posted at: 12:00am on 26-Jul-2016 path: /Woodworking | permalink | edit (requires password)
Christopher Schwarz on Roman Workbenches
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I recently stopped by the Lost Art Press shop to chat with Christopher Schwarz for a few minutes about Roman workbenches. He’s in the midst of building two of these in preparation for his talk on that subject at Popular Woodworking in America 2016 (Sept. 16-18 at the Northern Kentucky Convention Center). I was curious as to why, after so many years of championing the “Roubo Bench,” he’s become interested […]The post Christopher Schwarz on Roman Workbenches appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.
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posted at: 12:00am on 26-Jul-2016 path: /Woodworking | permalink | edit (requires password)
Dutch Tool Chest Dovetails
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I’m pressing pause on my saw restoration for bit because I realized that once it’s refurbished, I will have no place to put it. I have a few hand tools that Ive accumulated over the years,but they’ve mostly been subjected to the lonelylife of storage boxes…until now. I decided to build the Dutch tool chest from the October 2013 issue of Popular Woodworking Magazine for my fledgling hand tool collection. […]The post Dutch Tool Chest Dovetails appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.
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posted at: 12:03am on 24-Jul-2016 path: /Woodworking | permalink | edit (requires password)
Overflow Saw Storage
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Christopher Schwarz has taught me many things over the 16 years I’ve worked closely with him, but two lessons just won’t stick. I will never learn to love late 19th/early 20th-century Russian literature, and I will likely continue to own more tools than I truly need. In no category is this more apparent than saws. I own four dovetail saws, three carcase saws, two tenon saws; only two panel saws […]The post Overflow Saw Storage appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.
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posted at: 12:00am on 23-Jul-2016 path: /Woodworking | permalink | edit (requires password)
Oil/Varnish Blend Mythology
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Every now and then someone comes into my shop, and in the course of conversation volunteers to me that his (its always a him) family had a secret formula for a finish that had been passed down for generations. Of course he wasnt going to share it with me because then it wouldnt be a secret anymore. So I would have to tell him what it was: 1/3 boiled linseed […]The post Oil/Varnish Blend Mythology appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.
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posted at: 12:03am on 22-Jul-2016 path: /Woodworking | permalink | edit (requires password)
October Preview Old Arn: Finding & restoring vintage shop machinery.
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Below is an excerpt from Jameel Abraham‘s article in the October 2016 issue of Popular Woodworking Magazine start looking now for your “Old Arn” and get ready to restore! (The issue mails to subscribers beginning on or around August 3, and will be on newsstands in mid-August). …That started me down the rabbit hole that is old iron, or old arn as we enthusiasts like to call it. So […]The post October Preview Old Arn: Finding & restoring vintage shop machinery.’ appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.
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posted at: 12:04am on 21-Jul-2016 path: /Woodworking | permalink | edit (requires password)
Six Myths About Wood Finishing
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The time and cost of materials you invest in any woodworking project can makethe final finishing stage a nerve-racking one. You want to get it right, and there are a lot of wild ideas out there concerning finishing. Below you’ll find a few common wood finishing myths and the actual facts excerpted from Bob Flexner’s expert text on the subject,“Understanding Wood Finishing.” Myth: Finishing both sides of wood prevents or […]The post Six Myths About Wood Finishing appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.
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posted at: 12:00am on 20-Jul-2016 path: /Woodworking | permalink | edit (requires password)
Adjusting Wooden-bodied Planes
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Handplanes that secure the cutter with a wedge need to be adjusted with a series of taps from a mallet or a hammer. The principles below apply broadly to all wedged planes, whether its a wooden jack plane, a delicate 1/16-wide hollow plane or a wedged infill plane with a metal shell. However, you need to use some common sense. Do you really want to beat that 1/16-wide moulding plane […]The post Adjusting Wooden-bodied Planes appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.
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posted at: 12:00am on 20-Jul-2016 path: /Woodworking | permalink | edit (requires password)
IWF (International Woodworking Fair)
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If you are a serious woodworker (even if you arent that good yet), and youre looking for an unbelievable woodworking experience, let me suggest that you consider attending the International Woodworking Fair this summer in Atlanta. Words cant adequately describe it. Its HUUUUUGE more than1,000 exhibitors and 25,000 attendees. The only way you could possibly walk the entire floor would be if you didnt stop to look at anything, […]The post IWF (International Woodworking Fair) appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.
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posted at: 12:00am on 19-Jul-2016 path: /Woodworking | permalink | edit (requires password)
Vise Rack Stop Ala Hakhoret
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Anyonewho has tried to vertically clamp a long object, such as a furniture leg or a rail, at one side of the bench vise knows that tightening the jaw over the object will put tremendous unbalanced forces on the vises mechanisms. This phenomenon reduces the functionality of the vise because itseffective holding surface is compromised due to the diagonal dislocation. Over time this can damage the vise. A few remedies […]The post Vise Rack Stop A’la Hakhoret appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.
