Cove Cuts on the Table Saw
Accurately set up for and safely make these versatile curved shapes. It was the 1970s. I was a young, lost woodworker out cruising the West Coast in search of inspiration, mentors, cool old tools [...]
Planer Blade Drawknife
My portable planer uses disposable blades. When the first set got dull, I didn’t throw them away–I turned the two blades into very useful drawknives. I wrapped duct tape around the ends of the [...]
Designing With Curves
Getting off the straight path can be liberating. I can see it with my eyes shut: a curving stretch of highway snaking past Otter Cliffs in Acadia National Park. Each twist in the road opens up a [...]
Nice Curves, No Math
Mechanical solutions for the formula-challenged woodworker. There was a time when I was fairly good at math – but that was back when “personal” and “computer” were two words you’d never expect to [...]
The Bow Box
Take your box-making and scroll saw skills to a new level. “Trompe l’oeil” is an old French phrase that literally means “it fools the eye.” Trompe l’oeil has a long tradition in the art [...]
Veneering the Curve
The ‘flat-board-first’ method enables you to veneer a curved part with any pattern you want. Boldness with balance—that’s how I see the front apron of a classic Federal card table. I love the way [...]
Curve Appeal
This stool builds your skills with eight different joints and bent laminations. Competition is the whetstone of talent; this was in full effect when I built this Wharton Esherick-inspired stool [...]
Sterling Tool Works Stainless Steel French Curves
Tool: Stainless Steel Roubo Curves Manufacturer: Sterling Tool Works MSRP: $90 I like using French curves for laying out hyperbolas, ellipses and parabolas when designing furniture details. These [...]
Floating Table
This handsome piece is simple to build and easily adapted to fit your stock. A friend asked me to design and build a table using a special piece of walnut. I was given approximate measurements, [...]
Secrets of the Cyma Curve
Invisible lines and circles explain the beauty of a series of fair curves. I can still remember Holloway’s farmhouse. Even in summer when the fireplace was cold, the smell of wood smoke lingered [...]
An Easy Way to Draw Any Ellipse
On my most recent project I needed an elliptical arc. Although my arc conforms to the Golden Ratio (1:1.62), the method I use works for an ellipse of any proportion. Determine the overall size of [...]
Adding Curves to Your Toolkit
A lot of woodworkers shy away from curves. There’s plenty of reasons for this. For starters, some of the common power tools are built for rectangular construction, a table saw is a good example. [...]
