Author name: Enthusiast

I was in a rock ‘n’ roll band in college, and we dreamed about getting a record deal, selling dozens of copies of our album and ending up in the cut-out bin. For those of you who aren’t music nerds, the cut-out bin is where a record store puts albums that have been dumped on […]

I’m gearing up to build a run of Roorkhee Chairs for some customers and (fingers crossed) this magazine. But before I can even order the wood I had to do something I thought I’d never do again: Buy a piece of commercial furniture. The Roorkhee Chair is a seminal piece of British campaign furniture and

As a lifelong Southerner, I can attest that things are done a little differently below the Mason-Dixon line. Things might seem a little backward or slow to newcomers. The manners, the way you do business and even the pace of life is out of sync with the other regions of the United States – a

I started this small batch of raw linseed oil in April and it has been exposed to sunlight every day since then.  I have done several experiments with raw linseed oil all of which are covered in Shellac, Linseed Oil, & Paint – Traditional 19th Century Woodwork Finishes. The oil started out much darker and

I just received this rather large publication by the Historic New Orleans Collection from John H. Lawrence, Director of Museum Programs.  The book is 9 3/8″ wide, 12 3/8″ long and 2″ thick while weighing in at 9 pounds, 538 pages and 1500 illustrations most in color. As it will take some time to get through

It sounds like a difficult question, but it’s really not. “I really want a Wenzloff & Sons handsaw, but I am a (graduate student, hobo, philosophy major) and cannot afford it. Can you recommend a saw that works almost as well but costs only $10?” Yes, I can. For many years I have been recommending