Arch Table

Many interesting pieces of furniture are deceptively simple. Deceptive, because although they appear simple, they are actually very difficult to make. Although this is occasionally true in my own [...]

Jasmine Jewelry Box

Simple tools, techniques, and joinery deliver elegant results. It’s the stuff of arguments: Which tools in the shop are really the most important for joinery? It’s almost like arguing the...

Bo’s Cabinet

As the old saying goes, sometimes you have to learn to walk before you can run. That’s certainly been true in my career as a cabinetmaker: I’ve tried to learn...

Summer Table

Remember Lincoln Logs? When I was a kid, my friends and I spent hours building cabins and forts with them. Lincoln Logs locked together, one on top of another, just...

Distinctive Tool Cabinet

Unique because of its appearance and easy to build because it’s constructed using basic woodworking techniques, this two-part cabinet provides copious storage and signals the work—and the [...]

A Bright Idea

This project first appeared in the August 2011 issue. For me, one of the most perfect shapes ever designed is the general-purpose incandescent light bulb. While some people use the...

Coffee with the Brethren

Coffee tables didn’t exist as a furniture form until the 1920s  (when they were known as cocktail tables). So while there is no true Shaker coffee table, I needed a...

Try for Your Best Work

  From 1977-1983 I made my living as a studio furniture designer and maker. In addition to making furniture, I found most of the hand tools available at the time...

4 Boxes, 4 Ways

The editors present some of their favorite designs. Whether we spend most of our time building 18th-century highboys, production cabinetry or toys for our kids and grandchildren, we all build...