Woodworking Posts

In the next few months, I’ve got a lot of furniture to make, as Josselyn (my partner) and I just moved to Cincinnati from Maine. Last week, I built a new coffee table for our place. This week I’m building us a new kitchen table, in between getting settled in my new job here and figuring out where to buy lumber (and food, clothing, etc.). Later this week I’ll post […]

The post Big Ol’ Sliding Dovetails appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.

Last month I taught two short classes in Germany – a rare exception to my vow to avoid teaching and instead focus on new furniture designs. The reason I taught those two classes is quite personal, so I won’t discuss it here. But during the classes I was struck by an odd question I’ve struggled with for 30 years: Is it a good idea for students to personally like their […]

The post Like Your Woodworking Teacher? Maybe You Shouldn’t appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.

Ever since water-based paints and finishes began carving out a market for replacing solvent-based products, claims for the amount of solvent these products contain have been getting increasingly lower. That is, until a few years ago when some products actually began claiming zero VOCs. I’ve been suspicious of this claim ever since I first saw it. Even though resin manufacturers have been getting better at making resins that form a […]

The post Suspicions Confirmed: Zero VOC Claims Exaggerated appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.

I had a peculiar childhood, I grew up running CNCs and robots before I got my drivers license. Perhaps it was that experience that led me to believe that every other woodworker was as interested in the future of automation as me – I think I may have gotten ahead of myself. Before I attended the AutoDesk Fusion 360 Roadshow in Columbus, Ohio, I wrote a post and asked our […]

The post Autodesk Fusion 360 Roadshow appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.

There’s more than one way to attach a solid wood table top. The most important requirements of any method are (1) to keep the top firmly in contact with the undercarriage, preventing it from warping more than minimally, and (2) to allow the top to move across its grain as the wood expands and contracts with changes in humidity. Table top fasteners are one attachment method. They’re roughly Z-shaped, with […]

The post How to Attach a Table Top with Traditional Wooden Buttons appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.

Every two years the woodworking world gets to spend time looking at the newest if high-tech woodworking and even hand-tool woodworking. It’s a great few days and we’ve enjoyed sharing what we say with you. Here’s a short recap: One of the more popular stops at the show is the Fresh Wood Student Competition. Always inspiring to see what the newest and brightest woodworkers are creating. The entries ranged through […]

The post Another AWFS Show in the Books appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.