Woodworking Posts

The campuses of crafts schools often house a gift shop or a gallery where artisans who taught there, took classes or became known to the school sell their work. Often a school’s store is the only showcase in the area for refined American crafts, a place where potters, woodworkers, blacksmiths, weavers and other makers proudly present their goods for sale. Thankfully, we still have crafts stores in our towns and […]

The post Consider Selling Your Beautiful Woodwork in a Local Crafts Store appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.

If this whole “building world-class furniture” thing doesn’t work out for Phil Lowe, I think he could get a job as a museum docent. Lowe, an amazing maker and owner of The Furniture Institute of Massachusetts, has worked on many pieces owned by the Peabody Essex Museum in neighboring Salem, Mass. As a special treat, Lowe took the entire class over to the museum on Thursday morning and showed us […]

The post An Inside Look at the Peabody Essex Museum appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.

When Mike Siemsen started work on a reproduction of an Aaron Willard tall case clock built in 1799, he had a lot of help – much of it invisible to others. There was his father, who taught Siemsen basic carpentry skills and a solid work ethic; there was Grant Francis, his high school shop teacher; there were the writings of Nicholson, Roubo and Moxon; and of course, Willard himself. “I […]

The post Mike Siemsen: Woodworking in America 2015 appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.

If you want to learn to build high-end gorgeous American furniture, then Phil Lowe at the Furniture Institute of Massachusetts is the guy to see. He is the father of the modern furniture program at the North Bennet Street School. He is a winner of the Cartouche Award from the Society of American Period Furniture Makers. He is one of the most accomplished hand craftsmen I’ve ever met. And I’m […]

The post A Visit to the Furniture Institute of Massachusetts appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.

Making the tool tote in my previous post and this Shaker-style bench has been very satisfying. It’s been a while since I’ve thought about these simple projects using highly accessible tools and timber, but doing so has reminded me how far you can go and how much fun you can have. To make this bench, all that is required is a length of pine board from the store. No need […]

The post Shaker-style Bench appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.

This past week my father flew out to help with the restoration of a 200-year-old cape my wife and I have undertaken. (More on that here.) Because we have to get the entire house off the property before July 31st, you could say that this disassembly stage of the process is time sensitive. Although things have gone incredibly smooth and we are actually a little ahead of schedule, I looked […]

The post A Father’s Helping Hand appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.