A few weeks ago I talked about the shop-built cross-cutting square that helps me achieve quality right angle cuts on solid lumber. This week I am going to show how I am using a few inexpensive jigs that assist me when I am dealing with sheet goods.  The Platform My technique is predicated on a…

Develop a delicate touch by creating graceful shapes. As an alternative to mass-produced items, Christmas ornaments rank high on the list. They easily become treasured keepsakes and the delicate spindle work and hollow turning involved will certainly test your skills. Each ornament contains three parts. I suggest making the long “icicle” spindle first, then the…

Hone Your Skills Making Functional Storage PROJECT #2102 • Skill Level: Advanced • Time: 1 day • Cost: $50 It’s rare that I afford myself the opportunity to spend time and experiment at the lathe. Much of this could be attributed to the fact that turning (to me) has always had the perception of being…

When it comes to the history of woodworking, period furniture styles, and woodworking techniques, most woodworkers think about William and Mary, Queen Anne, Federal, Chippendale, and so on. It is arguable, however, that furniture as we know it would not be the same without Chinese furniture, and that studying Chinese furniture leads to lessons about…

This simple seat is ideal for a hallway or porch. This project is inspired by a period choir bench in my mom’s dining room – but I modernized the Gothic revival design of the original with sweeping curves on the arms (instead of shelter arms), and left out the moulding and cutouts. Panel Glueup This…

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,…

Creative thinking and dirt-simple jigs make the joinery a straightforward task. Full-Size Plan:  Download I tend to think of Chippendale chairs as highly ornate. But there are startlingly simple examples of the style as well. After encountering some of the simpler versions of these chairs, I became fascinated. I love the interplay of curves and angles,…

The planters and bench are separate parts—arrange them as you wish. Smell the flowers. Touch the leaves. It’s easy to enjoy plants when they’re placed at a convenient height—and easier still when you can sit right next to them. Sitting on a planter bench brings nature close to hand.    While you can make this…

Steve Shanesy builds an improved Adirondack chair with Norm Abram in The New Yankee Workshop. Build the chair and learn how Abram works. Editor’s note: This article originally appeared in the August 2005 issue of Popular Woodworking  I’ve become keenly aware throughout the years that patience allows time for opportunities to come along that might…

After receiving and unwrapping the bench (read part 1 of the story here) I had to decide whether to finish it or leave it smooth and raw. Benchcrafted provides a very good reference sheet filled with info about the bench’s initiation process. In it, they mention that while the user can finish the base with…

Although I did not grow up in the United States (I came here in my 30s), the American holiday of Thanksgiving was not totally foreign to me. The notion that once a year we collectively reflect on the things that we have accomplished, the people who have helped us, the family members who were kind…

Tradition meets technology when we marry an 18th-century workbench design with modern laminated veneer lumber. Editor’s note: This article originally appeared in the November 2009 issue of Popular Woodworking. A follow-up post from 2014 should address any questions on how the workbench wore with age. When it comes to workbench designs, I think it is…

Build a modern workbench using digital woodworking tools The Maker Workstation Overview • Building The Top • Building The Base •  Furniture & Accessories • CNC Instructions If you’re a CNC user who would like to build a Maker Workstation, this article is for you. Since CNCs come in a wide range of sizes, capabilities,…

Transform your workbench with custom-fit workholding – without any fuss. For many woodworkers, especially those of the Galoot persuasion, a workbench with a tail vise of some sort is a fundamental necessity. These vises are integral to most European-style benches, and there are now extraordinary aftermarket options, some of which I own. But what are…

Accessories = Versatility The Maker Workstation Overview • Building The Top • Building The Base • Furniture & Accessories • CNC Instructions A key feature of the Maker Workstation is versatility. What makes it work is the precision grid system that’s the foundation for all that happens on the surface, sides, and base of the…

Effective control for a notorious sawdust creator In addition to being versatile, accurate and virtually indispensable, my sliding miter saw also excels at spewing sawdust and resisting effective dust collection. I tried connecting a shop vacuum, but even when I remembered to turn it on, the vacuum only collected about half of the dust. I…

As it often happens with my ideas, the moment I start thinking about some type of innovation or another I gravitate to my sketchbook and try to evolve it on paper until I feel certain it has ripened enough and is ready to be built. But sometimes, at least with me, I have to force…

Simple joinery creates a compact cabinet with full-size storage.    When I spied an old machinist’s chest loaded with narrow drawers in my neighbor’s garage, I knew my small tools were finally going to have a permanent home. My version isn’t nearly as grand, but it’s just as useful, and it only took a couple…

As I mentioned last week, a common way to flatten a board that is too wide for your jointer is to build a planing sled and then pass the board & sled through the planer. Via incremental milling, the uneven top surface of the board will be flattened, and then you can flip the board…

If you don’t own a big European style table saw or a large miter saw, and need to crosscut wide lumber at 90 degrees you will probably like my newly-built CCS (Cross-Cutting Square). This jig is easy to build and use. You can clamp it to your lumber or hold it down tightly with one…

Forget plastic or metal pans – a wooden one looks nicer and works better. Some time during the last 25 years of prowling around workshops, museums and antique stores, I spotted a wooden dustpan. The encounter made me slap my forehead – why do I have a plastic pan when I could build a wooden…

This simple rack uses no nails, no screws and holds up to 15 pairs of shoes.

Add artful accents to a play table. Project #1914 • Skill Level: Beginner • Time: 1 Day • Cost: $150 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…

Add GFRC to your furniture-making arsenal. 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 a piece of furniture that had that aircraft feel. This concrete and walnut “wing” table is the result. Before I…