Extra-large finger joints add a distinctive touch to any project. Every woodworker is going to ask, “How did you do that?” Most finger joints are pretty small in scale and easy to cut on a tablesaw or router table. But what if you want really, really big finger joints? Can you imagine making accurate cuts…

A useful, beautiful thing. PROJECT #1920 • Skill Level: Advanced • Time: 2 Days • Cost: $200 In 1905, Gustav Stickley published plans for this magazine cabinet in The Craftsman magazine as part of an ongoing home training course in cabinetwork. He claims this to be a useful piece in any living room where loose…

Project #1923 • Skill Level: Advanced • Time: 1 Week • Cost: $250 I’m not a fan of period furniture from England. The English emphasis on the horizontal conflicts with the American emphasis on the aspiring vertical that I find so appealing in period furniture built in this country. But, of course, there are exceptions,…

Hidden Door Bookcase Turn a closet into a hiding place with a basic bookcase, trimmed to match the room. By Nathan Rinne Project #1919 • Skill Level: Intermediate • Time: 2 Days • Cost: $500 The alluring nature of secret rooms has captivated my imagination for as long as I can remember. Growing up, my…

Historic North Carolina Candle Stand A tapered (not turned) post sets this stand apart from contemporaries. By Will Myers PROJECT #1912 • Skill Level:Intermediate • Time: 2 Days • Cost: $250 I have a thing for candle stands. These small tables are quick to make, don’t require a lot of material to build, and are…

Barrister Bookcase We redesigned this classic with techniques so simple even a novice can build it! By Glen D. Huey PROJECT #1918 • Skill Level:Beginner•  Time: 3 days • Cost: $400 Almost everyone likes the look of barrister bookcases. But what makes them so appealing? I think there are a number of characteristics that make…

Concrete & Walnut Coffee Table Add GFRC to your furniture-making arsenal. By Michael Clifford PROJECT #1911 • Skill Level:Intermediate • Time: 2 Days • Cost: $200 I’ve always loved aircraft-inspired design. There’s just something about an everyday item inspired by a plane that evokes a sense of wanderlust in me, and I wanted to make…

LEGO Inlay Table Add artful accents to a play table. By Caleb Harris Last Christmas my wife and I introduced our young boys to LEGO. This was a good reminder that there is something really special about spending time with your kids with toys that you grew up with. It’s been incredible seeing how fast…

I moved to Kentucky/Cincinnati on July 1st, and by the 15th of the month, I was already starting out on building the furniture for my new house here. Josselyn (my partner) and I had committed to leaving behind the cheap, second-hand furniture we had bought since leaving college years ago, and in doing so, arrived…

A Game of Thrones inspired coffee table meets a tragic (and ironic) end.

This walnut table features simple router inlay and can be easily built during a long weekend.

Chairmaking requires its own unique tools and skillset. It may be daunting, but building a Windsor chair opens up a whole new world within woodworking. Here’s how to do it.

Yoav Liberman and his student Lisa put the finishing touches on a unique live edge desk.

Waterlox is a mainstay for furniture makers. Follow these steps to get a deep glow, a buttery-smooth surface and unmatched protection.

Is there life after running your own professional furniture shop? Absolutely, says Russell Gale in Part 2 of my series on different kinds of furniture makers.

Slab, or live-edge furniture is all the rage, and I like it! If you think wood is one of the most amazing things ever created, then how can you not like a piece of furniture that retains so much of the look of natural wood? The grain on full display and the undulations and imperfections…

A trip to a professional upholstery shop yields valuable lessons in prototyping furniture and more.

This simple credenza is perfect for storing your extra dishes and linens. The seamless case features routed joints reinforced with floating tenons as well as easy lock miter drawers.

This versatile router joint is perfect for when you need to batch out a bunch of drawer boxes. Learn how to make these easy and efficient lock miter drawers.

Stronger Shelves Designing sag-proof shelves. By Tom Caspar Have you ever heard a shelf groan? Well, maybe not, but some shelves look like they would if they could. So much stuff gets piled on them that they end up sagging like a limp noodle. It’s not a pretty sight. A span that holds up weight…

Through teaching, this master craftsman’s work lives on. Learn more about the work and influence of Tage Frid.

See the completed burl slab coffee table, plus learn how Yoav and his student Helder ensured this highly irregular table stays level.

How do you differentiate between varieties of furnituremakers? Here’s the preliminary take on how I do.

Yoav Liberman and his student Helder design and construct a coffee table out of a particularly intriguing burl slab.

Learn how to make through dovetails step by step and improve your overall hand tool skills.

Lathe and handwork yield a seamless transition from turned legs to a flush apron on this sculpted side table.

We’ve come a long way from cabins in the woods and 18th Century dwellings. Part of that transition is the mental shift of thinking of furniture as part of our wealth and property…

I haven’t given much thought to the culture of paying dues until a few recent occasions, when I’ve been struck by how this dimension of woodworking culture—at least, the culture of professional furniture and cabinetmaking, outside the art furniture world—has changed.

Things have changed enormously for woodworkers over the last 40 years. Here are a few examples, with less visible ones coming next week.

Get an inside look at the legendary contemporary and mid-century designs featured in the Boyd Collection at Chicago’s Wright auction house.

Reflections on Jennie Alexander, who passed away July 12, 2018.

Skill Level: Intermediate Time: 4 hrs. Cost: $150 Woodworkers are joining the welding renaissance that’s happening among makers. Understanding the fundamentals of welding is key when you begin welding. Here’s how to incorporate beautiful welded frames into your furniture using simple designs and just a few tools. In fact, you can put together a complete…

Last July I returned to Peters Valley School of Crafts to teach a six day-long class in live edge furniture making. Live edge, aka Natural Edge, is one of my most beloved wood mediums.

This simple side table employs three smart jigs and a number of handy techniques you can use on countless other woodworking projects.

