1. Your house will smell like Pier 1 2. Because of teak’s waxiness, your machines will be able to take only about one-fourth of their usual cut. Teak bogs everything...
This week I’m in England doing research for my next book, “Campaign Furniture,” and spent today geeking out with Sean and Simon Clarke of Christopher Clarke Antiques – the world’s...
Whether you know it or not, you’ve probably seen a Roorkhee chair (or its children) at some point in your life. The Roorkhee chair was supposedly invented at the end...
With this class in building Roorkhee chairs, I bit off way less than I could chew. After the second day, we just have to finish up a couple details on...
Most classes I teach end up being a “dovetail death march” (in a good way). There is a lot of traditional joinery, late nights, sore feet and little hope of...
Woodworkers are shy people – especially at the beginning of their journey. They make parts or assemblies oversized and then plane, sand or rasp them to fit. On one hand,...
Roorkhee chairs are tough and lightweight – they have to be in order go to war or on safari. To make your chairs as durable and lightweight as possible, here...
Building a Roorkhee chair is one thing. Assembling it without looking like a lowly private is quite another. In the October 2012 issue of Popular Woodworking Magazine, I showed you...
My mailbox has been deluged with questions about the Roorkhee chairs that will be featured in a fall issue of Popular Woodworking Magazine. The No. 1 question: What does a...
When you build furniture that hasn’t been popular for a century, the hardware can be difficult to find. The Roorkhee chairs I’m building for a fall issue of Popular Woodworking...
Campaign-style furniture goes by many names, such as “military furniture” and “traveling furniture.” But its most curious name is “patent furniture.” It gets [...]