Fig 2.13. Butternut (Juglans cineria) 60′-80′ (18-24 m) tall The following is excerpted from “With the Grain,” by Christian Becksvoort. It is, above all, succinct, easy to understand and perfectly suited for the furniture-maker. As important as what is in its 160 pages is what is not. It’s not a detailed analysis of cell growth. …
If the corners of a handplane’s cutter are not supposed to cut wood, then I remove them. OK, let me put that a different way. Some handplanes are supposed to cut into corners: rabbet planes, shoulder planes, moulding planes and router planes (to name a few). So these planes need cutters with sharp corners so …
Many time you publish a project or article in a magazine and then brace yourself for the outpouring of interest or controversy. But what you get is the sound of bored crickets. Other times you write something that you think that no one could like. Something that has complex angles, ugly wood and is painted. …
Robert Wearing’s “The Essential Woodworker” was the second Lost Art Press book, and it was a lesson for us in how badly publishers treat authors. First, let me say that Wearing’s book is one of the most important books on out there on hand-tool woodworking (read about my first encounter with it here). The original …
We use a lot of finishes in our workshop, from soap to shellac, but the one we recommend for beginning finishers is one we mix up ourselves. It’s what Bob Flexner would label an oil/varnish blend. We just call it our shop finish. During the last 20 years, I have developed some preferences as to …
The surface patterns of the raw wood can overwhelm the subtleties of the forms. This is an excerpt from “Chairmaker’s Notebook” written and illustrated by Peter Galbert. Paint has come a long way from the toxic lead paints of the original Windsors to the stringy enamels of the 20th century. I paint my chairs with milk paint, …
You can now order and read a French translation of “The Anarchist’s Tool Chest” from the publisher Editions du Vieux Chene. The hardbound book is 52€ and is currently in stock and shipping. In addition to translating the book to French, the publishers have made some manufacturing upgrades to the title. The Lost Art Press …
‘The Anarchist’s Tool Chest’ Now Available in French – Read More »
Too much. A table leg from “The Cabinet Maker’s Assistant: Original Designs for Furniture” (Blackie & Son, 1867). We came in through the basement door of George Reid’s tidy ranch-style house. Like most basement workshops, George’s was a dark cave. As I put down my photography gear, my eyes adjusted to the dimness and I …
We get a fair number of complaints about the price of the Crucible Card Scraper. (Not from blog readers; y’all are nice.) Why does a piece of steel cost $23? So we prepared this video to explain the steps that go into making it. And explain why we think $23 is a fair price for …
(Jonathan Fisher’s) notebooks are also full of artistic flourishes. For Fisher, mathematics was more than raw numbers – it explained the beauty of the world around him. – JONATHAN FISHER MEMORIAL. This is an excerpt from “Hands Employed Aright: The Furniture Making of Jonathan Fisher (1768-1847)” by Joshua A. Klein. Fisher’s biographers have dealt extensively …