Author name: Enthusiast

In my last posting on May 2, I mentioned that furniture polishes containing silicone have a bad reputation. Nevertheless, they are very popular with consumers. I thought I should go into a little more explanation for this seeming contradiction, and also address some of the questions I got. Back in the 1970s, when I started my furniture making and restoration shop, one of the first things I learned from suppliers […]

The post How to Refinish Wood After Using Furniture Polish appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.

I had to duck under a retired diving flag that indicated a low beam under the oldest part of what is now our 140-year-old farmhouse, as I followed the seller during a walk-through. Lit by a couple of buzzing fluorescent fixtures, he showed me the remains of his workshop that he had mostly given away in preparing the house for sale. What was left was a wall of fasteners – old coffee […]

The post Casework Joinery Reference Graphic appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.

I can promise your jaw will drop when you see the poetic works of Joseph Walsh in person. Joseph is an Irish genius who runs a spectacular creative furniture and sculptural studio from his family farm in West Cork, Ireland. Walsh, a self taught woodworker, a designer and a visionary, is one of the most creative makers that I have met. His specialty is building bent wood pieces: Stand alone furniture, wall pieces […]

The post Joseph Walsh: Genius Furniture Maker and Artist, Now on Display in New York City – Part 1 appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.

I’ve long been fascinated by legends involving old chairmakers. Here in Kentucky we had Chester Cornett, an enigmatic bearded maker of the wildest ladderbacks and rockers I’ve seen. In Indiana we had a chairmaker in the southern part of the state who in the early 20th century made ladderbacks with a woven seat that look incredibly modern. In Australia, they have the “Jimmy Possum” chair. Reader Bradley van Luyt sent […]

The post Meet the ‘Jimmy Possum’ Chair appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.

Beer shows up in many accounts of early workshop life. Not only was it an important source of nutrition, it also served as payment for trespasses and a way to mark important days in the shop, such as when an apprentice was promoted to journeyman. Beer also shows up in workshop recipes and for diluting glue. Recently Thomas Lie-Nielsen encountered a use for beer that I hadn’t heard in the […]

The post Beer as a Furniture Stain appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.

by Matthew Dworman pages 32-39 From the November 2016 issue of Popular Woodworking Magazine Hidden compartments – just saying those words puts a smile on the face of most woodworkers. There is something magical about a secret space that reveals itself to only the person who knows about it. Since the origins of furniture, hidden compartments have been used for storing valuables, documents and other important belongings. With modern safes, security […]

The post Art of Concealment – A Table With Hidden Compartments appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.