Woodworking Posts

My four-decade-long desire to identify, understand, replicate and develop new analogs to historic furniture-making materials has led me on some interesting quests and situations. Included in these would be learning a lot about tropical insects whose “sweat” is the foundation for the most amazing finish ever (shellac); studies of sausage casings, artificial skin and corneas as I tried to (successfully) create a convincing alternative to tortoiseshell for my own Boulle-work […]

The post In Search of the Perfect Wax Finish appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.

Congratulations to DBell, whose comment on my giveaway post last week was chosen randomly from among all respondents. He or she is the lucky winner of a set of the four-volume paperback set of “The Practical Woodworker.” — Megan Fitzpatrick

The post And the ‘Practical Woodworker’ Winner Is… appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.

I have a strange relationship with Frank Klausz. Frank doesn’t know it, but I’ll share it with you. I went to work with my father in his custom woodworking shop when I was in high school, and worked there through college. I learned much from my dad, but I also lost something in the process – the dynamic of father and son. Decades later dad and I are on good […]

The post Frank Klausz: The Man Behind the Bowsaw appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.

When people ask me what foods I hate, I usually say, “I’ll eat anything, as long as it’s prepared well.” I didn’t like Brussels sprouts until I had them roasted. I didn’t like oysters until I tried them right from the creek. And I didn’t like green beans until I had fresh ones (ugh, 1970s canned green beans;I’d rather eat bauxite). The same thing goes for furniture finishes. Most people […]

The post Grain-painting Done Well – Quite Well appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.

It goes without saying that there is a renewed interest in hand tool woodworking, and much has been written on the topic, and that’s great because there really is a lot to know about these tools that are “new” to many woodworkers. That said, my experience with hand tools has taught me one thing – Keep it Sharp! Whether a saw, knife or blade, sharp tools cut more accurately, safely […]

The post Sharpening Shortcuts appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.

Here’s a common and frustrating finishing problem: You apply finish to your piece, and one of the parts – say a rail or a stile – ends up a slightly different color or shade. The off-color piece makes the project look like a jumble of parts instead of a cohesive whole. There are several ways to fix this problem. And while a full explanation of color-matching would require a book […]

The post Friends of the Finisher: Glazes, Toners & Wax appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.