Nearly all vernacular chairs use straight (not tapered) cylindrical tenons throughout. Before I owned a tapered tenon cutter and reamer, I used a 1”-diameter auger to make the mortise in the seat, and I shaved the tenons on the legs to size with planes. This requires great care. You can greatly speed the process by…
Read moreI haven’t built a four-stick chair for a long time. Not because I don’t like the form, but because I have been focused on chairs from “The Stick Chair Book.” But as I sorted through the load of beautiful bog oak I got from fellow woodworker Andy Brownell, I realized something. I could squeeze two…
Read moreRunning an active workshop and publishing company in an inner city has its challenges, especially when it comes to moving stuff from Point Lumberyard to Point Workbench to Point Truck Terminal. Every week Megan and I move stuff – 500 woobies, 500 board feet of cherry, 500 lump hammers – to keep the business going….
Read moreYes, it’s weird that I have put so much effort into making a custom rag. Yes, you could take an old gym sock or T-shirt, soak it in oil and get a similar result. But also yes: I would buy this custom rag if I didn’t already own one. The Crucible Microfiber Super Woobie is…
Read moreWhen I began teaching woodworking in the early 2000s, I channeled my favorite Russian literature professor. It was a huge mistake. When teaching students to saw, I barfed out everything about the topic I could muster – the historical and sociological context, the changes in tools and saw-tooth filing over the centuries, the different perspectives…
Read more