Author name: Enthusiast

All finishes craze ­– that is, develop small cracks – as they age, especially if they are exposed to a lot of sunlight. But there’s another type of crazing, and it can happen much faster. This is crazing caused by body sweat. You commonly see crazing of this type around cabinet-door pulls and drawer handles, and on chair backs, arms and wooden seats. This type of crazing is caused by […]

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A stout “deadman” or “bench slave” is one of simplest jigs you can build, and it can be an invaluable addition to any workbench with a tail vise. You clamp this fixture, which is essentially a heavy block of wood that rests on the floor, into your tail vise and set a pin into an appropriate hole to support the end of long pieces of wood you want to work […]

The post Workbench Slave (aka Deadman) a la Tage Frid appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.

Below are Christopher Schwarz’s “12 Rules for Tool Chests” in short form (the full article, as it appeared in the December 2011 issue of Popular Woodworking Magazine, is downloadable at the end.) The chest pictured here is his full-size traditional English tool chest, but the rules apply no matter the chest. (You’ll find instruction on building an English tool chest on Chris’ video “Make a Traditional English Tool Chest” (Popular […]

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The February issue of Popular Woodworking Magazine (#230) just mailed to print subscribers and emailed to digital subscribers. It’s live in our online store too. This is a solid issue that’s sure to keep you busy for some time – Bill Rainford’s Tage Frid-inspired mid-century workbench is a challenge that will stand (strong – it’s sturdy) as testimony to your woodworking skills. And Willard Anderson’s tricked-out knock-down shaving horse, featuring […]

The post Popular Woodworking Magazine, February 2017 appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.

Drilling a mortise, gluing and finishing a live-edge waterfall coffee table. A few months ago I began telling you stories of the furniture built in the live-edge class that I taught at Peters Valley this past summer. Among the furniture created there was a waterfall mitered coffee table that my assistant, Anneloes, and I built. Today I will show you the final stages of our coffee table story.  After turning the […]

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The Shaper Tools Origin: A Hand-held CNC Designed for Woodworkers Last week I took a trip to California to check out the latest in digital woodworking tools: the Shaper Tools Origin. Essentially, the Origin is a very high-tech router. It uses a touch screen to guide you through a cut and CNC motion for accuracy. As you’re cutting, tiny corrections to your position are made along the way. After using one […]

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