When I build a reproduction, I try to remain as faithful as I can to the construction of the original – even if my modern brain says it’s not ideal. The original builder of this early 18th-century table used several techniques that wouldn’t fly in a modern shop. For one: The bottom of the drawer is … Read more
Precision cutting with a hand-held circular saw. I’d like to know who it was that decided that plywood was best sold in 4-foot by 8-foot sheets. I’ve always thought that it was a practical joke in questionable taste to take such a wonderfully useful woodworking material and manufacture it in sheets that are bigger than … Read more
There is a lot of nutty, stupid boasting in our craft. Examples: I can build that highboy in a weekend. I can rip faster than a table saw. I can eat more pies than you. But one of the boasts that gets the most eye-rolling is this: I can cut mouldings faster than you can … Read more
When I inspect an antique tool – especially one that hasn’t been messed with much – I always take a look at the cutting edge. How was it sharpened? What is the shape of the edge? Did they do any work on the unbeveled face of the blade. Usually, the edges of most vintage tools … Read more
Amaze your friends with quadrilateral and rising dovetails.
By Roy Underhill
Pages: 38-39
From the November 2011 issue #193
Buy this issue now
An ordinary day in the shop, but suddenly, you’re dovetailing through another dimension, a dimension not only of sight and sound, but of mind. You’re on a journey into a woodworking land whose boundaries are that of imagination. That’s the signpost up ahead, your next stop … the “Impossitails” Zone!
VIDEO: Watch episodes from Roy’s “The Woodwright’s Shop” online.
WEB SITE: Take a class from Roy.
TO BUY: “The Woodwright’s Shop: A Practical Guide to Traditional Woodcraft.”
IN OUR STORE: “The Woodwright’s Guide: Working Wood with Wedge and Edge.” Read more
Whether you love them or hate them, the English form of the infill plane has remained almost unchanged since it was invented in the 19th century. An infill plane is a metal shell that is stuffed – or infilled – with beautiful wood that supports the iron and helps you grip the tool. Perhaps this … Read more
First a warning: Don’t read this blog entry if you already obsess too much over the details of your furniture. This entry could only make things worse. Years ago, a high-end finish carpenter infected me with a disease for which there is no cure: clocking your screw heads. What is “clocking” – sometimes called “timing?” … Read more
