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.
Dovetailed Keepsake Box
Shortcuts learned as you build this classic box help you become a better joiner.
By Glen. D. Huey
Pages: 44-47
From the April 2011 issue #189
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This box is chock-full, but don’t look on the inside. Check out the outside. It’s loaded with dovetail joinery – through dovetails on the front and half-blind dovetails on the back. It’s an ideal practice project for the finer points of the dovetail joint and when you’re finished you’ll have a great-looking keepsake box that can be built on the cheap using offcuts.
Video: Learn how to turn inexpensive hardware into dark, grungy hinges.
Video: Watch Frank Klausz pound out dovetails in three minutes.
In our store: “New Masters of the Wooden Box” by Oscar Fitzgerald.
Model: Download the SketchUp model for the Keepsake Box.
From the April 2011 issue #189
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Tricks of the Trade
By Popular Woodworking Magazine readers
Pages: 12-13
From the April 2011 issue #189
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The winning trick from this issue is a “Benchtop Saw Upgrade” from Dan Chiappetta, of Astoria, N.Y. His clever shop-made MDF table adds surface area to a contractor table saw. Plus, a “Shop-made Pen Press” from Serge Duclos of Delson, Quebec, and “Transferring Images to Wood” from Mag Ruffman of Mansfield, Ontario (see the post below for a hilarious video of the process).
From the April 2011 issue #189
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Bend the Laws of Lignum
A recent innovation lets you bend wood without steam or adhesives.
by Christopher Schwarz
Pages: 36-37
From the April 2011 issue #189
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The package of wood looked everything like a mummy when it arrived in our shop. The wood was wrapped in clear plastic, bound by plastic straps and wrapped by more plastic and cardboard.
We peeled away each layer to reveal a stick of unassuming 8/4 ash that was about 6″ wide and 54″ long. Aside from the fact that the wood was cool to the touch, it looked like regular ash.
I took it to the jointer and planer and machined it flat. I ripped off a 1″-wide slice and machined that to 13⁄8″ thick, just like any other piece of wood.
Video: See Chris bend an arm bow around a form using Compwood.
Article: Read about the drying process and see our makeshift kiln.
Web site: Visit the Fluted Beams web site to order Compwood.
Web site: Read details of how Compwood is made at the factory.
In our store: ”Woodworker’s Guide to Bending Wood.”
Blog: “Compwood Unleashed.”
From the April 2011 issue #189
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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
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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 way to accomplish both goals is a stout tool rack. I’ve made many tool racks since I became a woodworker, most of them crude affairs that were cobbled together in a few minutes. I’ve always wanted a rack that both looks good and is easy to build. Then, while browsing a French book on vintage handplanes, I saw it.
PDF of “Tool Rack”
Video: Watch a free video tour of the author’s shop at home.
Plan: Download the free SketchUp model for this tool rack.
Articles: Most of the “I Can Do That” articles are free online.
Download the complete “I Can Do That” manual.
From the April 2011 issue #189
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Arts & Mysteries: Separated at Birth?
Western and Eastern tools might not be as different as you think.
By Bob Rozaieski & Wilbur Pan
Pages: 22-24
From the April 2011 issue #189
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At first glance, Japanese woodworking tools and techniques seem like the platypus of the woodworking world. Beginning in the Edo period in the early 1600s, Japan isolated itself from the rest of the world, especially the West. A policy of Sakoku meant that no foreigner could enter Japan and no Japanese could leave the country – under penalty of death in either case. This policy continued for more than 200 years until the mid 1800s, when Commodore Matthew Perry forced the opening of Japan to the West.
Blog: Visit the Logan Cabinet Shoppe and view hand-tool podcasts.
Blog: Wilbur’s blog, “giant Cypress,” often discusses Japanese tools.
To buy: “Japanese Woodworking Tools: Their Tradition, Spirit, and Use” by Toshio Odate.
In our store: “The Care and Use of Japanese Woodworking Tools: Saws, Planes, Chisels, Marking Gauges, Stones.”
From the April 2011 issue #189
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Design Matters: Double-duty Dovetails
What’s more important: Strength or Aesthetics?
By George R. Walker
Pages: 20-21
From the April 2011 issue #189
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One of the high points of the October 2010 Woodworking in America conference was the dueling dovetail session between Roy Underhill and Frank Klausz. The two squared off with saw and chisel in hand tackling the “pins first vs. tails first” debate. Friendly banter peppered the dialogue as these two masters cut dovetails with an ease and deliberateness that spoke volumes. Both represented a woodworking tradition, with Frank “Pins First” Klausz demonstrating skills learned in an Eastern European woodshop, while Roy “Tails First” Underhill shared his wisdom of historical American craft. But one part of the discussion in particular caught my attention.
Blog: For more Design Matters, and for a new online feature, “Apprentice Sketchbook,” that ties into every issue of the magazine and this column, visit George R. Walker’s blog.
In Our Store: George Walker’s DVDs: “Unlocking the Secrets of Traditional Design DVD ; Unlocking the Secrets of Traditional Design: Moldings DVD.
From the April 2011 issue #189
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Tool Test: DeWalt’s Compact Routers
This new trim router kit from DeWalt has one motor, a fixed base and a plunge base, and a lot of power to handle many of the router needs in a typical woodworking shop. You can see the tool in action on this video.
