In a search for wide boards, it pays to buy whole logs. Visitors to my shop often ask where I buy the wide, matched cherry and walnut boards I use for reproducing classic American furniture. [...]
Whether a hobby or a small business, it’s a woodworker’s dream job. As a craftsman, I’ve always enjoyed building stuff. But the pivotal point that led me into woodworking [...]
Arm yourself with a good plan (or two) and your buying trip will be a success. I have a 10″-wide piece of 8/4 purpleheart sitting on my lumber rack. I bought it eight years ago when I [...]
Sponsored by Wagner Meters Do you know the reasons why a woodworker should use a moisture meter? If you’re not convinced moisture measurement is important, you will be by the end. If you’re a [...]
What makes this wood so special? Fungus. If there’s one wood that can really challenge your sense of design—and your woodworking skills—it’s spalted maple. Those inky black lines can both delight [...]
Mark the End Grain When you’re jointing, mark each board’s grain direction by drawing a line on its end. The line means “Start here.” A mark on a board’s face or [...]
Slab, or live-edge furniture is all the rage, and I like it! If you think wood is one of the most amazing things ever created, then how can you not like a piece of furniture that retains so much [...]
The last episode of our Milling Your Own Lumber series went live yesterday. In this seventh installment, Dan Cassens discusses how to calculate board feet, a high-level overview of grading [...]
Sponsored by Wood-Mizer. Finding affordable lumber has always been a mainstay for woodworkers, and when you tie our dwindling natural resources into the conversation the time is right to look at [...]
by Nick Engler Wood is a cantankerous substance; there’s no two ways about it. Its virtues, of course, are legendary. It’s attractive, abundant and easy to work. Pound for pound, it’s stronger [...]