By: Kerry Pierce An idea sketched on paper continues to evolve as it’s sketched with tools in the shop. I envy those designers who can create new furniture idioms, building upon what is current in order to produce something never before seen. These men and women are doing what the great furniture designers of the…

Meet the artists from the December 2017 issue How five masterful makers integrate CNC and CAD technology into their woodworking In the December 2017 issue of Popular Woodworking magazine, the article, Digital Artistry gives the readers a peek at what five professional woodworkers are doing with digital tools in their shops. Each has an extensive…

Meet the artists from the December 2017 issue How five masterful makers integrate CNC and CAD technology into their woodworking. In the December 2017 issue of Popular Woodworking magazine, the article, Digital Artistry gives the readers a peek at what five professional woodworkers are doing with digital tools in their shops. Each has an extensive…

One of the unique pieces built during my weekend workshop at Snow Farm was a live edge coffee table. Lisa’s “Cape Cod coffee table” began as a 1” cross cut of a cherry tree that showed an attractive burl, intriguing insects cavities and some natural cracks. Our plan was first to fill the imperfection with…

Curvy furniture is great to look at and usually offers a tactile aesthetic that makes it appealing. Holding it all together is the joinery – and whether it’s dovetails, tenons or lap joinery, creating that joinery on a curve adds a new level of complication. Whether made by hand or by machine, most of our training on…

Ben was one of the six students who took my live-edge Columbus day weekend class at Snow Farm. A newcomer into woodworking, motivated and eager to learn, he asked me to help him design and build a side table for his Boston apartment. Feeling that woodworking is going to be more than just a weekend…

I came across David Thomas Brown’s coffee table build on Reddit last week and thought it was a great build. If you spot a build that has great photography and solid technique, send me an email! – David Lyell I remember the glory days of unlimited garage/driveway space and access to my dad’s tools that…

A contemporary-looking design that’s really from the 18th century. by Christopher Schwarz Pages 28 – 34 October 2017 Buy the issue here. If you’ve ever been dragged to Ikea by your spouse (few woodworkers go willingly – except to eat meatballs), you’ve probably seen a table similar to this gateleg one. It’s been a staple…

When Josselyn and I moved out here to Covington, I refused to do two things. For one, I wasn’t going to bring some of the beater furniture that had been following us around since college. And two, I didn’t want to buy any cheap furniture when we got here, with the plan of replacing it. This led to…

In the next few months, I’ve got a lot of furniture to make; Josselyn (my partner) and I just moved to Cincinnati from Maine. Last week, I built a new coffee table for our place. This week I’m building a new kitchen table, in between setting into my new job and figuring out where to buy…

Simple joinery serves this sophisticated geometric design. by Michael Crow pages 49-52 Mid-century modern design is enjoying a surge in popularity, and rightly so: Its clean lines and functional design make it practical and attractive, two traits evident in this bookcase by an unknown designer. Its stark, geometric design shows modern roots while giving it…

When I lived in Maine, I had a wide array of projects and furniture that I wanted to build for our house. When it became clear, however, that we were going to move down here to Covington, Ky., I put the designs and wood aside, not wanting to build a bunch of furniture only to…

Traditional chairmaking starts with a shaving horse and a drawknife. Used with both green and dried wood, woodworkers have relied on these two tools for centuries. Simple to use, there are just a few things to be aware of before getting to work. In this short video, Windsor chairmaker Elia Bizzarri gives a valuable overview…

One of the challenges when building a chair is clamping the dang thing down so you can work on it. I’ve seen lots of solutions that use band clamps. But I dislike band clamps (perhaps I had a bad experience at band camp). So here’s what I do. Most workholding problems can be solved with…

This slender table maximizes minimal space. by Rodney Wilson My family recently left our sprawling farmhouse for a compact ranch. We left our farmhouse-sized stuff too, and now we need new furniture. This little console table, under 4′ wide and just more than 1′ deep, fits nicely below a wall-mounted TV to maximize floor space,…

When you make a table it’s fairly straightforward. Four legs (or some variation thereof) and a top. Not too hard. If you choose to splay the legs, then you’ve added some geometry and math to the process…and that’s why you see a lot of tables with straight legs! If you build a chair with straight…

Stretch and enhance your creative skills by learning how to design your own furniture. Professional furniture maker Aaron Fedarko shares his expert design instruction to help you achieve success.

With two pieces of pine and simple tools, make this easy-to-store seat. by Chad Stanton This simple project made from two pieces of dimensional pine can help solve seating shortages at your next gathering – and it folds neatly away for the next get-together. All you need is a 4′ 1×8, an 8′ 1×4, some…

If you’re looking purely at durability, then an oil-based polyurethane is still superior, but only marginally.

Persistence (and a crazy mother) can help. by Elia Bizzarri page 64 from the November 2011 issue I slept on a cot in the loft of the shop, cooked on a portable burner, and walked my dirty dishes through the garden to the basement sink. Curtis Buchanan walked in at seven one morning to discover…

You can’t use this wood as it is. You’ve got to do some selective cutting first and then dry out the wood before making furniture with it.

Editor’s note: The measured drawings for the Risom coffee table in this article by Michael Crow are similar to the shop drawings included in Crow’s new book, “Mid-Century Modern Furniture.” The book presents shop drawings and techniques for creating 29 projects designed by some of the era’s foremost designers, including Hans Wegner, Finn Juhl, George Nelson…

Dale Barnard has been building furniture professionally for decades. And during a recent video shoot, it was very comforting to see that I wasn’t the only one breaking the rules on sanding. Building a Greene & Greene furniture piece means changing transition levels in the wood frequently. And that leads to either rasping, filing or…

This traditional, lightweight stool is an excellent first step toward chairmaking. (Click on the step photos to enlarge them.) by Christopher Schwarz One highlight of a visit to historic Old Salem in North Carolina is the beautiful Moravian furniture and woodwork in the village’s buildings. My favorite piece in the town is a small stool…

Last year while working in Maryland, I took a day to travel to Light Street in Baltimore to meet Jennie Alexander, author of the book “Make a Chair from a Tree.” Alexander is an iconic figure in woodworking and chairmaking, a term she would reject (or at least roll her eyes to when hearing). She…

Before you read beyond the first few sentences of this blog entry, there a couple things you should know: I have no problems sharpening a drawknife. Never have (except that time in the 1990s where I ended in the ER for seven stitches). One of the first tools I inherited from my grandfather was his…

This article is excerpted and abridged from the Winter 2010 issue of Woodwork Magazine. Lost in thought, I stood in the grocery store checkout line, with the design for a table desk on my mind. To be frank, I was frustrated with my design efforts in general, because they were bounded by rules that were…

The following is excerpted from a new book, Furniture Fundamentals: Tables, in which you’ll find collected many of the best table projects published in Popular Woodworking. You’ll find the full step-by-step instructions for this Glen D. Huey piece in the book, but the measured drawings below are an excellent place to begin. I’ve built a…

Is Greene & Greene actually a part of the Arts & Crafts Movement? Lately, there has been discussion that would bring this into question. It is undeniable that their work was highly refined and stands apart from the other makers of the era. So, is it possible they were simply lumped together with their contemporaries…

Soup Up Your Router Table By Dave Munkittrick Your router table will really sing with these great accessories. Like all good tools, our accessories will increase safety and improve results. Even though we designed them specifically for the Best Buy Router Table on page 39, they’re easily adapted to use on almost any router-table system….

