Tabla de contenidos para October 2020 en Woodworker's Journal

While it is very true that woodworking is a generic term covering a huge range of activities, it is unified in one aspect: wood. Folks who are not woodworkers are unlikely to appreciate the amazing characteristics of our favorite medium … from balsa to lignum vitae. And certainly those outside of our community will never know the swell of joy we feel as a truly unique piece of stock exits the planer and reveals its inner beauty. But often that presupposes we have a source of lumber to buy from. And in recent weeks I have learned that many of our cadre are having a bit of a challenge finding good quality hardwood. Some of that problem may be geographic. If you live in the middle of a desert in…

Multi-species Rolling Workbench Here’s a heavy-duty workbench I’ve built from leftover maple flooring, oak plywood, a solid oak face frame and walnut that I cut down over a decade ago. It features a pair of vises and storage drawers underneath. I used Rockler’s foot-activated Workbench Casters (item 43501) to make the bench easier to lift and roll around my shop. Dale BartelBrainerd, Minnesota Rotating Fruit Tray Recently I made this five-compartment fruit tray for our kitchen island. It rotates on a lazy Susan base. The center hanger is for bananas, and I made it removable so the compartment underneath can be used for other storage, too. The project is made of cherry and poplar finished with lacquer. I had a tough time finding a piece of hardware for the banana…

Bowl design is an article I have always wanted to write but never quite had the courage — until now. In part, that’s because the form a vessel takes is a subject of much debate: “To each his own, said the old lady as she kissed her cow.” On top of this, popular taste is constantly changing; a design that is all the rage today can be passé next year. All this being said, great design ends up in museums while ugly work fails to sell at a tag sale and is left by the road. Every bowl is certainly not a masterpiece. My purpose here is not to try to convince you that any given design is what you should adopt but to talk about general shapes and styles…

Sitting down, and what we sit on, is kind of a big thing. We all do it every day in a multitude of settings and for a wide range of reasons. Some of my most pleasant times have been sitting under a tree or on a grassy hillside with nothing more separating my behind from the earth than a layer of denim. Not surprisingly, like many guys my age and in similar circumstances, I have “my chair” in my home. It is where you will find me regularly reading a book, scanning the Internet or simply caught up in deep thoughts. (What if the hokey pokey is really what it’s all about?) But chairs, benches and other sorts of seating are more than just utilitarian. Over time, they have come…

Whether you love or loathe the finishing process, it’s a necessary and unavoidable woodworking step. Here’s how you do it. Which of the following finishing products do you prefer as a top coat for a hardwood project? Oil-based polyurethane 32.73% Water-based polyurethane 28.95% Shellac 5.11% Danish oil 11.19% Varnish 1.95% Lacquer 8.76% Tung oil 5.84% I don’t apply clear finish 1.34% Other 4.14% How often do you use stain or dye to change the color of your woodworking projects? Nearly every project 18.17% Only some projects 49% Rarely 26.49% Never 5.71% Which of these coloring products do you prefer? Oil-based pigment stain 53.18% Water-based pigment stain 23.11% Dye 13.33% Paint 3.3% None of the above 7.09% When applying a clear top coat, would you likely sand the wood: Extra smooth,…

Toy Jacks Make Good Finishing Stands When we bought a bunch of unfinished furniture for our new house, I used toy metal jacks to elevate each piece off of my work surface for finishing. These jacks have rounded ends that won’t penetrate the wood, and their tiny tips don’t pick up much paint or other finish. They also allow you to finish both sides of your project without waiting for one surface to dry first. There are more expensive alternatives to prop projects up, but toy jacks worked great for me. Lawrence SouthwickVan Buren Point, New York Small Parts Hold-down for Miter Saws It’s dangerous to hand-hold short workpieces when crosscutting them at a miter saw. My solution was to glue a thin, flexible strip of scrap to another smaller…

Although it’s my original design, the inspiration for this ginkgo leaf table draws heavily from Japanese influence. Tapered elements that are wider at the base, and rafter-like members that project through legs and posts, are common in Japanese designs — in both furniture and architecture. Other elements of the table, such as the solid panels with leaf cutouts, are reminiscent of Dutch designs dating back hundreds of years. I found that this table’s angled joinery makes it both a joy and a challenge to build. Mine is constructed from solid walnut lumber. If you’re fortunate enough to have 8/4 stock available, you can simply cut the legs from a plank of walnut. My best-looking stock was only ⅞" thick, so I laminated leg blanks from two strips of wood. Rip…

Outer space, and all of its futuristic promise, influenced Mid-century Modern design. And clearly, folks of that time period appreciated its celestial shapes, because if you do a web search for 1950s starburst clocks, you’ll find oodles of eclectic variations on this theme. When I shared my idea for this Retro Starburst Clock project with senior editor Chris Marshall, he immediately recalled the massive version of one that hung on the paneled wall in his grandparents’ living room. Made of steel with an array of scary-sharp points, he says if it had fallen off the wall unto the couch below, any unsuspecting person who happened to be seated there would have suffered some painful collateral damage. Well, at a more modest 14" across, my wooden version of this iconic timekeeper…

Modern-style live edge tables with metal legs like this one have exploded in popularity in recent years. If you’ve ever shopped for one, however, you know how very expensive they can be at a furniture store or gallery. And building one can be challenging if you don’t have access to slabs or the shop machinery to process them. But take heart: there’s a simple solution for both the tabletop and legs. Timber-Link pine and maple slabs, available from Rockler, come in both live edge and straightedged pieces that are ready to assemble and finish right out of the package. Pre-drilled pocket screw holes make the top as easy to build as applying glue and screwing the slab sections together. The number of pieces you buy determines the top’s width, and…

A new Carbide Cutter Honing System (item 52632; $19.99) from Rockler solves the problem of how to resharpen those carbide inserts on Rockler’s line of turning tools to a keen, crisp edge when they dull. The un-beveled back face of eight different inserts — D1, R1, S1, Sr1, D2, R2, S2 and Sr2 — can simply be honed against the 6"-long, 1,200-grit diamond plate that comes with this kit. It has a non-slip backing to prevent it from sliding during use. A 1" x 2" plastic grip has molded recesses on both faces that fit the various cutter shapes for honing, and an internal magnet holds them in place. It also sticks the grip against the plate for convenient hanging storage. Both components stow in an included plastic case. The…