October 2010 #185

The cover project of the October 2010 Popular Woodworking issue is an Arts & Crafts sideboard by Robert W. Lang that combines classic elements from Gustav Stickley, Harvey Ellis and Greene & Greene.

Michael Dunbar reveals how to understand and use a bowsaw – a traditional tool that is woefully misunderstood by modern woodworkers.

In his second installment, Toshio Odate and his assistant add an innovative drawer design to Magobei’s dining table.

Marc Adams contends that veneer is the future. In this first of a series of articles, he shows how to get started using this material that was used on the finest furniture of the past.

A shop experiment answers the question of where glue goes, and leads its author to adopt a new gluing technique.

Peter Follansbee shows how to build an unusual 17th-century three-legged turned chair.

The I Can Do That project is a rustic factory cart coffee table.

Bob Flexner teaches you the best ways to optimize a spray gun.

George R. Walker takes us on a visit to the shop of designer and craftsman Brooke Smith.

Our staff tests an Earlex Spray Station, a Karl Holtey No. 82 and the Bosch Power Box stereo in this issue’s Tool Test.

Detailed article previews are below. Online Extras (downloads, etc.) can be found inside each article.

[description]Articles from the October 2010 issue of Popular Woodworking Magazine[/description][keywords]Popular Woodworking Magazine, Magazine Articles, Technique Articles, Project Articles, Tool Reviews, Finishing[/keywords]

Arts & Crafts Buffet

Recipe for successful design: Steal your ideas from the best.
By Robert W. Lang
Pages: 26-33

From the October 2010 issue # 185
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I designed this buffet cabinet a couple years ago for a weekend seminar on Arts & Crafts joinery. After the class I added a 3-D model to the Popular Woodworking Magazine online SketchUp collection. It was an easy way to provide detailed plans for those in attendance. As time passed, the model rose to the top of the collection, based on popularity.

My goal in designing it was to combine several classic elements from the early 20th century, without building a reproduction of any one piece in particular. I was looking to design a piece with a contemporary feel, but that was grounded in traditional Arts & Crafts period elements. Apparently I swiped the right details from the right sources to make a successful piece.

The wide overhanging top with breadboard ends, the fi nger-jointed drawer and the sculpted handles were all borrowed from the designs of Charles and Henry Greene. The proportions of the door stiles and rails were lifted right from the Gustav Stickley stylebook, and the double-tapered legs are a Harvey Ellis element turned upside down.

Equally important are the overall proportions and the rounded edges that ease the transitions where there is a change of direction or a change in plane. The light color of the soft maple keeps the cabinet from looking too formal or too masculine. Absent are the elements often seen in new pieces based on old designs. Corbels and spindles were banished to the land of overused and misapplied design features.

Video: Watch Bob’s table saw techniques for cutting the drawer finger joints.
Plan: Download a free 3-D model of this project in SketchUp format.
Web site: Bob has written several books about Art & Craft furniture; they’re all available from his web site.
Blog: Read “Peart’s Punches for Perfect Square Holes.”
In our store: “Greene & Greene Furniture: Poems of Wood of Light.” Read more »

I Can Do That: Factory Cart Coffee Table

This reproduction of an industrial workhorse will give you years of use in your living room.
By Drew Depenning
Pages: 24-25

From the October 2010 issue # 185
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At the turn-of-the-century, no factory existed without several industrial carts (also known as trucks) at its disposal. From hauling lumber to carrying crankshafts to serving city ice, these workhorses served many functions.

Today, many of these antique carts have been restored for another purpose – furniture.

But if you don’t have several hundred dollars (or more) to spend on a restored antique cart, you can build one that will serve for years in your living room.

Plans: Download the free SketchUp model for the Factory Cart Coffee Table.
Articles: All the ‘I Can Do That” articles are free online. Read more »

Arts & Mysteries: Three-Legged Turned Chair

Panel seat requires beefy tenons for support.
By Peter Follansbee
Pages: 22-23

From the October 2010 issue # 185
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Seventeenth-century chairs come in many styles: plain turned chairs with woven seats, carved joined chairs in leather or wool, and one particular type of chair that is a little unusual these days – the turned chair with a board (really a panel) for a seat.

These chairs come in both four-legged and three-legged versions, from fairly austere to extremely complex and decorative. They can be made of ash, beech, fruitwoods and yew. Typically they are made with large-scale components, resulting in a massive appearance. The four-legged variety was made in New England during the 17th century, and, although there are many examples of three-legged ones surviving in England, there is no evidence of one being made in New England. I usually use ash for the turned parts, and any hardwood board for the seat panel. Oak is my first choice; I’ve also used elm or cherry.

I often make the three-legged version; it is challenging and fun to make, and it always gets a lot of attention. The geometry involved is a little more sever than with the four-legged chairs, but not all that different. The distinctive element in these chairs is the joinery at the seat-rail height.

The joinery in three-legged chairs with board seats differs from four-legged chairs with woven seats. On a fiber-seat chair, the seat rails are at staggered heights; thus the tenons do not interfere inside the posts.

Web site: See more of Peter’s work and read his blog.
Web site: Discover more about Plimoth Plantation.
Blog: Read Adam Cherubini’s Arts & Mysteries blog.
In our store: We feature a three-legged Chinese stool in the Winter 2009 issue of Woodworking Magazine. Read more »

Design Matters: Brooke Smith

A visit to the shop of a designer & craftsman
By George R. Walker
Pages: 20-21

From the October 2010 issue # 185
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Creativity is a slippery thing. A lucky few are born with a creative streak that seems to flower without effort. Others (most of us) have to work at it to unlock our creative potential. Rarest of all is that bird that combines generous natural gifts and hard work.

Words like “artist” and “master” come to mind when describing furniture builder Brooke Smith of Columbus, Ohio. His small one-man studio turns out exquisite furniture that spans a broad range. I liken Brooke to a classically trained violinist who’s comfortable playing Bach, rock or bluegrass. His work encompasses corporate boardroom tables, high-style period reproductions and one-off modern studio pieces. Craftsmanship and attention to detail are first-rate, but the thing that most stands out is his talented designer’s eye.

Blog: George R. Walker writes three times a week on the Design Matters blog.
Web site: See more of Smith’s work at his web site.
In our store: George R. Walker’s DVDs. Read more »

Tool Test: Not Just for the Jobsite

By Glen D. Huey Page: 18 From the October 2010 issue # 185 Buy this issue now Our shop sound system was on its last leg when the Bosch Power Box 360S (PB360S) arrived. We pulled the sound system from its box and fired it up. It’s impressive. The fi ve speakers and lone subwoofer … Read more »

Tool Test: Karl Holtey’s No. 982 Smoothing Plane

By Christopher Schwarz Page: 18 From the October 2010 issue # 185 Buy this issue now Since the 1980s, planemaker Karl Holtey has been an innovator in the world of toolmaking. He has set the bar for the level of fit and finish a tool can achieve. And his No. 98 plane sparked the revolution … Read more »

On the Level: How You Can Save Woodworking

By Christopher Schwarz Page: 8 From the October 2010 issue # 185 Buy this issue now Almost every week I get a message from a woodworker who is terrifi ed that we are the last generation of people who will build furniture in our home workshops. I’m not nearly as apocalyptic, but I do get … Read more »