Popular Woodworking Magazine » Arts & Mysteries

Working with Plywood – 18th-century Style

Adam Cherubini — Tue, 11 Dec 2012 20:54:19 +0000

I used plywood for my “Machinist’s Tool Test” project (in the October 2012 issue, and continued in February 2013 issue). In the past, I regarded plywood as being unworkable by hand. But I found a couple tricks to working it by hand: • Plywood can be sawn using fine-toothed handsaws. I think crosscut saws work … Read more »

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WIA 2012 After Action Report

Adam Cherubini — Thu, 08 Nov 2012 15:46:58 +0000

Just got home from the Woodworking in America Midwest, the second of two conferences held this fall. Just want to say thanks to all of you who attended and supported these conferences. I really enjoyed meeting folks and appreciated the opportunity I was given to do so. Thanks also to F&W pubs and Popular Woodworking … Read more »

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Arts & Mysteries: A Chest for Every Woodworker

Article Index — Mon, 16 Jul 2012 13:55:18 +0000

Design your tool storage from the inside out.By Adam Cherubini Pages 54-56I currently store my woodworking tools in a traditional cabinetmaker’s/joiner’s tool chest. In building that chest, I leaned heavily on surviving period chests as well as images dating from the period. Over the years I’ve been an advocate for these sorts of chests. But I’m not convinced of their popularity with modern woodworkers.This year at the “Woodworking in the 18th Century” conference in Colonial Williamsburg, North Bennet Street School (NBSS) instructor Dan Faia showed images of chests made by the school’s cabinetmaking students. NBSS focuses on traditional cabinetry and many students and graduates build reproduction furniture. So I was a bit surprised to see no chests resembling mine. The students’ chests were more similar to Gerstner’s machinist’s chests than to 18th- or 19th-century-style cabinetmakers’ chests. I pondered how such chests could hold any cabinetmaker’s tools. Where would one store a half set of hollows and rounds? A ripsaw? A try plane? What are these students being taught?It took me a minute to arrive at an answer: Most woodworkers don’t have or use any of the tools I consider absolute necessities. These boxes probably held some tools familiar to me (such as chisels and dovetail saws), but they likely also contained hex keys, screwdrivers, dial indicators, combination squares, rulers and other things either I don’t use or don’t associate with woodworking.Blog: Read Adam’s Arts & Mysteries blog. Video: Watch our video visit to Gerstner & Sons, in Dayton, Ohio, makers of machinist’s tool boxes. In Our Store: "The Arts & Mysteries of Hand Tools" on CD. Read more »

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Arts & Mysteries: Boarded Furniture Essentials

Article Index — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 20:35:41 +0000

You needn’t be a dovetail master to build handsome 18th-century furniture.by Adam Cherubini Pages 18-21From the April 2012 issue, #196In my last article, I discussed the history of boarded (nailed) furniture and tried to get you as excited about it as I am. In this article, I’ll explore one sort of boarded carcase. Though the finished project won’t look like a country hutch or cupboard, the construction will be close or identical. This sort of furniture is fun to build and can be easily completed in a weekend with nothing but a few hand tools. The skills you hone building this sort of furniture will directly translate to building finer pieces.Blog: Read Adam’s Arts & Mysteries blog. To buy: “Building a Philadelphia Chippendale Chair” – a PDF collection of Adam’s eight-part series on the topic. In our store: “The Arts & Mysteries of Hand Tools” on CD. Read more »

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Arts & Mysteries: ‘Boarded’ Furniture

Article Index — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 05:22:43 +0000

London’s clever carpenters found a way around the laws.By Adam Cherubini Pages: 22-24From the February 2012 issue #195 Buy the issue now.“Boarded” is an archaic English term that was used to describe a form of woodwork characterized by the use of fasteners as the principle means of attachment. The iconic six-board chest is probably the most familiar boarded furniture form.In earliest times, the fasteners may have been wooden pegs. In the Middle Ages, nails were used, sometimes decoratively. Metal straps were also sometimes applied to the corners. The basic form of these chests remained unchanged for easily 1,000 years.BLOG: Read Adam’s Arts & Mysteries blog. TO BUY: “Building a Philadelphia Chippendale Chair” – a PDF collection of Adam’s eight-part series on the topic. IN OUR STORE: “The Arts & Mysteries of Hand Tools” on CD. Read more »

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Arts & Mysteries: Chisels Through the Ancient Eye

Article Index — Sun, 06 Nov 2011 21:50:33 +0000

Today’s tool choices pale in comparison.By Adam Cherubini Pages:24-25From the December 2011 issue #194 Buy the issue now.We’ve talked and written volumes about planes and plane irons, and how to sharpen and use them. But when one thinks about making things by hand, there are a whole host of tools required to complete a project. Some tools get more attention than others. I guess I feel as though chisels have been overlooked.TO BUY: ”Smith’s Key,” reprinted in 1975, is often available through used book stores. WEB SITE: Read more about “Smith’s Key.” IN OUR STORE: Get “The Arts & Mysteries of Hand Tools” on CD. Read more »

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Saving Woodworking, One Project at a Time

Adam Cherubini — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 17:18:10 +0000

Thanks to Popular Woodworking Magazine, I was invited to panel discussion on saving woodworking at this years’ Woodworking In America conference in Northern Ky. As I suspected, my perspective on this issue was a bit different from the others’ on the panel and I suspect from my friends in the room (it was held at … Read more »

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Arts & Mysteries: Keep Your Edges Sharp

Article Index — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 18:41:26 +0000

Part 2: Test often to avoid the need to grind.By Adam Cherubini Pages: 20-21From the November 2011 issue #193 Buy this issue nowTo determine if the edges are sharp on my blades, I perform two tests (depending on the tool) using scrap paper. I first draw the blade across the edge of a piece of paper, listening for the growl of a ragged edge. The blade should be able to slice the paper cleanly. You’ll be able to hear when the edge of your tool is smooth. Edges that pass this test are good enough for work in hatchets, drawknives, spokeshaves and other tools that are drawn through wood. For chisels and plane irons, however, I perform a second test. If my chisel or plane blade passes my first test, I then push the blade straight down onto the edge of the paper. A sharp tool will easily cut through an entire sheet.ARTICLE: Read the first part of Adam’s article on sharpening from our October 2011 issue. ARTICLE: “What are Oilstones?” Find out in Adam’s online article. BLOG: Visit the Colonial Williamsburg joiners’ blog on period work. IN OUR STORE: Get “The Arts & Mysteries of Hand Tools” on CD. Read more »

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Arts & Mysteries: Separated at Birth?

Article Index — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 16:09:18 +0000

Western and Eastern tools might not be as different as you think.By Bob Rozaieski & Wilbur Pan Pages: 22-24From the April 2011 issue #189 Buy this issue nowAt 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 Buy this issue now Read more »

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Arts & Mysteries: The Lost Arts & Mysteries

Article Index — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 14:19:08 +0000

Revealing centuries-old secrets to working quickly and efficiently. By Adam Cherubini Pages: 32-36 From the December 2005 issue #152 Buy this issue now Arts & Mysteries is a phrase that oft appears in the contracts or indentures between master craftsmen and their apprentices. Exact usage varies, but the context is usually something like “… the … Read more »

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