Our cover story for the February 2012 issue of Popular Woodworking is Serpentine Chest, by Glen D. Huey, contributing editor. Expand your casework repertoire by learning how to make a curvaceous front – it looks a lot trickier than it really is.
In Handle With Care, Gary Rogowski shows how to design, make and install custom handles for your doors and drawers – pulls perfectly suited to your project.
In A Frame With Architectural Interest, Mark Arnold shows how “crossetted” corners add a bold visual statement – and arresting grain pattern – to a picture or mirror frame.
Charles Bender demonstrates how an exercise in dowel-making without a lathe is an excellent way to improve your handplaning techniques in Just Plane Round.
In Mirrors in Multiples, Robert W. Lang, executive editor, shows how designing the process for making multiples of a project can be as challenging as designing the object itself.
In Return of the Passer Drill, Roy Underhill revives this venerable tool, which was used in times past to pattern rout for brass insets, with a modern replica.
In this issue’s Tool Test, we take a look at Festool ZOBO Forstner-style bits, Veritas’s 6″ precision square, Blockkz’s Clamping Blocks and Earlex’s steam generator.
In Design Matters, George R. Walker shows how sketching is all in your mind.
In Arts & Mysteries, Adam Cherubini shows how London’s clever carpenters found a way around the laws regarding “boarded” furniture.
This issue’s I Can Do That project is a message center designed and built by Steve Shanesy, senior editor.
In Great Woodshops, Christopher Schwarz, contributing editor, shows how Jeff Miller, a former musician, brings an improvisational skill to the craft of custom woodworking.
In Flexner on Finishing, Bob Flexner shows how “green” solvents are environmentally friendly and surprisingly effective.
In End Grain, Eric Heydorn paddles through his woodworking past.
A low-tech solution for a family on the go. By Steve Shanesy Pages: 26-27 From the February 2012 issue #195 Buy the issue now. The kitchen is the crossroads for today’s busy family. And while we have high-tech gadgets to text messages, take notes and keep a calendar, I’ve found a kitchen message board has … Read more
Expand your casework repertoire with a curvaceous front.
By Glen D. Huey
Pages: 28-35
From the February 2012 issue #195.
Buy the issue now.
One of the most interesting aspects of a serpentine chest, with its front concave at the ends and convex in the center, is how the wood grain changes as the curves undulate across the front. A drawer front that begins as a piece of flat stock presents three distinct areas after shaping. The grain in the concave sections displays an “X” pattern, while the grain in the center section forms a circle. The patterns highlight the curved front to give the chest a more distinctive appearance.
* In the cut list for the Serpentine Chest, the drawer fronts were incorrectly listed as 1 -3/4″ thick; the correct thickness for each drawer front is 2 -3/4.”
MODEL: Click here for the SketchUp model of the Serpentine Chest.
VIDEO: See Glen use a router setup to remove the bulk of the waste from dovetail sockets.
MORE VIDEO: Discover the treasures of 42 diplomatic reception rooms at the U.S. Department of State building in Washington, D.C., home to a fabulous collection of American antiques.
IN OUR STORE: “Building 18th-Century American Furniture” by Glen D. Huey – an extensive collection of project plans of the author’s favorite furniture pieces. Also, Glen’s video, “Cheating at Handcut Dovetails.” Read more
Make your own door and drawer pulls for a custom finishing touch on your work.
By Gary Rogowski
Pages: 36-39
From the February 2012 issue #195.
Buy the issue now.
It’s the grip that counts. A limp handshake is as bad as a poorly designed handle. OK – that’s a stretch. But there is something to a well-designed handle that invites you to explore a cabinet or drawer. Handles are usually the first thing that people touch on a cabinet or drawer, and it’s a crucial opportunity for a designer to make a good impression. Yet handles are usually the last thing made for a piece.
WEB SITE: Visit the web site for the Northwest Woodworking Studio.
ARTICLE: Read Gary’s “Jasmine Jewelry Box” article.
BLOG: Read Gary’s blog.
IN OUR STORE: “New Masters of the Wooden Box,” by Oscar P. Fitzgerald.
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‘Crossettes’ in the corners add flair to this mirror or picture frame.
By Mark Arnold
Pages: 40-45
From the February 2012 issue #195.
Buy the issue now.
Architectural elements on which intersecting vertical and horizontal members extend beyond a simple lapped or mitered joint are said to be “crossetted.” The term has been used to describe any projecting corner treatment and has been a decorative staple employed by artisans and designers for centuries.
WEB SITE: Visit Mark’s web site to see more of his work and learn about his woodworking classes.
ARTICLES: Read the two following articles to make Robert W. Lang’s waveform moulding picture frames: “Modern Wave-form Mouldings” and “Making Frames.”
WEB SITE: Discover the Society of American Period Furniture Makers.
IN OUR STORE: “Complete Guide to Architectural Carving,” by Kurt Koch.
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An exercise in dowel-making without a lathe.
By Charles Bender
Pages: 46-49
From the February 2012 issue #195
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During my formative years as a woodworker my instructor, Werner Duerr, taught many lessons both subtle and gross. Sometimes it wasn’t until years later that I learned the benefit. Toward the end of the first year, students were required to make a box with different compartments to hold nails. The project was timed and had to be completed using both hand and power tools but the bulk of the work had to be done by hand. The handle, in particular, was allowed to be made only by hand. To make a wooden cylinder without the aid of a lathe was one of the subtler lessons in planecraft Werner taught me.
WEB SITE: Visit the Acanthus Workshop web site for a schedule of upcoming classes.
IN OUR STORE: “Cabriole Legs Simplified,” a DVD from Chuck Bender. Read more
Designing the process can be as challenging as designing the object.
By Robert W. Lang
Pages: 50-53
From the February 2012 issue #195
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The way something looks is only the first half of a design problem. How to make it and how to make it efficiently are often greater challenges. If you want to make more than one of something, the problem grows exponentially. I designed these hand mirrors as a production item about 30 years ago. They are an example of making good choices from available options for quality and efficiency.
VIDEO: Watch a video of the circle-sanding jig in action.
FULL-SIZE PATTERN: Download the full-size PDF pattern of this project: Mirror_Pattern Read more
A welcome ‘voice’ from the past.
By Roy Underhill
Pages: 54-55
From the February 2012 issue #195
Buy the issue now.
Satellites beep around the globe, kids scream about the band from Liverpool, and after 41 years you’re about to hang it up. Before you do, there’s one more length of rosewood on your bench, one more steel blade – one more try square to complete.
WEB SITE: Visit The Woodwright’s School.
VIDEO: Watch Roy use his passer drill.
IN OUR STORE: “The Woodwright’s Guide: Working Wood with Wedge & Edge,” by Roy Underhill. Read more
