#264-Nov/Dec 2017
-
Designer's Notebook: John Reed Fox - Design, slowed down
A kitchen tansu seen in Japan inspired Fox to combine sliding doors and drawers in his tall dresser. The design process starts with a sketch, then evolves to a full-scale mockup and eventually the dresser itself.
-
Round Bistro Table
Instead of bent lamination for the curved aprons, try the centuries-old method of making a brick-laid, circular core and veneering it.
-
Dovetail Saws: The Cream of the Crop
Great dovetail saws are easier to find these days than they used to be, but sometimes that makes a buyer’s choice harder. We pick seven of the best and explain what sets them apart, from ease of start to tracking, ergonomics, and speed.
-
Four Handmade Gift Ideas
Four ideas for handmade gifts that will please your friends and family and use up the scraps lying around your shop: a versatile flatware carrier, a two-piece desk set with tray and pencil holder, a tea light holder, and a hanging mirror.
-
Easy Technique for Gluing Thin Panels
Low-profile clamps and blue tape combine to eliminate buckling during the glue-up.
-
Elegant Bookcase, Top to Bottom
A profiled top and splayed base add style to this piece, and the aprons and feet pack a lot of curves into a small space.
-
How to Build a Perfect Picture Frame
The key to success is mastering the splined miter.
-
Iridescent String Inlay
ZipFlex, a laminated shell material brings sparkle to your work
-
How to make your own chisel for delicate detail work
Even the smallest chisel you can buy is sometimes too big for inlay and stringing, so make your own, using jeweler’s files for the blades.
-
How to Add Glass and Art to a Picture Frame
What you need—and need to know—once you’ve built the picture frame.
Articles
-
Two simple jigs add up to perfect dovetail cuts
I have been using these two jigs for hand-cut dovetails. Because it’s so easy to saw past the baseline when cutting tails and pins, I made a simple stop from…
-
Lamp arm positions vacuum hose perfectly
I enjoy wood turning, and have always cleaned up the piles of chips with my trusty shop vacuum. But sanding on the lathe is troublesome, as a large volume of…
-
Use a PVC cutting mat for better glue-ups
While gluing up mortise-and-tenoned legs and rails for a side table, I realized my self-healing cutting mat had an accurate grid printed on it, which I could use for alignment.…
-
Jet-Black Filler Looks Like a Natural Pitch Pocket
Powdered charcoal mixed with epoxy makes a fine filler for knot holes and other voids.
Workshop Tips
-
Veritas combination plane
Tool review: The combination plane done right
-
Compressor by California Air Tools
Compressor whispers rather than roars
-
Box-joint jig by Woodhaven
A jig for big box joints
Tools & Materials
-
First Look: Veritas Combination Plane
Slated for a August 2017 release, the Veritas combination plane is their take on the Stanley 45. We just got one in the office for testing, so we thought we'd show it off and have some fun.
-
Taming Tough Grain with a Bevel-Up Plane
See how Bob Van Dyke uses a 45º blade in his low-angle bevel-up planes to tame highly figured wood and to break hard edges without worrying about grain direction.
-
Chris Becksvoort, the dovetail master at work
Just another dovetail video? Not really, when you can watch Christian Becksvoort dovetail a drawer packed into a 7-minute edit
