Archive for the ‘Joinery’ Category

A Peek Behind the Curtain

December 1st, 2009 by Rob Johnstone
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Leigh1Because I am a woodworking tool geek, one of the things I really like about my job is that I not only get to see the plethora of new woodworking products as they are launched, but I often get to see them firsthand and get a demonstration of how they work.  (No tedious reading of the instruction manuals for me, no sir!)

A good example of this came recently when Matthew Grisley of Leigh Industries dropped by to demonstrate their new Super FMT Jig (http://www.leighjigs.com/superfmt.php). I have had the pleasure of knowing Matt and his family for many years now, so this demo meeting was a double treat for me. This jig forms both mortises and tenons with one setup, much like their original FMT jig, but at almost half the cost. (A great concept with all of us watching our nickels and dimes even more closely these days.)

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Never Underestimate a Good Trim Job

September 21st, 2009 by Chris Marshall
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Definitely a "do over" miter joint here--it's not even close to closing.

Definitely a "do over" miter joint here--it's not even close to closing.

If you’re a trim carpenter by trade, and if you pride yourself on doing high-quality work, here’s a tip of my hat to you. You folks are the unsung woodworkers of the world.

I say this partially out of plain-old respect for the building trades, but also because my house is missing your expertise. This past summer my wife and I finally got around to painting our daughters’ bedrooms. I was in charge of “cutting in” around windows, doors and ceilings, so I spent quite a bit of time examining the moldings along the way. Let’s just say that the trimwork in those two bedrooms left a lot to be desired. To illustrate my point, here are several photos documenting what I saw up close. As you can see, the mitered window casings aren’t even close to touching. The chair rail in one bedroom has a scarf joint smack-dab in the middle of the wall, and were it not for copious amounts of putty, you could drive a small truck through it.  What an eyesore.

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Yellowstone Hotel Shares Marquetry on Grand Scale

September 14th, 2009 by Chris Marshall
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1930s cartography, with woodworking panache!

1930s cartography, with woodworking panache!

If Yellowstone National Park is on your short list of future vacation destinations, be sure to stop and see Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel on the park’s northwest corner. It’s a wonderful vintage building in its own right, but the hotel also contains a remarkable example of marquetry you won’t want to miss! I stumbled on it almost by accident while staying there for a night last summer.

On the wall of the hotel’s lounge, just off the main lobby, there’s a huge map of the United States made almost entirely of wood. Designed and assembled in 1937 by Robert C. Reamer and W. H. Fay, the map measures 17 ft. 10 in. wide by 10 ft. 4 in. tall. It contains 15 types of wood from nine countries: zebrawood (Africa), lacewood and Oriental (sic) wood (Australia), Brazilian rosewood, satinwood (Central America), East Indian rosewood, gray and white harewood (England), English oak, Honduras mahogany, teak (India), as well as slash and straight-grained walnut, maple and burl redwood from the United States.

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Stick with What Works

August 19th, 2009 by Chris Marshall
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Some might call this tedious work, but repetition is part of what I enjoy about mortising.

Some might call this tedious work, but repetition is part of what I enjoy about mortising.

A couple years ago, I invested in a popular loose-tenon joinery system to see how that would work for me. As a tool reviewer, I’m always anxious to try a new gizmo on for size, and this tool was getting a lot of buzz. Heck, a faster, easier way to make mortise-and-tenon joinery. Sounded good to me!

Well, the product came, and I put it to work on my next few projects. It did the job swimmingly, chomping mortise after mortise in good time. The cuts were clean, the setup was pretty easy and those loose tenons dropped right into place. Really, there was no part of the operation I could complain about.

But as time went on, that new tool got less use than it first did. I ended up switching back to making M&Ts the way I’ve always done them: mortising on the drill press, followed by tenon-cutting on the table saw.

Why?

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Dovetail Confessions

August 10th, 2009 by Chris Marshall
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dovetailsOkay, true confession time: I’ve never cut dovetails by hand. There, I said it.

It’s probably not a big thing to admit, really … lots of us woodworkers don’t cut and chop pins and tails the “old school” way. Sure, I can steer my router through a dovetailing jig with the best of them, and there’s nothing wrong with that. But for me, a woodworking editor for gosh sakes, I feel like I’m admitting some deep, dark secret. I’m supposed to know this stuff to be a card-carrying shop writer, right?

Well, wrong.

It’s just that cutting dovetails by hand is one of those “I’d really like to learn that and someday I’ve gotta get to it” kinda things. Who doesn’t want to make sweet-looking dovetails in any shape or configuration you please? A well-made dovetail joint separates a darn-good drawer from one you want to carry around and show off, like a picture of your kids. And, when you can stand back and say that you did the job without ever reaching for a guide bushing or spending three hours dialing in the bit depth…well, you’ve arrived, right? At least that’s what that little voice inside my head tells me.

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Pocket Screw Joints: The Outdoorsy Types

July 24th, 2009 by Chris Marshall
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A quick fence gate came together even faster with pocket screw joinery.

A quick fence gate came together even faster with pocket screw joinery.

Summer is quickly slipping through our fingers, so hopefully you’re busy with outdoor projects. For me, it’s always a nice change of pace during these “dog days” to set aside the hardwood and dig into a stack of cedar or cypress! This season, I’ve got a pair of rickety Adirondack chairs that’ll get the heave-ho for something better, plus a garden fence that’s way overdue. (If anyone has a good plan for a removable garden fence, I’m all ears.)

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