The Rich Life

Here in Minnesota, the lilacs are blooming, as are the flowering crab trees. Wild plum and wild flowers are just beginning to show their stuff. It reminds me that life is beautiful, even if a bit fragile. May is a special month for me for another reason: my middle daughter was born during the lilac bloom, and my daughter-in-law celebrates her birthday this month as well. Both work in the healthcare world — one as a paramedic and the other working with children who have special emotional needs. Two years ago, my eldest daughter adopted a girl with a May birthday, too. There is a Greg Brown song that says, “I am a man rich in daughters.” That is true of me.

And just to bring this emotional meander to a woodworking point, last weekend I made a lidded box for the newest May-girl in my life. Here are two pictures.


Rob Johnstone, Woodworker’s Journal

VIDEO: Simple Layout Trick

Use this simple trick to lay out a workpiece that features multiple angles. No need for rulers, squares or math of any kind.

Project: Picture Frame Moldings

Dado cutting jig
A simple tenoning jig and table saw setup make it much easier to make those bottom corners fit perfectly.

From Our Sponsor

Free Shipping on Orders of $39 or More from Rockler

Add a thin layer of elegance to your next plywood project! Learn the basics of applying real wood veneer to plywood or MDF. After some cutting, gluing, and clamping (and a few other details), your project will have a handsome new face to show the world.

Applying wood veneer

15% OFF: Excludes gift cards, product bundles with gift cards or free products, power tools, Porter-Cable dovetail jigs, CNC machines, Leigh products, SawStop, Festool, Tormek, Ready2Rout, select Rockwell products, taxes, Apollo sprayers, shipping charges, sale items and other promotions. Other exclusions may apply.

FREE SHIPPING: $39+ Orders. Additional shipping charges will apply for select oversized items, express orders, international orders, and orders to Alaska, Hawaii, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. Rockler reserves the right to limit quantities, correct errors or omissions and modify or end this promotion at any time. Neither 15% off nor FREE SHIPPING can be combined with any other offer or applied to previous orders. Not valid with Rockler’s Professional Catalog and independent resellers. Offer ends 5/28/20.

Posted in: