Standing Desk Build on Deck

Clearly, Jim Tolpin has let a lot of folks know that he’s writing about his standing desk (perhaps you’ve seen it on his Instagram feed?) for an upcoming issue of Popular Woodworking Magazine. I know this, because a lot of folks have emailed to ask when it will appear.

The answer is: In the February 2016 issue, and it’s the cover article (as shown in our cover template at left…the final cover will likely look a little different, and have proper coverlines…).

With Jim’s article, we’re departed from our usual style just a little bit – we’re using his (gorgeous) hand-drawn illustrations in the magazine instead of modelling the project in SketchUp then exporting an elevation, profile, etc. to Illustrator to create the magazine illustrations. That computer-generated regularity (that we typically employ) just doesn’t make sense in the context of what Jim is writing about. Yes, he writes about building the desk (using had tools) – but the first part of the article is about sizing the piece to fit your body, and using a story stick rather than measurements. In other words, don’t build to the cutlist* even though we’re including one**; your sizes may vary.

The issue mails to subscribers on December 18, and will be on newsstands in early January. (Act now to give a gift-subscription that will include this issue.)

— Megan Fitzpatrick

* Never build to the cutlist, actually. To my mind, a cutlist is best used (if at all) as a general guide. That is, you’ll need X number of this piece, and Y number of that piece, and they are approximately Z size. So overall, you’ll need approximately thismuch wood.

** There’s only so many rules one can break in each article, after all.

For more from Jim Tolpin on using hand tools, read his book “The New Traditional Woodworker.” For more from Jim on furniture design, check out “By Hand & Eye,” and “By Hound & Eye” (Lost Art Press) co-written with our Design Matters columnist George Walker.