Tablesaw Extension Make wide cuts in a small shop. By Roy Smith There’s not enough room in my garage shop for a tablesaw with a 52-in.-capacity rip fence. But no worries—I don’t need one! To make wide cuts, I simply install a shop-made extension that bridges my saw to the wall—and doubles its 30-in. rip…

Two-Part Bookcase Here’s a big bookcase that you can build in a small shop. By Tom Caspar Building a tall bookcase can stretch the limits of a small shop.We all know that big boards can be a bear to handle and glue up, so I’ve taken an old Scandinavian design and sliced it up into…

Laminated Pedestal Table Curved legs make this table strong, practical and attractive. By Fred Matlack After knocking my knee on the leg of our kitchen table and spilling the gravy for the umpteenth time, I realized it was time I made a pedestal table for our kitchen. We wanted a table in white oak—one that…

Diamond Inlay Table Create striking patterns with a router. By Peter Schmitt   This hall table posed a challenge, because it was built for a fundraiser. I wanted it to stand out, but I also wanted to limit the amount of time I invested in it. So I started with a tapered leg base—stylish, elegant…

Butterfly Inlay Make a perfect fit with a shop-made template. By Tom Caspar Don’t you just love it when something that looks extremely difficult turns out to be oh-so easy? Making butterfly inlay with a plunge router is a good example. The technique is very easy to learn. All it takes is a set of…

Mobile Outfeed Tables Upgrade your tablesaw and save precious shop space with a pair of outfeed tables. By George Vondriska A tablesaw is a lot safer and easier to use when it’s equipped with an outfeed table. Whether you’re ripping long boards or crosscutting big sheets of plywood, you really need more support than just…

Pedestal Picnic Table One day in the shop and you’re ready to party! By Jean Bartholome If you’re looking for a picnic table that’s simple to build but looks great on your deck or patio, here’s the design for you. Its pedestal support ensures that no one can complain about “having the leg.” The round…

Steam Bent Music Stand “Learning to bend wood with steam takes practice, just like playing an instrument.”  By Seth Keller Bending wood with steam always intrigued me, but I never tried it. The process seemed mysterious, complicated and maybe even dangerous. But one day a beat-up old music stand motivated me to give steam bending a…

The Unsinkable Molly Brown's Parlor Table This little charmer folds flat, then sets up in seconds. By Tim Johnson This table is an accurate reproduction of one purchased by Molly Brown and her husband in the late 1880s, when they were starting their family in the rough mining town of Leadville, Colorado. It easily disassembles…

Composing a Tabletop Two ways to create a beautiful top. By Ian Kirby The top is the first thing people will see when they admire a table you’ve made. The selection and arrangement of the boards is a testament to your skills and sensitivity to the beauty of wood. If you take the time to…

Trophy Coffee Table Stunning Beauty Right from the Tree By Dave Munkittrick Big planks of wood with natural bark edges make my heart race. Most woodworkers share a desire to build something from a single, thick plank of wood. After 20 years of building custom cabinets and furniture, I finally got my chance. The first…

Treasured Board Table One precious board is all you need. By Tom Caspar Every woodworker discovers an extraordinary piece of wood once in a while. What do you do with it? One board is not enough for a big project. It’s a crime to cut it up into small pieces for a little project. So…

Tablesaw Tenoning Jig A precision joint-making tool for less than $30. By Frank Gregg A tablesaw tenoning jig is an essential tool for most woodworkers. But commercial units cost $100 and up, and shop-made jigs that I’ve tried, all riding on the fence somehow, were unstable and hard to adjust. So I devised this jig,…

Christopher Schwarz built this lovely and delicate Creole Table for our February 2007 issue (an issue that also includes a nice Greene & Greene side table, Michael Dunbar’s discussion of traditional handscrews, an easy and accurate way to sharpen scrapers and more). You can read it free here, but I recommend downloading the PDF at…

Beautiful Boulle Work A masterpiece of inlaid intricacy begins with a sandwich of brass, sheet, wood veneer and waxed paper. By Silas Kopf “Plus c’a change, plus c’est la même chose.” This centuries-old French expression translates something like this: “The more things change, the more they stay the same.” It’s a bit of wisdom that…

Adirondack Loveseat It’s just as comfortable as it looks. By Tom Caspar *About This Project: Our Adirondack two-seater is based on one built by Jack Priest as a centerpiece for the deck outside his son’s restaurant, The Tin Fish, overlooking Lake Calhoun, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Our design is slightly different from his. We’ve changed the…

Turning Table Legs By Alan Lacer Turning four table legs that match may sound impossible, but it’s not. With these tried and true tips, and a little practice, you can successfully turn even the largest legs. And these same techniques apply when you’re copying a broken chair spindle or producing a set of balusters. Here’s…

Classic Country Hutch American style and classic hardwood create a timeless treasure By Tim Johnson Tall and stately, this cupboard promises to be the focal point of any dining area. A functional wonder, it combines elegant display with spacious storage. For you as a builder, though, this cupboard is loaded with something quite different: advanced…

I’m busy trying to tie up the loose ends and a few empty columns in our forthcoming book “Handsaw Essentials” (which should be available by the end of October). It’s a collection of (almost) everything we’ve written on blog posts and in Popular Woodworking and Woodworking Magazine on meat-powered saws and sawing over the last…

All life is an experiment.  The more experiments you make the better. – Ralph Waldo Emerson You know what the Telephone Game is, right?  One person starts by whispering a phrase into the next person’s ear and that person whispers what they heard to the next person and this continues down the line.  By the time the…

Mario Rodriguez of the Philadelphia Furniture Workshop has an article in our August 2013 issue that shows you how to build a clever table saw jig he uses to carve the chair seat for his contemporary chairs; it’s a jig he first encountered two decades ago in a book by Robert Marquis, “Making the Classic…

Log Cabin Writing Desk Rustic tradition meets modern style. By Chris Cander and Mark Love Coziness is built right into this desk, because it was inspired by a log cabin. Squint a bit and you’ll see logs and chinking—the muck-and-straw mixture pioneers depended on to keep out drafts. Squinting isn’t necessary to appreciate the desk’s…

Computer Armoire Build an updated American classic from bargain-priced plywood and poplar. By Jeff Corns My wife and I enjoy antique country furniture. It's usually a bargain, but we've been unable to find a piece that would hold all of our computer gear. I'm a professional cabinetmaker, so naturally my wife said, "Honey, can't you…

  No matter what your political bent, you’ll want to check out the latest episode of Charles Brock’s The Highland Woodworker, which Popular Woodworking proudly sponsors, and watch as he visits former President Jimmy Carter. Chuck gets and an up-close look at the Moulthrop bowls and Sam Maloof furniture President Carter keeps in his office….

Congratulations (and belated good wishes) to Ralph S. Wilkes, who in April celebrated his 100th birthday. Mr. Wilkes wrote for Popular Woodworking (and other woodworking magazines) in the mid-1990s, after retiring from Keuka College in Keuka Park, N.Y., where for 35 years he was a business manager and treasurer. He now lives in Canandaigua, N.Y.,…

Selecting "Best of Show" awards at the San Diego "Design in Wood" exhibition on behalf of Woodwork and American Woodwork was a challenge. As I described in my last blog, the process for choosing the winner in the Furniture category was made somewhat easier because at least all the contenders were furniture…and there were only…

Take the easy way out: Find sizes without measuring.

