Projects

It starts out the size of a smartphone and opens to make your reading (or cooking) easier. How-to books, cookbooks and sheet music are inconvenient to use while you’re in the workshop, kitchen or [...]

Great-looking wood and bright-colored felt lining reel in my customers. I’m hooked on making jewelry boxes–for sale. I’m retired, so I don’t live on the income, but making dozens of boxes keeps [...]

How to build a strong bookcase without a back. When I’m designing furniture, I often turn to the Arts and Crafts era for inspiration. I love this style. It’s simple, but elegant. When a client [...]

Effective control for a notorious sawdust creator In addition to being versatile, accurate and virtually indispensable, my sliding miter saw also excels at spewing sawdust and resisting effective [...]

A few weeks ago I talked about the shop-built cross-cutting square that helps me achieve quality right angle cuts on solid lumber. This week I am going to show how I am using a few inexpensive [...]

Develop a delicate touch by creating graceful shapes. As an alternative to mass-produced items, Christmas ornaments rank high on the list. They easily become treasured keepsakes and the delicate [...]

Hone Your Skills Making Functional Storage PROJECT #2102 • Skill Level: Advanced • Time: 1 day • Cost: $50 It’s rare that I afford myself the opportunity to spend time and experiment at the [...]

Simple joinery creates a compact cabinet with full-size storage.    When I spied an old machinist’s chest loaded with narrow drawers in my neighbor’s garage, I knew my small tools were finally [...]

An elegant exercise in bent lamination and joinery. When I started taking woodworking classes, I needed a convenient way to carry my tools. After looking for just the right toolbox, I decided to [...]

My son Oliver has been fascinated by my woodworking projects for years now, but has always been resistant to the idea of building anything of his own. I decided to take advantage of his love of [...]

Two classic joints build a beautiful utility piece PROJECT #2103 • Skill Level: Advanced • Time: 1 week • Cost: $200 As we’ve settled into our fully working from home routine, one thing has [...]

Learn the tricks to making sturdy furniture that folds flat. For those with mechanical minds, building furniture that folds into small spaces is great fun. Not only does the piece have to look [...]