Woodworking Posts

Tomorrow morning I start a new workbench class at the Marc Adams School of Woodworking. While I’ve lost count of the number of workbenches I’ve built or midwifed into this world, I never tire of the grueling and exhilarating labor they require. For each class, I design a new workbench from scratch that is suited to the material I have gathered for the class, the needs of the students and […]

The post Workbench Joinery: 10 Years of Tenons appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.

My mother, Elizabeth F. (“Penny”) Jones, is an architectural historian and collector of all things historic…and not. When I was a kid, she was one of the driving forces behind the preservation of countless old buildings in Louisville, where I grew up. After moving to the Washington, D.C., area when I was in high school, she joined the National Trust for Historic Preservation as director of Preservation Programs, and was […]

The post Scrap Moulding Construction Contest appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.

  When I think of a hobbyist woodworker I tend to think of a middle aged guy with a mix of tools parked in a corner of a basement or garage. That’s the demographic of our readers, more or less. Many of our them are space challenged, sharing their shops with water heaters, automobiles, or any number of household items. We also have a lot of readers that are new […]

The post Makerspaces for Woodworkers appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.

A couple of weeks ago I posted why Philly chairs were just better (read it by clicking here). In the comments pmac mentioned including a SketchUp drawing in future posts to illustrate the joinery I discussed in the body of the post. Even though pmac understood the joinery I mentioned, I thought it would be a good idea to post a follow-up with the SketchUp drawing for those who still […]

The post Furniture Details: Philly Explained appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.

  When it comes to understanding the history of furniture, I think John Gloag put it best when he wrote: “Nearly all articles of free-standing furniture are variations on two basic shapes: a platform or a box.” (“A Social History of Furniture Design: From B.C. 1300 to A.D. 1960” pp. 3-4, Crown) Platforms include: tables, chairs, stools, beds and benches. Boxes include: chests, cabinets, bookcases, cupboards, dressers and the like. […]

The post Meet the Aumbry (You Know its Grandkids) appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.

Last week I started down the slippery slope of defining some of the differences between the various periods of furniture. This week, I’m just jumping off the cliff. Even if you’re not into period furniture, this series of posts can help you understand where your style of furniture came from. The whole idea is, everything is based on what has come before and everything is recycled somewhere. Picking up from […]

The post Design in Practice: Stylin’ Too appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.