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posted at: 12:00am on 19-Jul-2016 path: /Woodworking | permalink | edit (requires password)
An Improvised (and Excellent) Sticking Board
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Sticking boards are an excellent benchtop appliance when cutting mouldings by hand. A proper sticking board is an L-shaped device that holds the wood you want to stick (the old fashioned term for cut mouldings.) The fence on the sticking board prevents the wood from bowing along its length. The adjustable stops at the end (screws in the example below) restrain your wood while you cut your mouldings. Ive made […]The post An Improvised (and Excellent) Sticking Board appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.
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posted at: 12:00am on 18-Jul-2016 path: /Woodworking | permalink | edit (requires password)
Meet Martha Garstang Hill, Architect & Technical Illustrator
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When you open the October 2016 issue to the Letters and Tricks of the Trade columns, you’ll notice a new look. With this issue (it begins mailing on August 3), we welcome Martha Garstang Hill as the technical illustrator for Popular Woodworking Magazine. It has been difficult to say goodbye to Mary Jane Favorite, who’s been doing our drawings for many years (more than two decades, I think!) but […]The post Meet Martha Garstang Hill, Architect & Technical Illustrator appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.
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posted at: 12:00am on 16-Jul-2016 path: /Woodworking | permalink | edit (requires password)
How to Sharpen Saw Blades
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This article originally appeared in the December 2014 issueof Popular WoodworkingMagazine “Saw Sharpening 101” byMatt Cianci pages 36-39 Weve all been there: You reach for your saw in the middle of a project, and before you start the cut, you drag your finger along the teeth and say to yourself, Meh…theyre sharp enough. But you soon find out they are anything but. Wouldnt it be nice if you could sharpen […]The post How to Sharpen Saw Blades appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.
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posted at: 12:01am on 15-Jul-2016 path: /Woodworking | permalink | edit (requires password)
A Boring Embarrassment from the Past
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I just talked with Mike Siemsen about running the Hand Tool Olympics (HTO) at Popular Woodworking in America 2016. Once again, he’s graciously agreed to wrangle his crew of expert hand-tool woodworkers to run the competition (and teach folks who are new to the included “sports”) for the 2016 conference (in the Marketplace Sept. 16-17, at the Northern Kentucky Convention Center). And then I came across this altogether embarrassing video […]The post A Boring Embarrassment from the Past appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.
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posted at: 12:01am on 15-Jul-2016 path: /Woodworking | permalink | edit (requires password)
Make a Scraper Plane
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I just chatted with Linda Rosengarten of Hock Tools about Woodworking in America 2016 (Hock Tools will be in the Marketplace Sept. 16-17, along with many other top-quality makers), being too busy, and scraper planes. Linda is working on an upcoming newsletter for Hock Tools (click here, then click on “Hock Tools’ Newsletter” to sign up) and called to ask if we’d allow her to link to an image from […]The post Make a Scraper Plane appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.
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posted at: 12:00am on 14-Jul-2016 path: /Woodworking | permalink | edit (requires password)
Teak Oil: What is it?
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In the February, 2015 issue of Popular Woodworking Magazine I wrote an article on teak oil. If youre interested in a more extensive explanation than here, I encourage you to go back to that issue and read the article. I titled the article Teak Oil: The Oil That Doesnt Exist, because theres no such thing as teak oil. I had suspected this from as far back as the early 1990s […]The post Teak Oil: What is it? appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.
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posted at: 12:00am on 14-Jul-2016 path: /Woodworking | permalink | edit (requires password)
Start Handplanes on the Skew
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One of the little challenges for beginning handplane users to get a clean surface at the start of the cut, particularly with a smoothing plane. They push the tool forward and it leaves little bumpy chatter marks for about 3/8 of an inch until the plane starts to settle down and cut cleanly. The problem is particularly exacerbated in hard woods, such as white maple. One of the reasons these […]The post Start Handplanes on the Skew appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.
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posted at: 12:01am on 12-Jul-2016 path: /Woodworking | permalink | edit (requires password)
Most Common Treehouse Mistakes
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If you’re someone who builds things (and as a PW reader, it’s a safe bet that you are), chances are at some point you’vedaydreamed about building a treehouse. But in order to make the dream a reality theres a lot more to it than just nailing some boards into a tree. Thats why Django Kroner, owner of professional treehouse building company and tree service The Canopy Crew decided to write […]The post Most Common Treehouse Mistakes appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.
