Woodworking Posts

A current job called for a solid wood frame and panel back that would fit in a 5/16″ rabbet. That’s really thin for a frame-and-panel assembly, at least in my world. (Granted, for Bill Robertson, it’s positively gargantuan.) Ordinarily, I like such backs to be 1/2″ thick. One way I’ve dealt with this combo of frame-and-panel back plus shallow rabbet in the past is to make the panel 1/2″ thick, […]

The post An Extra-Thin Frame and Panel Back appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.

For dovetails, I use what I call a “redneck slope” – 1:4 or 14°. I like this slope because I’ve seen it on a lot of vernacular pieces I’ve studied. It says: Dovetail y’all! And not: Ill-defined box joint. But that’s just what my eye sees. Truth is, dovetail slopes are more about fashion than their mechanical properties. When I started woodworking, my head was injected with a lot of […]

The post Dovetail Angles are Style, Not Substance appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.

I don’t think I’ve cut a single dovetail for eight months – my work has been mostly chairs and casework that relied on other joints. So I’m a bit out of practice. When this happens and I need to cut dovetails, I quickly default to the method I use to teach students to dovetail. This method helps build good habits when sawing and helps you fix any mistakes. This method […]

The post A Dovetailing Trick for Beginners appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.

The latest Nor’easter left us powerless. On Wednesday afternoon we lost electricity to the elements. The snow that began falling that morning didn’t seem that hospitable, to say the least. It was wet and clingy. When I noticed the rate of accumulation and the sagging branches on all the trees in our neighborhood, I said to my partner, “this storm is a limb killer.” And indeed my dire prediction came […]

The post Powerless Woodworker – When a Nor’easter Rolls in to Town appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.

Editor’s note: The following post is from Zachary Dillinger out of his book, With Saw, Plane & Chisel. I’ve wanted to share more of this remarkable text for some time, so we’ve arranged for Zachary to share excerpts for the next month. Enjoy! – David Lyell “I have written this book in a manner that reflects the techniques I used to make the furniture projects herein. I cannot pretend to have provided […]

The post Beyond Piston-Fit Drawers and Perfect Dovetails – With Saw, Plane & Chisel appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.

We tried a new format this week for Popwood Playback. We ended up with a slightly longer video, but we included a pretty in-depth first look at the installation of the Kreg Precision Router Lift. Let us know if there are other types of tools or equipment that you are interested in seeing on Popwood Playback! The form to enter the contest is at the bottom of the post. Enjoy! – […]

The post Popwood Playback #10 – Best Woodworking Videos of the Week appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.