Popular Woodworking Magazine » December 2010 #187

Online Extras: December 2010 Issue

Article Index — Sat, 12 Feb 2011 21:30:40 +0000

Online Extras for the December 2010 issue include a video tour of this 1740's Pennsylvania piece, the free 3D SketchUp model of this chest of drawers, the 3D Google SketchUp Model of the G&G frame, shop Drawings for Greene & Greene Furniture, the 3D Google SketchUp Model of Moxon's Ingenious Bench Vise and more. Read more »

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I Can Do That: Victorian Side Table

Article Index — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 21:45:47 +0000

Pattern routing makes quick and easy work of these urn-shaped sides. By Megan Fitzpatrick Pages: 30-31 From the December 2010 issue # 187 Buy this issue now While vacuuming a few weeks back, I was thinking about what to build for this issue’s “I Can Do That” project when it hit me … actually, when … Read more »

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End Grain: Too Delicate A Touch

Article Index — Mon, 24 Jan 2011 02:31:37 +0000

The hands are the tools that mean the most. By Brad Graham Page: 72From the December 2010 issue # 187 Buy this issue nowWhen I was a professional woodworker, I experienced a satisfying fascination looking at my hands at the end of the day. As a full-time cabinetmaker, I thought about them as I made specialty cuts on the saw, my fingers gliding within a hairsbreadth of the hungry blade. At the end of each shift, I was, of course, relieved that they were still there, that some stupid oversight of fund amental safety on my part hadn’t compromised them.Though I was always glad they were intact, it was the appearance of my hands that appealed to me. They looked worn and used, like a good woodworker’s hands should. Skin-like strips of dried glue leprously peeled from the tips of my fingers. Dark crusty islands of wood putty decorated my digits. Cracked, dry and calloused, these were the hands of someone who knew how to get the job done, who knew that a meticulous eye and talented hands could produce something truly exciting from a rough-hewn length of wood. I felt my hands were more impressive than other tools found in the shop.In Our Store: James Krenov's "The Impractical Cabinetmaker" and "A Cabinetmakers's Notebook." Read more »

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Moxon’s Ingenious Bench Vise

Article Index — Mon, 24 Jan 2011 02:27:28 +0000

17th-century design saves your 21st-century back. By Christopher Schwarz Pages: 64-66From the December 2010 issue # 187 Buy this issue nowIf you cut dovetails by hand, then I’m sure you’re aware of the other part of your anatomy that is involved: your back.Bending over rows of tails and pins all day is murder when you try to stand up straight. Several people have come up with solutions, including a cute mini-bench that you park on your full-size bench to raise your work. Other woodworkers have built benches with higher benchtops that are designed just for hand-joinery.Of course, like most things in woodworking, someone had already come up with the solution several centuries ago.Video: See the video of the author threading and tapping the wooden components. Article: We have dozens of free plans for jigs on our web site. Web site: Read about how the prototype was developed on our blog. To buy: Find links to buy the manual wood-threading kit for this project. In our store: New "The Workbench Design Book." Read more »

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Flexner on Finishing: Staining Wood

Article Index — Mon, 24 Jan 2011 02:22:48 +0000

A primer on coloring. By Bob Flexner Pages: 60-62From the December 2010 issue # 187 Buy this issue nowA wood stain is a colorant (pigment or dye) and a binder (some sort of finish) with a lot of thinner added so the excess stain is easy to wipe off. This leaves some color in or on the wood.A stain can also be just dye and thinner with no binder added.Pigment is ground earth or colored synthetic particles, so it requires a binder to glue it to the wood. Pigment settles to the bottom of the can and has to be stirred into suspension before use.Dye is a colorant dissolved in a liquid, so dye penetrates along with the liquid and doesn’t need a binder. Coffee and tea are examples of weak dyes.Article: Learn how to properly sand to prepare your wood for stain. To buy: Bob's new book, "Flexner on Finishing," includes 12 years' worth of updated finishing columns. Web site: Read more of our finishing articles. Read more »

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Furniture’s Battle Scars

Article Index — Mon, 24 Jan 2011 02:19:14 +0000

Part 2: Fictional ‘incidents’ give a piece a believable back story. By Michael Dunbar Pages: 54-59From the December 2010 issue # 187 Buy this issue nowIn Part 1 of “Aging Your Projects Gracefully” (November 2010, issue #186), I gave an overview of creating an aged look for new pieces of furniture, and discussed mechanical wear.The second prevalent type of wear is incidental. “Incidental” means wear that did not result from ordinary use. Incidental wear is what happens to a piece of furniture when it spends time around human beings. Incidental wear might happen while the piece is experiencing ordinary use. However, it is not the result of that use. It is caused by something else. In writing your plausible fiction for a piece you made, ordinary wear is the day-to-day stuff of life. Incidental wear is the events that make life interesting.Below are a bunch of twists and turns you can include in the plot of the story you are telling as you artificially age a piece of furniture.Blog: Read Mike Dunbar's blog. Web site: Visit the web site of The Windsor Institute, where Mike teaches. Blog: Read about Editor Christopher Schwarz's class at The Windsor Institute. In our store: "Chairmaking Simplified." Read more »

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Greene & Greene Frame

Article Index — Mon, 24 Jan 2011 02:15:38 +0000

By Robert W. Lang Pages: 52-53From the December 2010 issue # 187 Buy this issue nowIt’s easy to get caught in the trap of design by formula. But if art were simply a matter of ratios, a paint-by-number Mona Lisa would be just as good as the one hanging in the Louvre Museum. The curves and lifts that exemplify the work of Charles and Henry Greene are a good example of this.I made this frame for a class to show how to lay out and shape typical details. The term “typical,” however, doesn’t really apply to Greene & Greene; each house and the furniture within share elements, but subtle differences separate them from one another. Within the style are variations.Article: For a review and video of the punches used for plugs, visit our blog. In our store: Bob is the author of "Shop Drawings for Greene & Greene Furniture." In our store: "Greene & Greene Furniture: Poems of Wood and Light," a new book on the Greene brothers, by David Mathias. Read more »