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posted at: 12:01am on 12-Jul-2016 path: /Woodworking | permalink | edit (requires password)
Paul Sellers Joinery Workshop at Gil Arads Woodworking School
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In late June 2016 I visited Israel and attended Paul Sellerss Fundamental Hand-Tool Joinery Workshop which took place at Gil Arads Woodworking School outside of Jerusalem. For Paul it was his first visit to Israel, and for Israeli woodworkers – amateurs and professional alike – it was a rare opportunity to learn from one of a great teachers and makers of our time. Here I share ashort slide show that […]The post Paul Sellers Joinery Workshop at Gil Arad’s Woodworking School appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.
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posted at: 12:01am on 12-Jul-2016 path: /Woodworking | permalink | edit (requires password)
About My Love of 35
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I sharpen all of my plane irons and chisels at 35. Heres why: I do this to keep my sharpening regimen as simple as possible. I dont want to pick up a tool and wonder: What angle is this sharpened to? I also dont want to sharpen a tool, discover that I used the wrong angle and have to resharpen it immediately. And I dont want to have multiple jigs […]The post About My Love of 35 appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.
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posted at: 12:00am on 09-Jul-2016 path: /Woodworking | permalink | edit (requires password)
Book Giveaway: How to Build Bookcases & Bookshelves
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It’s always fun to see the new books show up. Popular Woodworking Books’latest offering, “How to Build Bookcases & Bookshelves” officially releases at the end of the month. It’s a compilation of stunning bookcase projects from the archives of Popular Woodworking Magazine and American Woodworker. The builds cover a range of styles from simple to more ornate so whether you love the classic look of Arts & Crafts or […]The post Book Giveaway: How to Build Bookcases & Bookshelves appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.
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posted at: 12:00am on 09-Jul-2016 path: /Woodworking | permalink | edit (requires password)
Adhesive paint: Another Smart Coating
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This has nothing to do with wood finishing, but I find it interesting anyway. Youre probably aware that Google is working on self-driving cars. Well, the company has filed a patent for an adhesive paint to be used on these and other cars that will help reduce injuries to pedestrians hit by these cars. The coating would be applied to the front end of the car and be composed of […]The post Adhesive paint: Another Smart Coating appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.
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posted at: 12:00am on 08-Jul-2016 path: /Woodworking | permalink | edit (requires password)
Modern Hand Tool Methods for Furniture
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As an editor, my work involves pouring over woodworking books. And as guy whos trying to learn a bit of woodworking and build a few things in my spare time, thats not a bad way to spend the workday. In addition to the books I develop for Popular Woodworking, I also look through our library of books for ideas and inspiration. Recently I came across “Working Wood 3” by Simon […]The post Modern Hand Tool Methods for Furniture appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.
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posted at: 12:00am on 07-Jul-2016 path: /Woodworking | permalink | edit (requires password)
Revising Handplane Essentials
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During the last few months Ive been revising Handplane Essentials, an out-of print book that we published while I was the editor at Popular Woodworking Magazine. The revisions, additions and subtractions will be significant. Were removing a lot of the reviews and features on planemakers who are no longer in business. And I hope well replace them with articles on those who are. On the technique side of things, Im […]The post Revising Handplane Essentials appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.
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posted at: 12:00am on 06-Jul-2016 path: /Woodworking | permalink | edit (requires password)
Roman Workbenches at Woodworking in America
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Im building a pair of Roman workbenches in my shop that Ill be demonstrating at Woodworking in America this fall (Sept. 16-18 in Covington, Ky.). This will be my only public appearance in 2016 I am in full-on hermit mode right now. Why the heck would an Arkansas boy build Roman workbenches? Easy. They were the dominant form of workbench for about 1,500 years, they are simpler to build […]The post Roman Workbenches at Woodworking in America appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.
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posted at: 12:02am on 04-Jul-2016 path: /Woodworking | permalink | edit (requires password)
Making Curly Maple Pop
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To maximize the beauty of curly maple (also birds-eye maple), you want the curls to pop that is, be significantly darker than the rest of the wood. To do this you need to get more color into the curls. To some extent this happens naturally with any stain when you wipe off the excess. Though its a lot more work, you can significantly increase the darkness, or pop, by […]The post Making Curly Maple Pop appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.
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posted at: 12:00am on 02-Jul-2016 path: /Woodworking | permalink | edit (requires password)
Wooden Flowers to Keep the Critters Away
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What do you do when the critters outside eat your flowers? If you ask Jon Slaton, he will tell you that the best thing to do is to make some wooden flowers and stick them in your pots. Jon, who lives in the Ozark mountains in Missouri, wrote to me after reading the story on the framesaws that my students had built. He wanted to share with me one of […]The post Wooden Flowers to Keep the Critters Away appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.
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posted at: 12:00am on 01-Jul-2016 path: /Woodworking | permalink | edit (requires password)
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