Author name: Enthusiast

If publishing a book is like putting a satellite in orbit via a multistage rocket, then last week I completed the first and most demanding leg of the lift-off. With the first stage of separation behind me, I am happy to report that the new book is on a steady acceleration course to join the Popular Woodworking library of books. For the last two years, I have been working on […]

The post Working Reclaimed Wood: A Guide for Woodworkers, Makers, and Designers is on its Way. appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.

This is one I come across often. People tell me in one way or another, that they are going to sand off the finish or paint. So then I point out that stripping is faster, and in the case of paint could even be safer than sanding. It’s almost always better to strip than to sand. To begin with, except in cases where the old finish is flaking off, it’s […]

The post Don’t Sand Furniture – Strip it. Stripping is Faster and Often Safer appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.

I’m in the final stages of setting up a new workshop in Covington., Ky. It’s my seventh (!!) workshop. I could probably write a book on the process, but instead I think I’ll sum it all up here. During the last 20 years I’ve visited and written about some of the most impressive and modest shops all over the world. From a home shop with a remote-control crane (that shop […]

The post Setting up a (Real World) Workshop appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.

One of my current jobs involves adding a few cabinets to a 1912 kitchen. The kitchen’s lone original built-in has frame and panel doors hung on traditionally mortised brass butt hinges. The original hinges are unswaged, or what the English shops where I worked early in my career called solid-drawn brass butts. They have fixed pins and no finials. And they are a dark brown-black. One of my go-to sources […]

The post Make New Brass Look Old appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.

Hey folks, the December to Remember contest has come to a close! We are so excited about our winners this year! December 22:  Chris Formato, California December 23:  Patrick Cavanaugh, Mississippi December 24:  Pat Flynn, Missouri December 25:  Steven Okusky, Maine December 26:  David LeTourneau, Maine December 27:  James Suss, Massachusetts December 28:  Phil Benzmiller, Minnesota December 29: Kenneth Cooper, Oklahoma December 30: Barry Johnson, Alabama Grand Prize Winner December 31: Jeff […]

The post Winners of Week 4 and Grand Prize! December to Remember 2017 appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.

One of my long-time obsessions has been with chairmaker Chester Cornett (1913-1981), a traditional Eastern Kentucky chairmaker who moved to Cincinnati later in life and turned to making mind-bending chairs. Trained by his family in green chairmaking, Cornett made hundreds of chairs and other pieces of furniture during a time in the 20th century when the world was turning to manufactured goods. After serving in World War II, Cornett moved […]

The post A Great (and Free) Read on Chairmaker Chester Cornett appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.