We may receive a commission when you use our affiliate links. However, this does not impact our recommendations.
This weekend, in addition to eating far too many leftovers, I curled up on my couch with my cats and the February 2012 Popular Woodworking Magazine binder – and despite my prodigious intake of trytophan, I didn’t nod off even once while editing (which means it must be an excellent issue!).
The cover story is a drop-dead gorgeous serpentine chest from Glen D. Huey, contributing editor (and naturally, it’s in tiger maple).
Arts & Mysteries columnist (and contributing editor) Adam Cherubini, writes – as promised – about “boarded” furniture, and teases us with an upcoming project on the same.
Everyone’s favorite woodwright, Roy Underhill, shares the story of the passer drill – the hand-tool equivalent of pattern routing (and he built a modern version with the help of blacksmith Peter Ross).
Robert W. Lang, executive editor, gives us his strategies for making multiples with a story on a hand mirror he designed two decades ago when he was traveling the craft fair circuit.
Gary Rogowski helps us get a handle on our work with a story on designing and making custom pulls for doors and drawers.
Mark Arnold, editor of the Society of American Period Furniture Makers journal, American Period Furniture, leads us step-by-step through building a “crossetted” mirror/picture frame – the architectural corners are so visually arresting that it looks like PhotoShop is involved (it’s not).
Bob Flexner takes a look at “green” solvents – and is pleasantly surprised with their efficacy.
And of course, much more.
But the story I’m most excited about – and one I’m eager to try – is a technique article from Charles Bender of Acanthus Workshop: “Just Plane Round,” a step-by-step piece on making a dowel at the bench, starting with a 1″ square stick (no lathe allowed). It’s an exercise he learned decades ago from his woodworking mentor, Werner Duerr, and one he teaches in his hand-tool classes. It sounds easy: Use a smoothing plane to turn a square stick into an octagon, then a hexadecagon, then a triacontakaidigon and so on until it’s round. But I suspect it will take a few rounds of practice until I can produce a dowel that will roll smoothly across my workbench. (Unfortunately, my tools are packed up for the move, so I can’t run out to the shop and give it a go right away.)
Subscribe now so you don’t miss out – click here for a paper subscription ($21.97 for seven issues), and here for a digital subscription ($18.97 for seven issues).
