Author name: Enthusiast

Continuing our “looking ahead to the holidays” theme for our weekly giveaway, this week’s featured book is “Simple & Stylish Woodworking.” The book provides 20 small-scale woodworking projects that can add a touch of style to any home and make perfect gifts. Projects include wall clocks, mantel clocks, lamps, frames, mirrors and more. Why not use your  holiday gift giving as an opportunity to practice a wide range of woodworking techniques […]

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As I mentioned a few days ago, I’m in greater Baltimore for a chairmaking class with Larry Barrett, a student of Jennie Alexander’s (author of the seminal greenwood book “Make a Chair From a Tree”). Yesterday, we took a field trip to downtown Baltimore to visit with Alexander, who gave us a whirlwind tour of how to make one of her chairs. Above, I’m testing out the comfort of one […]

The post Jennie Alexander’s Riving Stump appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.

Editor’s note: I am resurfacing this article from American Woodworker because I am in the process of turning new handles for my Lie-Nielson and Stanley Sweetheart chisels. Tim Heil presents an interesting take on obtaining the taper for the socket with a folded piece of paper. I’ll share my version on YouTube later this week.  – David Lyell  Turning Wood: Socket Chisel Handles Here’s a 1-2-3 system for getting a […]

The post Turning Socket Chisel Handles for Lie-Nielson and Stanley Sweatheart Chisels appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.

I needed to cut stopped grooves on a round surface – and while I could have cut them on the stock while it was square, then proceed to turn it on the lathe, I didn’t want to worry about catching my turning gouge on a groove and causing tearing out (or worse). So, after considering (then rejecting) some kind of router jig, I figured out a way to use my […]

The post Cut Flat Dados on a Round Surface: Tricks of the Trade appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.

Here’s a question that comes up often. What is the best way to apply a stain or finish? To begin with, all stains and finishes can be applied with one of three finishing tools: rag, brush (including paint pad, roller, etc.) or spray gun. Each is easy to use. Even a spray gun is no more difficult to use than a router. There are at least five key differences among […]

The post Wipe, Brush or Spray: Pros and Cons of Finishing Tools appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.

As Christopher Schwarz posted on his blog, Brendan Gaffney and I are in Maryland for a chair class with Larry Barrett (along with Chris, Narayan Nayar and Sean Thomas); Larry is teaching us to make chairs a la Jennie Alexander’s in “Make a Chair from a Tree” (with some minor variations). Today, we split out the back posts from red oak (and some punishing black oak…with which I ended up) […]

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