April 2011 #189

Our cover story for the April 2011 issue of Popular Woodworking is a Gustav Stickley Morris chair, built with traditional joinery and techniques by Executive Editor Robert W. Lang.

Editor Christopher Schwarz reports on compwood – a recent innovation that allows you to bend wood without using steam or adhesives.

In his first story for Popular Woodworking, Jameel Abraham shows how a few shop-made appliances allow you to add stunning face-grain inlay to your work in Precision Inlay, Simple Tools.

Senior Editor Glen D. Huey shows you how to make a dovetailed keepsake box that doubles as a master class in tight, quickly cut dovetails.

Discover from John Wilson how to make a variable-pitch jack plane that can be easily adjusted from 45° to 52°.

Bob Lang shows you how one afternoon of work and a scrap of wood can seriously enhance your hand-tool skills in The Gottshall Block Challenge.

In this month’s Tool Test, we take a look at DeWalt’s company routers, the CEROS sander from Mirka and Bosch’s axial-glide miter saw.

In Design Matters, George R. Walker shows how dovetails do double duty as a design feature and joinery.

Bob Rozaieski and Wilbur Pan explore the eerie simlarities between Western and Japanese planes in Arts & Mysteries.

A simple but handsome tool rack (which would also look great in the kitchen) is this issue’s I Can Do That (built by Christopher Schwarz).

Bob Flexner discussed the challenges of shellac in Flexner on Finishing.

Joe McMahon shares a love story that started at a Chicago crime scene in End Grain.

Enhance your knowledge with a glossary of woodworking terms used in the issue.

Detailed article previews are below. Online Extras (downloads, links, etc.) are found within that article.

[description]Articles from the April 2011 issue of Popular Woodworking Magazine[/description][keywords]Popular Woodworking Magazine, Magazine Articles, Technique Articles, Project Articles, Tool Reviews, Finishing[/keywords]

Gustav Stickley Morris Chair

Reproduce an Arts & Crafts classic and reward yourself with the ultimate easy chair.

By Robert W. Lang
Pages: 28-35

From the April 2011 issue #189
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In Gustav Stickley’s book Craftsman Homes, there is a picture of this chair with the following caption: “A big deep chair that means comfort to a tired man when he comes home after the day’s work.” First produced around 1906, this chair is an icon of Stickley’s furniture and his philosophy.

Visually, this chair invites you to sit down and relax – a result of the sloping arms and side rails, the warmth and color of the quartersawn white oak and the upholstered seat and back. Few people who see this chair can resist the desire to sit in it. And few who sit in it can rise without regret.

Other manufacturers who knocked off Stickley’s work cut corners and simplified his designs, and many woodworkers look for a way to make a chair like this with simpler joinery. Without the joinery it isn’t a chair like this; it’s something less. There is a reward for doing it right; in this case, the reward for the effort is the chair itself.

Free project plan: Download the Google SketchUp model of this project.
Video: Take a video tour of the Morris Chair.
Upholstery: MorrisChairUpholstery
Web site: Visit Gustav Stickley’s New Jersey home, Craftsman Farms.
To buy: “Exercises in Wood-Working, Part 2” video features Bob wearing a tie.
In our store: Bob’s books and videos are available in our online bookstore. Read more »

I Can Do That: Tool Rack

Swiped from a French engraving, this rack works in your shop or even in your kitchen. By Christopher Schwarz Pages: 26-27 From the April 2011 issue #189 Buy this issue now It’s good to keep your tools protected (think: tool chest). But it’s also good to keep them handy (think: at arm’s reach). My favorite … Read more »

Jameel Abraham’s Jointmaker Pro Inlay Method

For wide pieces shown in Jameel Abraham’s “Precision Inlay, Simple Tools” (Popular Woodworking Magazine, April 2011 #189) he used the Bridge City Toolworks Jointmaker Pro. Here’s his method: You may notice a few of the pieces in the article are unusually wide, much wider in fact than the miter box and miter jack could handle. … Read more »

Precision Inlay, Simple Tools

A few shop-made appliances allow you to add stunning face-grain inlay to your work.

By Jameel Abraham
pages 38-43

From the April 2011 issue #189
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Geometric bandings and inlay patterns, or parquetry, are widely used, from Japan to Egypt to Spain. I developed a method of creating parquetry while learning to build ouds, a musical instrument that is the ancestor of the European lute and modern guitar.

The method can be employed to make bandings and inlays from as little as two species of wood, one at a time, to more detailed patterns using multiple layers to produce several copies of the same pattern. The designs I most frequently use create the illusion of dimension, as if the pattern were a flexible ribbon, folding, twisting and turning along its length. These patterns are fun to design and make, and can richly embellish any project.

Web site: See some of Jameel’s amazing ouds on his web site.
Web site: Visit the Benchcrafted web site.
Article: Read about Jameel’s Jointmaker Pro method for inlay.
To buy: See the Czech Edge chisel Jameel commissioned for this work.
In our store: “Fundamentals of Inlay” DVD, by Steve Latta.

From the April 2011 issue #189
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End Grain: CSI: Tools

It’s hard to hide the loot when your wife has detective skills.

By Joe McMahon
Page: 64

From the April 2011 issue #189
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I am a toolaholic. There, I’ve said it. I’ve admitted my weakness. I am in need of a 12-step program. A 12-step program or a good surgeon. For you see, my bride has the sense of humor of a cat after it has been crazy glued to the left front hubcap of a ’53 Buick that was driven 40 miles per hour over an Arkansas washboard back road. My wife is not mean. She is “focused.” At least that is what she tells me that “look” means. You know the “look.” That steely eyed glare that you feel searing your back when your significant other creeps up behind you just as the UPS truck is leaving your driveway and you are festooned with cardboard boxes.

Article: Read “Almost a Plane Wreck.”
Articles: Read our many free articles online about hand tool use.

From the April 2011 issue #189
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Flexner on Finishing: Shellac: A Challenging Finish

This traditional finish can be tricky to apply.

By Bob Flexner
Pages: 58-60

From the April 2011 issue #189
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If you have read much in the woodworking press, you’ve surely encountered many articles, including mine, in which the writer uses and recommends shellac as a finish. This may persuade you to try shellac.

I certainly don’t want to discourage you because shellac is a great finish with a great history. But you need to be aware that shellac is a relatively difficult finish to use. The writers recommending shellac are usually advanced woodworkers who have learned to overcome the difficulties.

By pointing out some of the problems, I hope to increase your likelihood of success.

Articles: Many finishing articles are available on our web site, free.
To buy: Get Bob Flexner’s new book, “Flexner on Finishing.”
Web site: For more information on shellac and the many types available, visit shellac.net.

From the April 2011 issue #189
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The Gottshall Block Challenge

A piece of scrap and an afternoon will challenge and stretch your skills.

by Robert W. Lang
Pages: 54-55

From the April 2011 issue #189
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Imagine yourself in a shop class of 40 or 50 years ago. The assignment for the day is to lay out and cut the block shown in the photo at right. That’s the test; the lessons will come as you work. There is also one condition: All the cuts must be made with a backsaw or a coping saw, and the cleanup is done with a chisel.

Article: For a blow-by-blow description of making this block, visit our blog.
In our store: “Making Antique Furniture Reproductions: Instructions and Measured Drawings for 40 Classic Projects” by Franklin Gottshall.
To buy: “Exercises in Wood-Working,” a classic book on using hand tools; companion videos on DVD are also available.

From the April 2011 issue #189
Buy this issue now
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