As 2012 comes to a close, I have begun to think about goals for next year. The ringing in of the New Year brings the opportunity to re-evaluate and reorganize with the promise of a fresh start. So, I recently reconsidered my shop setup, and how I use my tools. CLICK HERE to read about […]
I created all the joinery while my pieces were flat and square. That’s some blocky header and footer! So now it’s time to final shape the header and footer before assembly. I cut the shape on the bandsaw and then started cleaning the convex curves with my Lie-Nielsen #4 1/2 handplane. A little sanding with […]
I like to make “buttons” to attach a floating top to the base of my tables. The button slips into slots in the legs (or aprons on other tables) and then screws to the underside of the top. As long as the slot is wider than the button, these allow for the top’s movement relative […]
I’ve been in the process of building an electric guitar (a Les Paul copy), for, well, do I have to really tell you how long?? Ok, something like two years! Ok, ok, I said it. All right, let me see if I can get myself back on topic. Currently, I’ve been working to create the cavities where the […]
I’ve written a number of blog articles that include sections on sharpening, but in this article I’ll focus on one aspect that can make a huge difference in your results. Even though I’ll talk specifically about this technique for water stones, it is equally important on other sharpening media. When I first started woodworking, I didn’t have a mentor to […]
I decided to peg my mortise and tenons that attach the leg top and bottom to the main section. These joints can get a lot of stress if someone leans on the table. In reality, the M+T is plenty strong – they are big with lots of glue surface, but I always like to add […]
Last week on The Highland Woodworker blog, Chuck Brock reminisced about his beginnings as a woodworker and how he came to discover what was then known as Highland Hardware: In 1980 I was a “newbie” woodworker. My first projects were of the outdoor variety, a mailbox and a log rack. These were not exactly fine […]