Techniques

Building a sculptured rocker starts with a coopered seat. Or as I call it, “The Big Smile Seat!” A Maloof style chair design (rocker, low back, or settee) represents some of the best [...]

The key to selection is knowing the terminology and how a lock works. Locks protect our worldly goods from outsiders who wish to take those goods from us. In earlier days, the use of furniture [...]

Save on clamps with this traditional technique for panel glue-ups. A “spring joint” is a traditional method where you join the edges of two boards to make a wider panel and leave a tiny gap in [...]

You’re measuring wrong, and making it more difficult to do good work. If the title has you expecting high-tech procedures or suggestions for expensive measurement gear that’ll get you closer to [...]

Decorative banding within moulding adds a distinctive detail. For my very first veneer project, I decided to make a curved-top jewelry box. I knew I would need to use solid wood on the edges to [...]

Three ways to achieve different types of textures with your CNC router. CNC Routers open up lots of new ways to create textures in wood. Here are my three favorite ways of creating textures using [...]

How to make strong mortise and tenon joints with a plunge router and a tablesaw. Imagine turning the clock back 500 years and visiting a fellow woodworker in any large European town. You could [...]

Learn traditional methods with a veneer hammer and hot hide glue. Veneering has been practiced for thousands of years. It’s a way to take some of the world’s most spectacular but unstable woods, [...]

Now that we’ve uncovered the reasons behind plain-sawn boards’ tendency to cup and explored methods to rectify their misalignment, let’s delve into addressing cupping in [...]

An easy way to fix cupped boards. After our discussion last week on why plain-sawn lumber tends to cup as it dries, I’m eager to share a solution for reforming cupped boards, like the old [...]

Machine joints that look hand-made. Imagine cutting through dovetails with pins and sockets spaced any way you like—as if they were cut by hand. Now imagine cutting them without using a dovetail [...]

Getting to know the what and why of cupping lumber. In our 1960s house, many of the old-fashioned closet shelves were crafted from solid carpentry-grade softwood. It appears that the lumber for [...]