Lie-Nielsen Toolworks has just received stock of my latest DVD on building a Shaker Side Table entirely by hand.
If that’s all you need to hear, go here to order it from Lie-Nielsen.
Here are more details. This is a long-form DVD – 269 minutes of video footage covering the entire range of operations necessary to build this maple table, which is a variant on a design from Thomas Moser and Christian Becksvoort.
Why is the DVD so long? Well the political answer is that we wanted to show every operation at a level of detail that is typically missing from many DVD presentations. The truth? I just didn’t shut up. When I work – at home or in front of a class – I talk nearly non-stop. I do this at home as a way to check my own work. I do it during classes to keep the poor sods from falling asleep (this happens).
Anyway, the DVD covers a lot of ground, from processing stock with handplanes to….
• Tapering legs with handplanes
• Mortise and tenon by hand
• Half-blind socket dovetails for the drawer rails
• Making drawers by hand – grooves, layout, dovetails all around
• Installing drawer runners
• Fitting drawers
• Beveling with a jack plane
• Getting a final surface finish
• Finishing with a homemade varnish and oil
This is the sort of project DVD I’ve always wanted to do, and I’m pleased that Thomas Lie-Nielsen and the crew at Lie-Nielsen Toolworks let my freak flag fly.
And yes, that is me on the cover. I got a haircut right before that photo shoot in July. Since then, I’ve gone back to seed – to the dismay of my spouse.
The DVD is $40 and is available now from Lie-Nielsen Toolworks.
— Christopher Schwarz