By Robert Lang
Pages 62-63

This small coffee table is a great introduction to building furniture. It doesn’t require much material and it’s an opportunity to develop your skills. This project is sturdy, attractive and easy to build. All of the parts come from standard widths of lumber. I used poplar from my local home center, and I made the table from one 6′-long piece of 1×8, one 8′ length of 1×6 and two 8′ lengths of 1×4.

Start by gluing the top from two pieces of 1×8 and one piece of 1×6. If you are cutting the parts from 6′- or 8′-long boards, leave them a couple of inches long, then trim them to the final length after the glue has dried.
The goal during glue-up is to keep the faces of the boards aligned. Use a couple straight strips of wood below for a level work surface and, if you need to, clamp straight pieces across the top and bottom to hold the edges in alignment while the glue dries.

Let the glue dry overnight, then trim the top to length. Clamp a straightedge across the top to guide your jigsaw or circular saw to make the cut. When the top is at its finished size, set the blade of your combination square at 2″ and draw lines in from each corner on the underside of the top.

Because chairs take abuse like a rented mule, the simple mortise-and-tenon joint is sometimes not enough. In traditional Windsor chair construction, the legs and spindles are attached to the plank seat using tenons that are cone-shaped along their lengths. So the mortises have to be the same shape. These tapered joints are clever. The more…

Last week marked the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the RMS Titanic, and as such we received a number of requests for the “Titanic Deck Chair” article, which originally ran in 1999. In honor of that fateful night a century ago (and in response to popular demand), we’re making the article and full-size plans…

Gluing and clamping angled assemblies – like most chairs – can be a hassle. There are some great strategies for approaching glue-ups, angled and otherwise, in various books including “Glue and Clamps,” but sometimes it just comes down to having the right tool for the job at hand. For years I fought with K-Body or…

Where is the craftsmanship line crossed between between handwork, machine work, and machine work driven by computers? Or, is there a line at all? I certainly don’t know the answer. But I was thinking about the question recently after my son sent an e-mail to me with a link to a video. The message was…

Old styles of furniture can still speak to us loud and clear today. The Queen Anne style, popular in America from 1725 to 1760, is an elegant language of flowing lines and reverse curves. This footstool is a small-scale example of a very elaborate style. If you’ve always wanted to try your hand at cabriole…

Show Case View your treasures from every angle. By Luke Hartle Any collection you want to display, from fish fossils to Baccarat crystal will look great inside this cabinet. It allows unobstructed viewing from the front because the doors are on the sides. The doors themselves are frameless glass to maximize the side views. Inside,…

St. Croix Valley Chairs Enjoy your setting while comfortably sitting. By Tim Johnson Stylish and comfortable, these chairs are also built to last. Made of rot-resistant white oak, with robust joinery secured with weatherproof glue, they’re guaranteed to become some of your garden’s most cherished perennials.  We’ve engineered the building process so you’ll be able…

Rustic Chair Make a chair in a day, using green wood saplings. By Jonathan Benson You can make a pretty good case for bending and attaching green wood sticks as the second oldest wood furniture making method (after coming upon a fallen log, and sitting). Today, this type of furniture is labeled "rustic," so exposed…

Frame & Panel Hope Chest Mortise and Tenon Joinery the Easy Way by Tom Caspar I used to struggle with mortise and tenon joinery. I tried every new system that came along, but they all seemed way too complicated. One day a friend of a friend walked into my shop, said “Throw away those fancy…

Arts & Crafts Bedside Table No cutting corners–this is solid craftsmanship through and through. By Stewart Crick Arts and Crafts is both a style of furniture and a philosophy about craftsmanship. It calls for honest, functional design and a harmonious effort between designer and craftsman. The design of this bedside table borrows elements from three…

Shop-Made Arts & Crafts Knobs All it takes is a router and a bandsaw. By Dave Eklund Making these knobs won't save any money, but it's worthwhile nonetheless. Shop-made knobs will better match your project, because the wood comes from the project’s scrap, and you can customize their size to fit the scale of your…

Mission Blanket Chest If you love Mission-style furniture, here’s the perfect complement to your bedroom. By Tom Caspar Store blankets, bedding and memories inside this huge chest. Three frames and a plywood back make up its basic structure, and all the other parts are added on, one by one, so building it is about as…

Walnut Coffee Table with Curved Legs By Tom Caspar I’ve been hoarding some huge, air-dried walnut boards for over twenty years, waiting for the right projects to come around. This small coffee table was the perfect opportunity to finally cut one open and get my hands on the rich figure inside. There’s something that pleases…

Teak Coffee Table A retro table with sleek lines and soft edges By Bruce Kieffer With the resurgence of the mid-century Modern style in furniture, I thought I’d have some fun with this classic little coffee table. I used teak because it was the wood of choice for the Danish Modern style in the 1960s…

Farm Table You don't need a dream shop to build this dream project By Tim Johnson Aside from feeding the flock (this table seats a flock of eight), a big surface where you can spread things out is invaluable, for computing, writing, hobbies or for kids' activities. A large table is the perfect gathering place…

Sliding Dovetail Bench Super-strong router joints give it elegant simplicity. By Tim Johnson This elegant bench has humble origins: Its forebears have been sat upon, stepped on and dragged about for centuries. Utilitarian ancestry is readily apparent in our bench. It features simple construction and strong interlocking joints.  The pieces fit together like a puzzle,…

Barbara's Table A small amount of fabulous wood can go a long way. By Tom Caspar Surprise! My wife loved this table because I designed it just for her. It’s beautiful, versatile and with time-saving biscuits and dowels, it only took me a few weekends to build. It’s a great project. You may also like……

I’m gearing up to build a run of Roorkhee Chairs for some customers and (fingers crossed) this magazine. But before I can even order the wood I had to do something I thought I’d never do again: Buy a piece of commercial furniture. The Roorkhee Chair is a seminal piece of British campaign furniture and…

Restore an Antique Oak Table Thoughtful finishing and new leaves prepare this classic for the next 100 years. By Kevin Southwick Purchase the complete version of this woodworking technique story from AWBookstore.com. This old table looks like a prime candidate for refinishing. Strip off the old finish, sand out all the dings and scratches, spray…

Display Cabinet Open sides and built-in lights showcase your treasures. By Randy Johnson Some cabinets are all about displaying the beauty of wood. This cabinet, with its glass doors, shelves and sides and built-in lighting, is all about displaying what’s inside. Whether it’s your collection of antique tools or fine porcelain, whatever you put inside…

“Two DVD’s + Book + Full-Size Patterns + Online Support = Success!

