If you know what a sharp tool is and you have basic hand-eye coordination, then you have the skills to do basic leatherwork, such as the seat and strap for this folding campaign stool. This weekend I built a couple of campaign stools – one in mahogany and one in teak. I can’t show you …
The following is excerpted from “The Art of Joinery,” by Joseph Moxon. It includes lightly edited text of Moxon’s landmark work on joinery, as well as commentary on every one of Moxon’s sections on tools and techniques by Christopher Schwarz. S. 26. The use of the saw in general.In my former Exercises, I did not …
I can’t bring myself to write a post about completing a job and welcoming our clients home without expressing heartfelt sympathy to all those who have lost their homes, and more, over the past few days to fire or financial devastation. Making things – whether furniture, books or buildings – is a source of joy. …
A top with a scrubbed finish at the Cheltenham museum. Editor’s note: Search around for information on how to achieve a “scrubbed finish” and you will encounter a comedy of chemistry. People try to achieve this with all manner of stains and caustic chemicals. A real scrubbed finish is simply bare wood that has been …
Editor’s note: We get it. It’s easy to feel the need to overstate the obvious when you’re trying to make a sale. However, a three-legged chair with no wobble is like marketing cold ice cream. You don’t really expect it to burn your tongue. That said, we’re not here to judge. We just like to …
Chair Chat No. 18 with Rudy and Klaus: NO WOBBLE! – Read More »
Plane up your panels before dovetailing. Note: This article is part of an ongoing series about the details of tool chest construction. When building a tool chest, it’s tempting to get to the dovetailing as soon as possible. However, the work you do before the dovetailing is more important in the long run. (Even crappy …
Before the Dovetails – Stock Prep for a Tool Chest – Read More »
Sometimes a customer asks us to recommend a good place to begin when buying our books. It’s a question we take seriously. Our books are not cheap, they take time to read and each represents years (sometimes decades) of work to get to press. So recommending one of our 33 books is a bit like …
Breast augers, Swedish, dated 1770-1850, from Robert Young Antiques. In his introduction to “Woodworking in Estonia” Mr. Peter Follansbee captured the spirit of this book when he wrote, “The products featured in the book are everyday items found in country households, combining utility and beauty in ways that speak volumes. This book shows us a …
A highly skilled woodworker, teacher, draughtsman and writer has said the following about me on several occasions, according to his students. “You shouldn’t listen to Schwarz. He’s never been a professional woodworker.” He’s 100-percent correct, of course. I spent one summer building entryway doors for Therma-Tru. A second summer I built folding particleboard tables. And …
Jennie Alexander requested that I show a photo of her bench hook (aka planing stop) that is made with a bit of saw steel. If you look close you can see the mortise she cut in front of the wooden pillar to prevent someone getting bit by the “toothy critter.” Earlier this year I visited …