The Portable Moravian Workbench

A good workbench is worth its weight in gold, and building your own workbench is often the first right of passage for an aspiring woodworker. For workbenches, there’s also a balancing act between weight and portability, size and strength, materials and vises. While the Portable Moravian Workbench may look a little different than the English and French designs that are so popular, this design, based on an 18th-century workbench from […]

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How Wood Conditioners are Giving Washcoats a Bad Name

Over my career making and restoring furniture I’ve found washcoats helpful now and then when staining wood. A washcoat is a finish, any finish, thinned with two or more parts thinner and applied to wood under a stain to partially seal the wood so penetration of the stain is limited. The purpose is to reduce blotching in blotch-prone woods such as pine, cherry and birch. That is, in softwoods and […]

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Why I Like to Use Shellac as Our Go-to Finish in My Box Making Class

Shellac is a great finish. It dries fast and if used correctly, can build up a decent protective layer on wood very effectively. It is not resistant to water or alcoholic beverages as varnish or lacquer are, but it is very forgiving to apply. Perhaps more importantly — it keeps my students busy. This last point needs some clarification. Towards the end of the trimester, when my 9th-grade students are […]

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The Complete Guide to Building the Blacker Mirror

In the June 2018 Issue of Popular Woodworking, I wrote an article on building the Blacker Entry Mirror. While I was writing it, a funny thing happened. I got a little carried away. For those that know me, they understand that “going all the way” or “jumping into the deep end” isn’t all that unusual for me. In fact, it’s pretty much the norm for anything I do. It’s my […]

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Woodworking Overseas is a Rocky Road

This week I’m headed to Germany to teach a couple classes at Dictum in Bavaria. I don’t teach much anymore, but I make a grand exception for Dictum for several reasons. The biggest reason? The woodworkers overseas are much more hardcore than those in North America. Amateur woodworkers in the European Union (EU) have an uphill battle for the following reasons (and many more): Wood is much more difficult to […]

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Garden gate – Part 2

When I first took on this blogging gig for Popular Woodworking I was concerned about coming up with enough ideas. Megan said, “just write about what you’re working on,” aware that my work is quite diverse. A short while back, David Lyell encouraged me to broaden my scope from techniques to occasional writing about design and other stuff. So I haven’t lacked for subject matter. What I do lack, though, […]

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The Best Hardware is Cheaper than You Think

The hardware you use can make or break your project. Crappy hinges, lightweight pulls or cheesy locks have no place on a piece that you slaved over. While there are still some great hardware companies out there that sell new hardware (Horton Brasses, Ball & Ball and Whitechapel Ltd. to name a few), their range is obviously limited. That’s why you should never forget eBay.com as a source for hardware. […]

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