The cover project of Popular Woodworking December 2010 is a Line & Berry Chest of Drawers. It’s a traditional design from Chester County, Pennsylvania. The inlay on the drawer is made simpler with router patterns and a good straight bit.
Allan Turner teaches you cross-grain solutions to defeat splitting in solid wood construction.
In part three of a series, Marc Adams shows you simple patterns in veneer using only mirrors, a cheap knife and a straightedge.
You’ll create a useful English layout square that is easy to make, easy on the eyes and awesome to use.
Details shaped by hand and eye help to define the style of a Greene & Greene frame. In the second part of his Aging Furniture story, Michael Dunar shows you furniture’s battle scars and teaches you how to create this “incidental” wear on your projects.
Bob Rozaieski teaches you to soup up your sawing savvy through practicing proper techniques.
The I Can Do That project is a Victorian side table.
You’ll also learn to build Moxon’s Ingenious Bench Vise in the Jig Journal column.
George R. Walker reveals how great legs are essential to proportioning a piece of furniture.
Bob Flexner gives you the essential details when it comes to staining wood.
Detailed article previews are below. Online Extras (downloads, etc.) for this issue are found inside each article.
By Robert W. Lang Page: 22 From the December 2010 issue # 187 Buy this issue now Six months ago, I went looking for a new set of chisels. I wanted wood handles and I also wanted tools that didn’t taper too much at the sides. That’s a popular feature these days, but except when … Read more
From high finance to high-quality planes. By Christopher Schwarz Page: 20 From the December 2010 issue # 187 Buy this issue now Vintage moulding planes are tricky beasts. Typically the wood is warped, the irons are misshaped and the wedges are beat to snot. So it’s no wonder that people struggle with the tools. This … Read more
By Christopher Schwarz Page: 10 From the December 2010 issue # 187 Buy this issue now I just spent three days teaching handtool techniques at our Woodworking in America conference and my staff members are now trying to keep their eyes open long enough to get this issue looking good, reading correctly and in your … Read more
In southeastern Pennsylvania, just northwest of Philadelphia, is Chester County. It was one of the original three counties formed by William Penn in 1682, under a charter signed by King Charles II. In 1729, a large portion of the western county was split off to become Lancaster County, and in 1789, the southeastern townships closest to Philadelphia were organized as Delaware County. That left Chester County as we find it today.
ONLINE EXTRAS:
Throughout the 1700s, Chester County furniture makers produced pieces with unique surface decoration, such as the line and berry inlay shown on this chest. Furniture makers of the period scribed inter-connected half-circles into the surface. The design was scratched using a compass, which is why the process is often referred to as “compass inlay.” Sometimes, at the termination of those circles, small groupings of round berries completed the design. This decoration reached a popularity peak in the 1740s.
Video: Take a tour of this 1740′s Pennsylvania piece.
Article: A router makes quick work of the door inlay for a spice box Glen built in 2001-2002. [coming soon]
Web Site: Download the free 3D SketchUp model of this chest of drawers.
Web Site: Discover more about Chester County furniture.
In Our Store: November 2008 Popular Woodworking (#172).
To Buy: Ready-made string and other inlay supplies.
In Our Store: Steve Latta’s DVDs on traditional methods to make line and berry inlay. Read more
By Christopher Schwarz
During my three days at Woodworking in America I talked until my voice was hoarse, answering questions about router planes, workbenches, saws, chisels and scrapers. But what was most amazing about the conference was how much I learned when I shut my mouth. Read more
Our editors provide answers to reader questions including the topics of sagging face vise concerns, problems planing hard maple, moving beyond “I Can Do That”, a website to research Disston saws, a clarification on Jim Tolpin’s article “Design by Eye”, and a question on how the staff chooses story selection – based on techniques or aesthetics. Read more
Video: Tricks-in-action shows you a free video of one of this issue’s tricks in use in our shop. Watch “Bench Jig for Thin Pieces” - as well as a few of our other favorites.
Website: Visit the new Tricks of the Trade page online.
Blog: Tricks editor Kari Hultman writes about woodworking on her blog, The Village Carpenter.
In our store: Get “601 Woodshop Tips & Tricks,” by Graham McCulloch. Read more
