My blog at Popular Woodworking- Post & Rung & Jennie AlexanderFor the next five days I’m in Maryland with four other friends to build a Jennie Alexander chair from Larry Barrett, a student and long-time friend of Alexander. Larry makes a chair that is 90 percent similar to Jennie’s iconic chair from her book “Make a Chair From a Tree.” Some of the details of Larry’s chair are a little different than Jennie’s – especial […]
- Diagonal Wedges: The How & WhyWhen wedging through-tenons, I prefer to orient the wedge diagonally across the tenon. This is a somewhat atypical way to work, so an explanation is in order. A diagonal wedge has the advantage of closing up any gaps on all four edges of a rectangular mortise. That’s because it pushes the tenon against all four walls of the mortise. The more typical wedge, o […]
- Fit Irregular (Impossible!) Shapes with ‘Ticking Sticks’The trick to fitting wooden pieces into impossible recesses is to learn about “ticking sticks.” These simple sticks – plus a sheet of paper – can make monstrous tasks into a easy job. Here’s how they work. “Ticking sticks” go by many names in the historical record, but they are the best technology for cutting a piece of wood to fit an odd opening. All you ne […]
- Install a Grippy Liner on Your Bench ViseI’m a huge fan of installing a grippy liner on your bench vise. Wood faces grip your work OK. Add the right liner and the grip will become fantastic. Here are some details on choosing and installing a liner. What’s a Good Liner? Most people prefer leather, cork, felt or a rubber such as Crubber. Each has advantages and disadvantages. Peel-and-stick cork is f […]
- Post & Rung & Jennie Alexander
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Author Archives: meghanlostartpress
Wedging Mortise and Tenon Joints
This is an excerpt from “The Woodworker: The Charles H. Hayward Years: Volume III” published by Lost Art Press. “We’ll glue those wedges and tenons!” How often is this explanation heard when gluing up framed work. A usual response being to dip the … Continue reading
Tools Appropriate for Finishing Mouldings
This is an excerpt from “With all the Precision Possible: Roubo on Furniture” by André-Jacob Roubo; translation by Donald C. Williams, Michele Pietryka-Pagán & Philippe Lafargue. Once the mouldings are cut, you finish them, that is to say, you shape them on … Continue reading
Posted in With All the Precision Possible
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How to Cut Wide Tenons
This is an excerpt from “The Woodworker: The Charles H. Hayward Years: Volume III” published by Lost Art Press. A reader has been making a piece of work which has involved the use of a tenoned rail some 12 ins. wide, … Continue reading
Block Planes
This is an excerpt from “The Anarchist’s Tool Chest” by Christopher Schwarz. You can build furniture without a block plane. But why should you? The block plane is one of the greatest hand-tool inventions of the Industrial Revolution, in my opinion. With … Continue reading
Posted in The Anarchist's Tool Chest
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Carpenter’s Tools of the 17th Century
This is an excerpt from “The Woodworker: The Charles H. Hayward Years: Volume I” published by Lost Art Press. One sometimes gets in an indirect sort of way, a remarkable light on the things that people used to make and use. A man may explore all … Continue reading
Creating Evenly Spaced Intervals with Dividers or a Sector
This is an excerpt from “By Hound and Eye” by Geo. R. Walker and Jim Tolpin; illustrated by Andrea Love. Now let’s move past bisection and divide a line into a bunch of evenly spaced intervals. This process is useful … Continue reading
Posted in By Hound and Eye
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Pépé Clothaire’s Tool Chest
This is an excerpt from “Grandpa’s Workshop” by Maurice Pommier. The darkest corner of Pépère’s shop both fascinates and frightens me. It is full of spiderwebs and dust. It is there that Pépère keeps the tools he doesn’t use anymore. … Continue reading
Posted in Grandpa's Workshop
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