Shaker Sewing Cabinet Machine-cut dovetails add a new twist. By Tom Caspar You can find a place for every conceivable sewing notion in this Shaker-inspired chest of drawers. Mix 'n' match modular trays fi t perfectly in the middle drawers. Store patterns or magazines in the large lower drawer. There’s enough compartments for a complete…

Stowaway Bench This bench will fit in any entryway, and store your umbrella and gloves too! By Jon Stumbras This country-style bench will cut the clutter by the door and serve as a resting spot to put on your shoes. The lid opens up to reveal a handy storage area. At only 11-in. wide by…

Greene and Greene-Style Hall Table ?Exquisite detailing turns ordinary into extraordinary. By Bruce Kieffer People just love this wonderful little table with its soft-colored mahogany, ebony accents and finger-jointed drawer. The spectacular detailing is characteristic of furniture designed by Charles and Henry Greene. The Greene brothers were prominent architects and furniture designers in Pasadena, Calif.,…

Stronger Shelves Designing sag-proof shelves. By Tom Caspar Purchase the complete version of this woodworking technique story from AWBookstore.com. Have you ever heard a shelf groan? Well, maybe not, but some shelves look like they would if they could. So much stuff gets piled on them that they end up sagging like a limp noodle….

Dovetailed Bookcase No screws, no nails—tapered sliding dovetails hold it all together. By Luke Hartle Simple, beautiful, strong. This bookcase is just six boards held together using one elegant joint: the tapered sliding dovetail. Dovetails join the shelves to the sides and the sides to the top. This joint has a well-deserved reputation for being…

Stickley Bookcase How to build a strong bookcase without a back. By Laurie McKichan When I'm designing furniture, I often turn to the Arts and Crafts era for inspiration. I love this style. It’s simple, but elegant. When a client commissioned me to build a small bookcase, I knew exactly what to start with: a…

Extending Dining Table Storing the leaves is a snap–they tuck away under the top. By Joe Gohman Have you ever seen wood glow? That’s what happened when I finished this table. I turned off the shop lights, walked out the door and took a glance back at my labor of love. That huge cherry surface…

Two-Part Bookcase Here's a big bookcase that you can build in a small shop. By Tom Caspar Building a tall bookcase can stretch the limits of a small shop. We all know that big boards can be a bear to handle and glue up, so I’ve taken an old Scandinavian design and sliced it up…

Craftsman Bookcase Knockdown joinery makes this cabinet easy to build, easy to assemble and easy to move. By Randy Johnson Everyone loves bookcases. This beauty, with its Arts and Crafts overtones, offers abundant storage and style. We used rift-sawn white oak and built-up plywood parts to give this case the look of solid wood. The…

Early American furniture has been widely studied, but through a narrow lens. Typical museum pieces seen today were not found in typical homes, and there

Bow-Front Bookcase Sleek, gentle curves make it easy to look at. "Sandwich" construction and simple joinery make it easy to build. By Randy Johnson This bookcase combines straightforward joinery and materials in a design that won’t overwhelm your budget or your room. Yet its deep shelves provide plenty of room for oversize books or a…

Mission Bookstand Display your scrapbooks, photo albums and woodworking skills. By Tom Caspar Woodworkers like to see how things work, right out in the open. We love looking at gears, levers and cams, and when it comes to furniture, there’s nothing more fascinating than exposed joints, like dovetails and wedged tenons. This bookstand is held…

Stickley-Style Sideboard A masterpiece in Arts and Crafts style By Tim Johnson and Bruce Kieffer This sideboard is a reproduction of one that originally appeared in Gustav Stickley’s 1912 Craftsman Furniture Catalog as piece No. 8141⁄2. The cost was $50. It was factory produced, at a time when woodworking as a hobby was virtually unknown….

Limbert Table A slick bandsaw jig makes it straightforward to build. By Jon Stumbras and Tom Caspar Bold design, strong joints and graceful cutouts.These are hallmarks of the Arts and Crafts furniture made by the Charles P. Limbert Company of Holland, Michigan. In 1910, Limbert designed a large oval library table that’s become an icon…

Greene and Greene-Style Side Table By Tim Johnson Why make an ordinary table when you can make this elegant one instead? The difference is in the details. That’s the genius behind the furniture of Charles and Henry Greene, California architects and furniture designers active during the first quarter of the 20th century. Through thoughtfully designed…

Cottage Bookcase Reclaimed Douglas fir gives rustic charm. By David Radtke Every board of this bookcase is full of character—nail holes, gouges and even hammer marks. That’s because each piece was pulled from an old Montgomery Ward warehouse in Baltimore. Originally part of a large shelving system built more than 75 years ago, our reclaimed…

Modular Desk System Mix-and-match components make a desk that fits your needs. By Bruce Kieffer Download this Modular Desk System Project with complete plans and step-by-step instructions from AWBookstore.com. This computer-desk system has more going for it than great looks. The system is based on modular components that can be assembled in a variety of…

“(Chairs) are too hard. Chairmakers are doomed to poverty.” — Gary Bennett (1934 – ) furniture maker and artist If I were a full-time chairmaker, I don’t think I’d be doomed to poverty. Instead, I’d be doomed to starvation – or taking a job as an assistant baby chicken sexer. But I do like me…

Our latest CD collection, “The 100 Best Shelving & Storage Projects,” is on sale now at ShopWoodworking.com for the introductory offer of $15.99 through August 31 (regular price: $19.99). For this collection, we looked through all the issues of Popular Woodworking from the last 12 years, and all our issues of Woodworking Magazine, to select…

This clever porch swing design from ‘Backyard Projects for Today’s Homestead‘ uses bent lamination sides to support the slats and to create the arms. Clever, and an interesting project. Download the free PDF plans by following the link below. Free Porch Swing Plan

This simple seat is ideal for a hallway or porch.

By Megan Fitzpatrick
Pages: 26-27

Modern Mission Cabinet Simple jigs create stylish joints. By Tim Johnson My dog’s energetic tail inspired this cabinet. Anything within wagging range was endangered, including a number of my favorite antique toys. After one-too-many near misses, I decided to move these small treasures to safety—above the wag line and behind glass. The cabinet I built…

Grand Walnut Bookcase Rich Walnut, elegant details and secret storage in a design that's fast and straight forward to build By Randy Johnson Sometimes a new piece of furniture conjures up images from a distant time and place. This bookcase, I imagine, would fit right into an early 20th-century lawyer’s office, filled with leather-bound volumes…

Shaker Stand By Tim Johnson Though it looks modern, the original version of this three-legged stand was built almost two hundred years ago in a Shaker community. Simple, purposeful and elegant, this stand is an outstanding example of Shaker design. Like the Shakers, we’ve embraced simplicity and innovation in our version of this timeless American…

