Author name: Enthusiast

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Lacquer is a very versatile finish, especially because of its widely understood easy application in different weather conditions. You can speed up or slow down the drying by adding the right thinners. Not so widely understood is the range of colors – the amount of yellowing (or “oranging”) of the various types of lacquer. For example, nitrocellulose lacquer adds a noticeable darkening or slight orange coloring to the wood. This […]

The post Lacquers Vary in Coloring appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.

I have a love-hate relationship with “The Anarchist’s Tool Chest,” the book (now in its eighth printing) that inspired our new “Make a Traditional English Tool Chest” DVD set and download video with Christopher Schwarz. You see, that’s the book that gave him the impetus to step down as editor of Popular Woodworking Magazine, to devote all his work-related energy to Lost Art Press. And while I eventually got his […]

The post ‘Make a Traditional English Tool Chest’ appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.

Click here for Part 1 of the frame saw build, and here for Part 2. The central (compression) beam tenons are 5/8” long and 1-3/4” wide (see enlarged drawing at the bottom of this post). The thickness of the tenons, as well as their centric (or in the case of a mistake, off-centric) location should be traced from the mortise it will be housed in. The layout work begins when you […]

The post Build a Frame Saw Part 3: Lay Out & Cut the Tenons  appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.

During my career refinishing furniture, Murphy’s Oil Soap has morphed from a regionally-available natural soap made with potassium hydroxide (similar to lye) and vegetable oil (instead of animal fat) to a nationally-available and very popular furniture-care product. I watched this transformation happen and find the story fascinating. I find it fascinating because furniture and woodwork don’t get dirty very often and washing them often with soap and water when they […]

The post Murphy’s Oil Soap: a Most Unusual Story appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.

How we measure the world around us is a reflection of how our society interacts with the world. To wit: The metric system is, in my opinion, the most efficient way to gauge everything around us. And that is exactly why I dislike it so. It is a system based on base-10 efficiency and little else. If you spend any time investigating ancient measurement systems, you find that they are […]

The post You Can Own the Rulers of the Ancient World appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.