Archives

In 1776, Thomas Jefferson commissioned Benjamin Randolph, a Philadelphia cabinetmaker, to build a compact lap desk to serve as a portable office. This small mahogany box, now prominently [...]

The bandsaw has always been the prima donna machine in my shop. It requires so much time and attention to make it work right; changing blades, adjusting tension and repositioning guides. It was [...]

Scrollwork and a tombstone panel door add a stylish challenge. A 7′-tall corner cabinet is impressive, but can be a daunting project for someone with little shop time. Traditional corner [...]

Custom-fit your tools to your hand. One of the best uses for a lathe is making tool handles. Most production tool handles leave something to be desired. The good news is that the handle is the [...]

Ask ten woodworkers how to build kitchen cabinets and you’ll get eleven answers. So where do you start? At the New England School of Architectural Woodworking (NESAW), we’ve consolidated industry [...]

Expand your casework repertoire with a curvaceous front. One of the most interesting aspects of a serpentine chest, with its front concave at the ends and convex in the center, is how the wood [...]

This sawhorse/workbench combo is made using dimensional pine construction lumber from a home center. It’s rugged and inexpensive, with no complicated joinery – just butt joints, glue and [...]

Cutting dovetails by hand is supposed to be an orderly, precise process. But when you’re in the thick of it, it’s all too easy to end up with a bench littered with stray tools and [...]

Whether displaying everyday china or an heirloom collection, this handsome rack does the job with Arts and Crafts style. Like original pieces of that era, this rack features mortise-and-tenon [...]

Steam-bending or bent laminations can be used to make this eye-catching design. The design of this table is part of a series that I revisit from time to time. The original concept for the series [...]

Campaign-style furniture is as sturdy and simple as Shaker. It is as masculine as Arts & Crafts. And it is free of adornment, like Bauhaus pieces. Yet many woodworkers are unaware of this [...]

This North Carolina beauty exemplifies the style of the early South. I don’t consider myself a furniture snob, but until recently, I’d not studied furniture from the South beyond pieces featured [...]