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Simple Patterns in Veneer

Article Index — Mon, 24 Jan 2011 02:12:09 +0000

Part 3: Make a 4-way match panel in veneer using mirrors, a knife and a straightedge. By Marc Adams Pages: 48-51From the December 2010 issue # 187 Buy this issue nowVeneer can be used to embellish any project. For furniture making, veneer offers three advantages: Panels can be made to any size or shape, exotic woods can be incorporated into your work, and veneer offers great design potentials. If a specific style of furniture, such as Shaker or Arts & Crafts, gives a piece of furniture a voice, then adding veneer can give that same piece of furniture a story to tell. Veneer can create strong visual elements with smooth surfaces that can make any furniture piece a showcase. The bonus to working with veneer is it’s fun and easy to do.Veneer panels can be cut to look just like boards glued up edge to edge or matched in ways to create mirror images that reflect the figure in the wood. What might seem to be more advanced veneering techniques include arranging pieces of veneer to create geometric arrangements known as parquetry, or to make recognizable images known as marquetry. Both parquetry and marquetry are relatively simple cutting techniques. Ian Kirby once said that “(F)urniture making with solid wood is like whittling: You chip away at the tree until you end up with the pieces you need. Working with veneer is just the reverse: You stick the bits together to build up furniture elements of the exact size and shape you want.”Sometimes it’s more fun (and educational) to do woodworking projects that are practice pieces. You know, those projects, samples or test cuts that end up as showcase pieces that hang on the wall in your shop. This veneering project will be one of those. This simple wall panel involves the entire process of veneering from edging to pressing.Video: Visit the David R. Webb veneer mill with Marc Adams. Blog: Executive Editor Robert W. Lang takes you on a detailed trip through the Atlantic Veneer slicing operation and the Veneer Tech splicing plant. Web site: Explore Veneering classes at the Marc Adams School of Woodworking. To buy: Purchase excellent veneers from Certainly Wood. In our store: " A Woodworker's Guide to Veneering & Inlay: Techniques, Projects & advise for Fine Furniture" by Jonathon Benson. Read more »

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English Layout Square

Article Index — Mon, 24 Jan 2011 02:07:37 +0000

This useful tool is easy to make, easy on the eyes and awesome to use. By Christopher Schwarz Pages: 46-47From the December 2010 issue # 187 Buy this issue nowWooden layout tools usually are superior to metal ones in my opinion. They are lightweight, inexpensive and as accurate as woodworking requires. Period.A 36"-long wooden straightedge can easily be trued to be as accurate as a metal machinist’s straightedge, which can cost as much as a good handplane. And you don’t have to treat the wooden straightedge like a holy relic. If the straightedge is dropped or run through a wood chipper, you can make another in short order.In May, I destroyed one of our shop’s large wooden squares that we use for marking out the joints for large carcases. I was about to build a replacement square when I received Patrick Leach’s monthly tool newsletter.Leach’s electronic list of tools for sale has always been more dangerous for me than opening an e-mail virus. (Sign up for his free newsletter at supertool.com – if you dare.) Leach has good taste in vintage tools and manages to find fine stuff, month after month.In a recent newsletter he listed a gorgeous English layout square in mahogany that I couldn’t afford. So I did the next-best thing – I built one (actually two) using photographs and details from Leach.My square looks like the original, but I changed the joinery to suit me. I joined the center brace with a mitered half-lap instead of a mortise and tenon. And instead of mahogany, I used curly white maple I salvaged from a 19th-century dresser that was headed for the dumpster.Web site: Download a free SketchUp drawing of this square. Blog: See the original square on Chris's blog. Web site: Visit Patrick Leach's amazing Stanley reference site. To buy: Plans for André Roubo's try square, a beautiful companion to this tool. In our store: "Hand Tool Essentials." Read more »

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Cross-grain Solutions

Article Index — Mon, 24 Jan 2011 01:55:43 +0000

Methods to prevent cross-grain splits in traditional solid wood case construction. By Alan Turner Pages: 42-45From the December 2010 issue # 187 Buy this issue nowWhat is obvious to the seasoned furniture maker often escapes the attention of the newer, aspiring maker. This is especially true when it comes to recognizing and avoiding cross-grain wood movement problems. Wood moves seasonally due to the ability of warm summer air to hold a far greater amount of moisture than cold winter air.In Philadelphia, we are 60 miles from the ocean and we see the equilibrium moisture content (EMC) of wood at about 6 percent in February and approximately 12 percent in early September. This change from winter to summer causes wood to swell across the grain, and this can easily cause splitting in solid wood parts.Several trips to the Philadelphia Museum of Art to examine pieces in storage, and in its furniture conservation lab, revealed a number that had experienced some level of failure due to cross-grain construction methods, inelegant crossgrain solutions, or had fallen victim to modern systems of climate control.Museum conservator Christopher Storb argues that the 18th-century furniture we examined was built well for its time, but that the advent of dry, centrally heated buildings, coupled with poorly conceived repairs, are at least as much at fault as original design flaws.WEB SITE: Visit Alan Turner's web site to see his work and learn about his school. ARTICLE: "Massachusetts Block Front Chest." WEB SITE: Discover the Society of American Period Furniture Makers (SAPFM). VISIT: Philadelphia Museum of Art. IN OUR STORE: "Illustrated Guide to Building Period Furniture" by Glen D. Huey. Read more »

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