Stickley Style Chest of Drawers Build a masterpiece with handsome quartersawn oak. By Randy Johnson This striking chest of drawers is closely modeled after one of Gustav Stickley’s most famous designs. Both bold and graceful, the wide overhanging top, slightly bowed legs and arched apron of Stickley’s chest show the strong influence of his brilliant…

Café Table Transform rugged Australian jarrah into a graceful outdoor table. By Tom Caspar Picture yourself at a small, round café table with a cup of coffee and a newspaper. The world goes by along a busy boulevard. People are hurrying about their business, but you’re an island of calm in a crazy world. Although…

Hefty Bookends Resaw your own veneer to hide the steel shot inside. Got a small chunk of figured wood that you’d like to show off? Resaw it into thick veneers and make a pair of matching bookends. They’re laminated to conceal holes filled with steel shot. Although these blocks look light, they’re actually heavy enough…

The updated and revised version of Thomas Moser’s classic “How to Build Shaker Furniture” is now available for pre-order. You may be asking, “What’s updated and revised?” We thought we’d offer a peek, and also let the author himself tell you what’s changed — in the world, and in the book. Click on the link…

A great chair to make in pairs (or more), this outdoor version of a classic Charles Limbert Arts & Crafts cafe chair is simple to make using basic home center lumber and only a few common tools. Very little woodworking experience required.   Download the Limbert Chair Plans Here

Keepsake Trunk As special as the treasures it will hold. By Garrett Glaser An old, and nearly disintegrated steamer trunk in my grandfather’s basement held forgotten treasure— letters, photos, and a hand-written recipe for figgy pudding from my grandmother’s early life on a Kansas farm during the depression. Not pirate’s gold, of course, but treasure…

Cantilevered Display Shelves Strong, glueless joints support these elegant, cantilevered shelves. By Dave Munkittrick Whatever you collect—rocks, porcelain, folk art or photos of your Schnauzer—it’ll get the attention it deserves when displayed on these shelves. The simple design is wide open at the front and sides so nothing interferes with what’s on display. The stepped…

Walnut Wall Shelves Versatile go-anywhere shelves to hold books, discs, kitchenware, or anything you want! By Jon Stumbras Never enough shelf space where you want it? This little shelf is a great way to add extra storage in just about any room. It’s compact—only 22-3/4-in. wide by 31-1/4-in. tall by 9-1/4-in. deep. Yet it’s tall…

Shaker Table A perfect blend of classic lines and modern joinery. By Tom Caspar When I first saw a drawing of this table 20 years ago in a book by Thomas Moser, I knew I had to make it (see Sources, below). It perfectly captures the essence of classic Shaker design. Taut, lean and elegant,…

Shaker Blanket Chest Having a top-notch dovetail jig really pays off. By Bruce Kieffer I've always wanted to build a dovetailed blanket chest, but never got around to it. I couldn't see making all those joints by hand, and I hadn't found a design that I really liked. All that changed when I recently bought…

Shaker Trestle Table Graceful bent-laminated feet are super-strong. By Chris Cander This modern interpretation of a Shaker communal table appeals to furniture maker Mark Love’s customers because of its elegant simplicity, ample legroom, and the fact that it’s easy to clean under. But Mark loves to build it because of the feet. “Making these feet…

Cherry Sideboard Curved parts add flare to a simple, square plywood box. By Jason Holtz This sideboard is a hybrid-an interesting mix of plywood and solidwood construction. It requires accurately cutting plywood parts, a lot of biscuit joints (you may want to add gravy!), and a pleasant workout with a spokeshave to shape the oval…

Cherry Pie Safe This versatile classic goes together fast with biscuits. By Dave Munkittrick and Bruce Kieffer Pie safes like this one were once commonplace. The pierced-tin panels kept insects out while providing ventilation for cooling baked goods. Our version is built of solid cherry with a simple, modified-Shaker style that blends easily into most…

Built from pine boards available from you local home store, this outdoor bench can be built with only a jigsaw and screw gun. A simply coat of paint to match your decor and you’ll be sitting pretty! This project is one of many from ‘Backyard Projects for Today’s Homestead‘. Click here to download your free…

Portable productivity with a nod to steampunk style.

By Mag Ruffman

The glorious thing about being self-sufficient is that you can usually figure out ways to create what you need.

Cantilevered Display Shelves Strong, glueless joints support these elegant, cantilevered shelves. By Dave Munkittrick Whatever you collect—rocks, porcelain, folk art or photos of your Schnauzer—it’ll get the attention it deserves when displayed on these shelves. The simple design is wide open at the front and sides so nothing interferes with what’s on display. The stepped…

Television Cabinet Hide the electronics behind ingenious double-hinged doors by Dave Munkittrick I love my new 36-in. TV but my wife hates what the glass and plastic monolith does to the look and feel of our family room. To avoid marital strife we went looking for something to house the behemoth. No luck. Sounds like…

Walnut Coffee Table Simple joinery allows time to add cool design details. By Tim Johnson I like traditional joinery, and I enjoy working with hand tools. But I also like completing a project without having it drag on because the joinery is labor intensive. This table has all the earmarks of a traditional heirloom: beautiful…

Home Theater Modular construction and a knockdown TV cabinet allow this home theater to be built even in a small shop. By Dave Munkittrick At first glance, a project of this scale may seem impossible for anyone other than a professional with all the tools and plenty of room. But take a closer look. The…

Walnut Entertainment Center A 19th-century wardrobe fills a 21st-century need   An antique wardrobe from a 19th-century German settlement in Iowa was the inspiration for this piece. Its most striking element is a radiused cove that gently curves around the corners giving it an air of stately elegance. Its structure is simple yet solid and…

When it comes to slouchy comfort, there are few chairs that answer that call better than the Morris chair. But when it’s 70 degrees, the sun is shining and you just want to get out of the house, you need a special Morris chair. An all-weather Morris chair. Say no more! This is the newly-updated…

Weave Traditional Chair Seats Traditional techniques and modern materials produce attractive, durable results. by Tim Johnson Visit any antique or second-hand furniture store and you’ll find great old chairs—such as these solid cherry ladderbacks—that are bargain priced because their woven seats have worn out. In fact, any chair with round rails or dowels used to…

Contemporary Morris Chair and Ottoman Curved and laminated arms grace a timeless design. by Laurie McKichan A good book, a warm light, and a comfortable reclining chair–what more could youask for? For a woodworker like me, it would also be the satisfaction ofmaking that chair in my shop. For inspiration, I turned to a famous…

This is a model of a set of stacking bookcases featured as the “I Can Do That” project in the June 2011 issue of Popular Woodworking Magazine. Project design, construction and SketchUp model by executive editor Robert W. Lang.

  Café Table Transform rugged Australian jarrah into a graceful outdoor table. by Tom Caspar Picture yourself at a small, round café table with a cup of coffee and a newspaper. The world goes by along a busy boulevard. People are hurrying about their business, but you’re an island of calm in a crazy world….

