As with physical workouts, it is helpful to do some warm-up exercises for woodworking – especially if one has not been in the shop for awhile. I would never start a hand-cut dovetail without first doing some practice sawing to a straight line and even making at least one practice dovetail before starting the real work. Similarly, cutting boards can […]
Woodworking is a joy for me and I always feel more whole when I’m working on a project. But I’m the type of person who likes to work on one thing at a time, otherwise I tend to make those stupid little mistakes that most woodworkers know all too well. I’m in the process of making a piece of furniture, […]
Warning: this post will only make sense to those who have, for one reason or another, attempted to cut dovetails by hand! It might not be much to look at, but I have finally achieved something that has long alluded me. The perfect hand-cut dovetail. I have cut dovetails by hand before but they were awful; imperfect fit with gaps […]
Following our cross-country relocation from CT to WY, one of my priorities was to re-establish my woodworking shop. This is the third time I’ve relocated and re-established my shop since I started woodworking back in the early 1990’s. The first two were in basements and I’ve always wanted an above-ground shop; I finally have one now albeit in a one-car […]
This reproduction step stool is one of my favorite projects to make. It not only looks great with its classic design that fits into just about any home decor, but it’s also incredibly functional. There are two steps for extended reach in the space of a single-step stool and storage is facilitated through the integrated sliding step. There’s also a built-in […]
Over the summer I started experimenting with wood “sculpting” using a bandsaw, i.e., a finished piece with curves in two or more planes. It’s probably better to term this as shaping rather than sculpting as the latter is generally understood to pertain more to wood carving. Nonetheless, sculpting/shaping wood in multiple dimensions is something I’ve always wanted to try. The […]
Wood cutting boards can be put together in one of three ways: face-grain, edge-grain, and end-grain orientations. These terms all refer to the grain orientation relative to the cutting surface. Face-grain boards are made up of flat-sawn or plain-sawn lumber. You can identify this cut by looking at the board’s end grain; the growth rings run essentially parallel to […]
A simple wood cutting board really is a thing of beauty. It’s one of the most basic woodworking pieces, yet provides great satisfaction for both the maker and the user. Because of the simplicity in construction, a woodworker is able to experiment with design and experience results in relatively short order. For the gourmet, a wood cutting board not only […]
Here are a few pictures of my basement workshop.