Woodworker's Journal eZine - From America's Leading Woodworking Authority

Keep it Moving!

Rob-Portrait As you click through the pages of the eZine this time out, you may notice a theme of sorts. Wooden bicycles and carved motorcycles -- transportation hits the woodshop. For me, transportation in the shop has a more plebeian orientation: I put everything I can in my shop on wheels. Casters are the gift that keeps on giving, in my opinion. My benchtop planer? On casters. My chop saw? On a cart — with casters. Table saw, band saw, lathe, bigger band saw, planer/jointer combo tool — all on casters.

That's just how I roll.

I admit, my addiction to all things casters may be a bit of overkill. I do tend to run an idea right into the ground. (My rolling lumber rack … turned out to be just a bit too big to actually roll.) So what about you? Are you going mobile in your shop or are you firmly planted to the ground? As always, your feedback will be shared with the gang.

Rob Johnstone, Woodworker's Journal

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Satisfaction from the Simplest of Tools

Cleaning up the surface of his workbench with a scraper was a good chance for Chris Marshall to get back to basics with one of woodworking's simplest tools.

Tile-Topped Coffee Table

This reader-submitted coffee table features hand-made joinery and a clever use of tile for the tabletop. I wanted to share this project that I'm so proud of: a custom built coffee table with marble stone tiles on top. To use stone tiles for the top of a table is a great way to give furniture [...]

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Downloadable Plans

ONLY $1.00!

Santa Fe Bench

Well-designed, well-constructed furniture in the Santa Fe style can be a pleasant break from both traditional and modern furniture styles. Our Santa Fe style bench, made entirely of pine, utilizes the classic pegged, through mortise-and-tenon joint. Its brightly painted finish makes this a piece that one decorates a room around.

Christmas Angel Folk Carving

The angel has been a favorite woodcarving subject for several hundred years. In early America, carved angels like this were often seen in the form of weather vanes. This project is an example of shallow relief carving where a silhouette shape is rounded and then detailed.

Cookie Jar Holder

Here's a gift project you can make on a quiet Saturday afternoon. All you need is a few scraps of pine and the cookie jars.

Scroll-sawn Nativity Scene

If you like scroll saw work and enjoy giving gifts, this Nativity Scene - often called a créche - is one project that's sure to satisfy. All the pieces pack neatly into the stable, making the scene easy to store once the holiday season has passed.

Victorian Wall Shelf

This shelf makes a great gift, and only requires minimal stock. The scroll brackets look complex, but they are easily cut, either by hand with a coping saw or with a scroll saw. All three scroll brackets are identical, and they're simple to duplicate using the full-size pattern that's provided.

Sunburst Mirror

Builder Richard Wonderlich, of Mt. Pleasant, Iowa, says the inspiration for this sunburst mirror came from the shutters on an historic home that he helped restore in his hometown. Coincidentally, Mr. Wonderlich adds that it was his great-grandfather who, back in 1854, did the original trim work on the house. Wonderlich says the position of the shutters above the window gave him the idea of substituting a mirror and frame for the window sash and frame.

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