Those of you who’ve been reading our Editors’ Blog for more than a week or so know that I like cats (3.75 of ’em in my house). And books (thousands). So, when a Facebook friend posted this video on my “wall,” I immediately went in search of more information. This may well be the most…

This is straight from André Roubo’s “L’Art Du Menuisier” in the section on oscillating spindle sanders. True, the spindle sander shown in plate 322 is treadle-powered, and the menuisiers shown are wearing frilly shirts and tights, but other than that, it’s stone-cold André. When I make arm bows for chairs, I struggle with getting the…

I must get off my hinder and start beavering on these two Welsh stick chairs I’m making for a friend. The arm bows are bent, the seats are glued up and…that’s all I got. Until this moment, the excuse for my lethargy was that I was waiting for the arm bows to dry while they…

This is a model of a reproduction Gustav Stickley side table.

This is a model of a knock-down bookcase.

This small Shaker style table is perfect as an end table or as a nightstand.

Grand Walnut Bookcase Rich Walnut, elegant details and secret storage in a design that’s fast and straight forward to build by Randy Johnson Sometimes a new piece of furniture conjures up images from a distant time and place. This bookcase, I imagine, would fit right into an early 20th-century lawyer’s office, filled with leather-bound volumes…

I’ve been working on a coffee table build for what seems like years. Now that I’m in the closing stages, I went back to look at the first photos I took; that was in mid-October of last year. But I’m finally nearing the end of the project. The drawers are finished and fit; the top…

For years I owned pick-up trucks or SUVs so I could move wood and projects around town with ease. But I never liked their poor gas mileage. Oh who am I kidding; pickups don’t go fast enough for me, or have a decent sport suspension. Now I drive a two-door Acura RSX (yes, it’s the…

My favorite project is usually the last one I’ve finished, or the one I’m about to start. The cover project for the April 2011 issue of Popular Woodworking Magazine will likely stay a favorite for a long, long time. It’s a reproduction of a Gustav Stickley No. 369 bent arm chair. Gus knew what he…

Today we’re taking the cover photo for the June 2011 issue, stacking bookcases based on the reproductions at Monticello. Last night, these bookcases were loaded up with about half of my woodworking library. (Yup, half. That’s my kids’ inheritance.) Today we spent the morning removing many of my woodworking books and replacing them with books…

An anachronism in its time, this table now fits perfectly in our homes. By David Thiel Pages: 62-66 From the October 2005 issue #150 Buy this issue now Frank Lloyd Wright would probably be dismayed to see a coffee table built in his Prairie furniture style. In fact he and his fellow early 20th-century designers…

A small project that’s big on details. By David Thiel Pages: 36-39 From the February 2007 issue #160 Buy this issue now ?I’ve always appreciated the look of furniture designed by architects Charles and Henry Greene. Though often equated with the Arts & Crafts movement at the beginning of the 20th century, their furniture designs…

With simple lines and straightforward joinery, this project yields ample shelf space (and drawers to boot). By Megan Fitzpatrick Pages: 46-51 From the December 2009 issue #180 Buy this issue now This large case-on-case shelving unit is adapted from similar pieces I’ve seen in private libraries and in stately homes. I also dug up a…

Inspired by the agricultural tools of rural England, this massive oak table is awash in hand-worked details.
By Don Weber
Pages: 60-65

Pattern routing makes quick and easy work of these urn-shaped sides.
By Megan Fitzpatrick
Pages: 30-31

Subscribers should be receiving the December 2010 issue right now, with Senior Editor Glen D. Huey’s impressive Line & Berry Chest on the cover. My mother saw the picture in last week’s newsletter and immediately called to ask if I could build one for her. I responded, “We’ll see” – which is the same answer…

reader’s table. This Victorian side table is ideal for placement alongside a comfy chair – it has a V-shaped shelf underneath to hold a handful of your favorite books.

This morning Chuck Bender from Acanthus Workshop stopped by the office on his way to deliver a piece of furniture to a client outside Cincinnati. After the traditional 15 minutes of Glen D. Huey and Chuck exchanging pastries (it’s Chuck’s birthday) and giving each other a rash of crap, Chuck let us have a little…

Greene and Greene Furniture Details An expert woodworker talks about what really gets him excited. By Darrell Peart One of my first trips to see firsthand the furniture of Charles and Henry Greene, two early 20th century architects from Pasadena, California, was innocent enough: I took a sightseer’s tour of the house they built in…

This reproduction of an industrial workhorse will give you years of use in your living room.

Turned Post Bed By Tim Johnson Here’s how to maintain a positive attitude the next time you hear the phrase “Honey, would you please make the bed?”  Forget about the sheets and pillowcases. Head down to the workshop, glue up some timbers and make this bed! It’s a big project that’ll wear you out, but…

How to build a four-board bench that can be used almost anywhere.

Contemporary Bookcase Fresh, clean lines, simple, strong construction, and a design you can modify to fit any room. By Randy Johnson The credo of many great 20th century architects was “Form Follows Function.” And for this bookcase, it certainly does. The strong shelves are supported in a straightforward fashion by equally strong uprights. No decoration, no superfluous details,…

This handy little step stool converts into a seat so that it serves your little ones two ways.

This simple table is at home in the dining room – or outdoors.

The invention of the table is a great idea. The first person to realize that stuff could be put at their fingertips, rather than having to bend over to retrieve it, probably had a sore back and knew there had to be a better way. Also, sitting on the ground to eat was getting old,…

Arts & Crafts furniture builders offered a decent variety of pieces at the beginning of the 1900’s, but coffee tables weren’t on the list. But if Frank Lloyd Wright had given it a try, we think it might look like this.

Tapered legs lighten the look and add ‘spring’ to a table’s design. You can create tapered legs using your jig saw.

With only pre-cut lumber from the home center store and basic joinery, you can be sitting pretty in no time at all.

To make the rabbets on which the glasses of the upper doors will rest on, I’ll be using this rabbeting bit. The bearing will follow the lower shoulder of the groove while the cutters will cut the upper shoulder to form the rabbets.     Standard bits cut 3/8’’ wide by 1/2’’ deep rabbets. Since…

All the rails being cut, now let’s fine tune them.     I fine tune each tenon with this small shopmade tool that I call Poor Man Shoulder Plane. To learn more about this tool, clic here.     The expected result is a joint that dry, supports itself.     The dry assembly and the…

After making the groove on the first rail I think about adding a featherboard to keep workpieces against the rip fence to obtain consistency on the grooves and the shoulders.     Here are the completed on the four rails and the four stiles.     I’m glad about the fact that I thought of…

  This is a first sanding session of the rails and the stiles. At this step I can make it easier by clamping them. As shown, I align them with a mallet and a block of wood.     The pad prevents from any slipping and I sand using 100-grit to 150-grit sandpaper for now….

