Here’s a short movie that shows how to cut 5/8″ tenons with a deburring tool and a plug cutter. The tooling costs as little as $20 total. While this method is slower than using a dedicated tenon cutter, it is much easier to center the t…
Read moreIf you use a tenon cutter on the sticks (or spindles) of a chair, it can be a challenge to cut the tenon so it is perfectly centered on the stick and inline with the axis of the stick. This can be a problem no matter how you drive the tenon cutter – with a…
Read moreWhen I teach chairmaking, many students are hesitant to cut the underbevel on the band saw. It’s a straightforward and safe operation. The only trick is learning how to steer the seat. This short video shows how I go about it. Your first underbevel might look a little rough, but by the third one you’ll…
Read moreNo matter how many words I write about reaming holes, my message doesn’t seem to get through. People ream for way too long, which burnishes the hole and cooks the reamer. So I made this short video that shows how I ream holes and correct ones that are off. I hope this video helps any…
Read moreWhen chairmaker Chris Williams became concerned about brash wood, he devised a test to detect it. Put the stick up on blocks and whack it with a mallet. Brash wood, which is very brittle, will usually snap in two. I took Chris’s idea and expanded it. I now use “The Sledgehammer Test” to select wood…
Read more