Projects

Dress Up Your Custom Furniture With Custom Knobs Why would you ever make your own when you can buy them for less than a buck? I can think of many reasons. One is wood choice: many knobs are only [...]

An anachronism in its time, this table now fits perfectly in our homes. Frank Lloyd Wright would probably be dismayed to see a coffee table built in his Prairie furniture style. In fact he and [...]

This small rack rolls easily to anywhere you need it. There is an old saying in woodworking that you can’t have too many clamps. While this is true, it is entirely possible to have too many [...]

This classic Stickley ottoman oozes Craftsman style, but don’t let its simple form fool you—it packs in some great woodworking.  Project #2221 • Skill Level: Intermediate • Time: 4 Days • Cost: [...]

Art Nouveau meets Arts & Crafts in this oval-topped piece. Although he died in poverty, the Scottish architect Charles Rennie Mackintosh’s furniture now sells for tens of thousands of dollars [...]

Like many North American woodworkers, my shop is located in our two-car garage underneath the house. Most garages include two ceiling-mount bulb fixtures that accept a regular light bulb. While [...]

A Delaware Valley foot and a Pennsylvania ring-and-vase turning combine to develop a period-style design. Years ago, when I first began my business as a period furniture maker, a close friend and [...]

Splayed legs add stability indoors or out. I demonstrate Windsor chair-making at the Common Ground Country Fair in Unity, Maine, an event that celebrates traditional crafts of all kinds. There’s [...]

When I first started teaching the 8th-grade stool-making class, I needed to find an easy method for my students to mark the leg length accurately before trimming them to a parallel surface with [...]

Make a Sherpa of a dining table centerpiece that goes the distance. The modest Lazy Susan is a staple on circular dining tables. Everyone can reach out and activate its convenient, if sluggish, [...]

This centuries-old device is effective in use and simple to make. In my early years as a woodworker I was prejudiced against veneer – but experience has mellowed my opinion; I’ve realized [...]

This small-scale curio cabinet is the perfect size to sit on a shelf, or in a bookcase. Project #2222 • Skill Level: Intermediate • Time: 3 Days • Cost: $200 If you’re like me, you spent your [...]