  Finally, the construction of the hutch’s glass doors. To cut long boards on a tablesaw, the panel cutter is the safest. And if it’s well made, the cut wil be very precise and square.     The blade must be raised so one full tooth will protrude from the workpiece.     I start…

Last week we offered free plans for the Skansen Bench I built for the April 2010 issue of Popular Woodworking Magazine. If you didn’t hear about this, it’s likely because you don’t subscribe to our free weekly newsletter. You can correct that oversight here. In any case, this bench was tremendous fun to build. It…

Walnut Wall Shelves Versatile go-anywhere shelves to hold books, discs, kitchenware, or anything you want! By Jon Stumbras Never enough shelf space where you want it? This little shelf is a great way to add extra storage in just about any room. It’s compact—only 22-3/4-in. wide by 31-1/4-in. tall by 9-1/4-in. deep. Yet it’s tall…

  One last molding to mill. I install this ogee bit in the router table and I align the fence barely in front of the bearing. Used in the router table, the bearing should not touch the workpiece. Since the expected life of bearings counts in hours, ideally the bearing should be temporarily removed. It…

Based on a Swedish antique, this bench uses through-tenons made with just a jigsaw.

  Now let’s mill the edges of the top shelves. I install a 3/8’’ roundover bit in the router table.     As usual, I proceed with test cuts. If you look closely on the photo you will see that I must readjust the height of the router bit to get rid of this disgracious…

I roughly cut the top shelves of the hutches.       I’m ripping strips to make the moldings to fill the underside of the top shelves. To stay on the safe side for the router table, I rip them wider than required.         I install a 1/2’’ roundover bit in the…

  To give a decorative touch, I’m installing on the router a flush trim bit which has a fine V tip.     I align the V tip with the joint between the uprights and the face frame. The bearing riding against the uprights will assure uniformity.     To prevent any tipping on the…

  To proceed gluing the face frames, I raise the casings on these shopmade I-beams. Doing so, I’ll be able to slip the clamps under the casings.     I spread a moderate amount of glue and insert the biscuits.     As shown, I proceed with one hutch at a time. The glue sets…

  Stickley Dining Chair Build accurate replicas of a classic design. By Seth Keller Having built the Mission oak dining table that recently appeared in American Woodworker (Dec/Jan 2009, issue #139), my next project was to build chairs to go with it. A friend had a vintage set that I admired, and she graciously loaned…

Stowaway Bench This bench will fit in any entryway, and store your umbrella and gloves too! By Jon Stumbras This country-style bench will cut the clutter by the door and serve as a resting spot to put on your shoes. The lid opens up to reveal a handy storage area. At only 11-in. wide by…

  I install the face frames on the upper hutches to mark for the biscuits. To do so, I use a block of wood to align the lower ends.     I’m using bar clamps to temporarily set the face frames and get a small T-square and a pencil.     At each 8-10 inches…

  The final sanding is made by hand, particularly the rounded edges, that I sand with 500 grit sandpaper.     You should feel the smoothness of the edges. This is very nice wear simulation.     It looks like I’m wearing sawdust gloves!     Finally, the face frames are completely done. Nice!  …

The tabletop on our for the I Can Do That project in our February 2010 issue, appeared a bit blasÃ?©. So to pep up the look, I thought inlay. Knowing I didn’t have the time to create, or the desire to purchase wood inlay, I turned to trompe l’oeil. Trompe l’oeil is French for “fool…

  I install this shopmade support on my workbench to raise the face frames to be cut.     I use the jigsaw with a coarse blade to cut the curves on the lower part of the face frames.     The blade stays away from the line. The router will complete the cut.  …

  All the face frame pieces being cut, I temporarely stabilize them with a clamp.     Now I clamp the pattern guide I made earlier and I draw all the decorative curves on the lower rail.     Here are the carefully located biscuit marks for the lower rail.     Hese are the…

After drawing the center line, I trace on a piece of hardboard each half from the paper pattern I made earlier.     Here is the result. Note that an optical illusion from the camera shows the bottom of the lines curved towards the inside.     I’m making the cut at the band saw…

  I am ready to rip the stiles for the two face frames. Since my boards are long, I’m using a featherboard for uniformity as well as safety. The outfeed table behind the tablesaw is essential here.     By cutting the stiles together, I’m sure they will be the same length. The other ends…

  The back panels being cut in width and the beads being machined, the next step is cutting them to length.     Because of the size of these panels, my shopmade panel cutter is the best jig to use at the tablesaw.     I start by squaring one end. Note how well this…

  While making the dry assembly, this is the best time to take measurements for the back panels. Then the back panels are cut to their final width and length.     As I did for the panel doors of the lower cabinets of the huches, I’m using a molding head cutter on my tablesaw…

Drawer Slides Nine Models for Nine Situations By Brad Holden Open the drawer of a well-made modern cabinet. How do the slides feel? They should be effortless, smooth and precise.  You have more than a dozen types of slides from which to choose. For that perfect glide, the trick is to match the situation and…

Inside Greene and Greene Furniture How teamwork between architects and woodworkers solved classic problems in furniture design. By Tom Caspar Here’s a recipe for creativity: Mix two gifted architects with two seasoned woodworkers, throw in a bunch of money and shake. The result can be a huge step forward in practical furniture design. That’s exactly…

  No mill the holes for the adjustable shelves of the uprights I chuck up a 1/4’’ spiral bit because of its plunge feature and a 5/8’’ guide bushing. Note that my jig has been designed to use such 5/8’’ guide bushing. I set the plunge depth of the router to 1/2’’ using a machined…

  The four uprights and the four fixed shelves are ready, except for the width of the shelves. I must wait until the back rabbets are done to take the exact measurement.   I will make the dadoes in the uprights of both hutches in pair, in one operation, so they will be aligned. Note…

  Here I am starting the fabrication of the upper parts of the kitchen hutches. I cut the uprights to their approximate length at the radial arm saw. It would be hazardous to cut such long pieces (8’) at the tablesaw. The radial arm saw is the ideal tool for these cuts. Of course a…

Garden Bench Graceful, comfortable and built to last by Luke Hartle It dawned on me the other day that every single project I’ve made resides in my house. Since I spend a lot of time in my back yard garden, I decided it was high time I made something to enjoy in my outdoor living space…

  This is the final step, installing decorative cove moldings under the top shelves.          A thin bead of glue is enough and will prevent glue squeeze out. I drive few pin nails to hold the moldings while the glue set.      Finally, here are the two completed hutches lower cupboards….

This coming week I’m starting to build a pair of close reproductions of the White Water Shaker Meeting House benches. Earlier this summer I measured the original bench, which is in a building near the Meeting House. When I’m done with these reproductions, we’re donating the benches to the Friends of White Water Shaker Village,…