Author name: Enthusiast

After removing the big chunk of wood that was to become the front of the chair, the next steps on the dugout chair are the tricky parts that require more thinking than straining. I needed to chainsaw the bottom of the stump level to get the thing so it had the stance of a chair. This is tricky because the stump is an irregular cone with no right angles. So […]

The post Dugout Chair Step 3: Draw a Chair appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.

I find myself needing a lot of small circles for use on wooden toys. When I cut those disks out with a circle-cutting jig on the band saw, the edge is a little too rough, so I’ve made a fixture for the disk sander that makes quick work of sanding the wheels perfectly round and smooth. A ledger strip on the bottom plate of the fixture fits into the sander’s […]

The post Tricks of the Trade – Sander Circle Jig: Make Perfectly Round Wheels Quickly appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.

We are very fortunate to have cats, chickens and a toddler in our lives. In our garden and in the woodland behind it, we occasionally see deer, squirrels, chipmunks, turkeys and many types of birds that either live in the woods or pass by. But it seems that the only animal that we did not intentionally acquire, but made a lovely home in our garden, is a chubby groundhog we […]

The post Reclaimed Wood Sign for a Groundhog’s Castle appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.

The cover story for the October 2017 issue of Popular Woodworking Magazine – a Swedish gateleg table – can be read and downloaded for free here. No catch. No gimmicks. No registration. Just click it and read it. I built this gateleg table earlier this year and based my version on dozens of examples I dug up from the historical record. From looking at the table, you might think that the […]

The post Modern Gateleg Table – Free on the Website appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.

A contemporary-looking design that’s really from the 18th century. by Christopher Schwarz Pages 28 – 34 October 2017 Buy the issue here. If you’ve ever been dragged to Ikea by your spouse (few woodworkers go willingly – except to eat meatballs), you’ve probably seen a table similar to this gateleg one. It’s been a staple of the contemporary furniture company’s line-up for many years. One Saturday five years ago, my […]

The post Modern Gateleg Table: A Contemporary-Looking Design That’s Really From the 18th Century appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.

Drying oils, especially linseed oil (raw or boiled), are the only finishing materials that spontaneously combust. Solvents don’t spontaneously combust, paint strippers (including paint or finish residue) don’t spontaneously combust, and no type of varnish spontaneously combusts. It’s not totally clear whether 100% tung oil can spontaneously combust, so treat it like it does. As linseed oil dries, it generates heat as a byproduct. If you wad up linseed-oil-soaked rags […]

The post Spontaneous Combustion & Oil Finishes: Drape Rags Over the Edge of a Trash Can to Avoid a Fire appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.