Popular Woodworking Magazine » Raw Materials

Beware of Australians Bearing Softwoods

Christopher Schwarz — Tue, 19 Mar 2013 13:20:04 +0000

Among us old-school newspaper cronies, we have a saying: If your mother says she loves you, check it out. Meaning: Don’t believe a word anyone tells you. So when I arrived in Australia earlier this month I inoculated myself against some of the most common Australian practical jokes. (Out of respect for this beautiful country, … Read more »

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Australian Woods? We’re Not There Yet

Christopher Schwarz — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 10:57:23 +0000

My biggest fear when traveling to Australia wasn’t the 16-hour flight, the change of hemispheres or the spiders that would make my *deleted* fall off. It was the timber I’d have to work with. Australian woods have the reputation of being the nastiest, hardest, most interlocked and silica-choked timbers on the planet. One stroke on … Read more »

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How to Stock up on Traditional Fasteners

Christopher Schwarz — Mon, 04 Mar 2013 13:44:30 +0000

If you build traditional casework with traditional joints and fasteners then you already know the local hardware store is of little use when you need some 4d rosehead nails. Lucky for us, there’s the Internet, which can be a pretty good hardware store. Several readers have asked about what fasteners they should keep in stock … Read more »

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A Pencil from the Tailor Helps Sawing

Christopher Schwarz — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 00:22:18 +0000

For me, one of the biggest challenges when working with dark-colored woods is marking them out for sawing and chiseling. Knife lines and pencil lines disappear into the tangle of growth rings and – if it’s a porous wood – pores. I’ve been dovetailing teak this week for a campaign chest I’m building and have … Read more »

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Strip Zinc with Citric Acid

Christopher Schwarz — Tue, 19 Feb 2013 18:35:18 +0000

Sorry zinc, I am not attracted to you. Yes, you keep the elements at bay, but your non-stop shiny countenance is irritating. It looks out of place on my traditional projects. And you do not age well. Zinc, it’s over. I’m going to go get me a stripper. </stupidliteraryexercise> There are lots of ways to … Read more »

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Remove Rust, Zinc and Black Oxide with ‘The Works’

Christopher Schwarz — Mon, 14 Jan 2013 01:03:40 +0000

Three of the enemies in my shop are rust, zinc coating and black oxide. 1. Rust: No explanation needed. Rust is the enemy of steel, and steel is what allows us to tame wood. 2. Zinc coating: Many steel fasteners are coated with an ugly layer of zinc to protect them from rust in the … Read more »

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Quick Review: Whitechapel Crab Lock

Christopher Schwarz — Mon, 07 Jan 2013 20:20:50 +0000

OK, so let’s say you are too cheap to purchase a blacksmith-made lock for your next tool chest or blanket chest. Wait, that wasn’t very kind of me to call you “cheap.” Instead, let’s put it this way: Let’s say your spouse just ran off with the village blacksmith, so you are looking for an … Read more »

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Improve the Clinching Power of Your Cut Nails

Christopher Schwarz — Tue, 01 Jan 2013 04:32:54 +0000

Here’s a tip from Tim Henricksen, a fellow woodworker who has been building some six-board chests with me as I research this important early form of furniture. One of the trickiest things to do when building a chest with nails is to clinch the nails’ tips so they bend back into the work and hold … Read more »

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A Tip that’s So Stupid…

Christopher Schwarz — Wed, 26 Dec 2012 16:18:13 +0000

While I was on staff at Popular Woodworking Magazine, all of the editors had to read through all of the reader submissions to “Tricks of the Trade.” This was generally drudgery that was punctuated by little nuggets of brilliance. Here’s what the drudgery looked like: “A coffee mug makes an ideal place to store your … Read more »

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Handmade Nails for Your Finest Work

Christopher Schwarz — Tue, 18 Dec 2012 01:38:49 +0000

I bought a box of 1,600 pneumatic nails about two presidential administrations ago that cost about a half penny each (yes, I know I overpaid). So why in the world would I buy a box of 40 nails for – cough – $1.50 each? Easy. Hardware is as important to me as every other aspect … Read more »

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