When you purchase a chisel, depending on whether it is new or used, the bevel angle could either be what the maker decided was optimal for its intended usage, or a middle-of-the-road balance. Now if it is a used chisel, the angle could be just about anything, depending on the previous owner’s choices. Ultimately, once you own the chisel, […]
When I created the curved template for the legs, I actually bent a thin strip of wood around nails to get a very consistent curve that highly matched the grain of the crotch walnut. I use this technique all the time, but it can leave nail holes in the template when you cut it out! […]
In his column this month, our Down to Earth Woodworker, Steven Johnson, defines a word that many of us had never heard before: Pogonotrophy. The word “pogonotrophy” is from the Greek “pogon,” meaning beard, and in this form literally means “beard feeding.” Think of it as the science (or art) of beard growth. I’ve been […]
I am reading three books right now. The first is Larry Haun’s memoir “A Carpenter’s Life — as told by houses”, published by The Taunton Press. It covers the arc of his life through the houses he lived in and houses he built during a lifetime as a carpenter. Haun would probably come in third […]
Now that the top is cut to final dimension, I’ll set it aside and start work on the base. I’ve got some great crotch walnut for the main section of the leg. I like to keep things symmetrical and consistent for the whole table, but I also want to use the existing grain pattern where […]
The newest issue of Wood News is out and ready for you to read! We’ve got a lot of great stuff for you to read this month, starting with a very entertaining Down to Earth Woodworking column about the beards of Woodworking, where Steve Johnson manages to equate the increase of facial hair in high […]
This table design has a 2′ leaf at either end. Now that I have the whole top glued up (10.5′ long!) – it’s time to rip off the two leaves. I use my Festool TS55 and rail to correctly line up where the cut will go. I have only one shot at this – so […]