Cabinetmaking

A collection of articles on furniture making and casework

How to Hold Woodworking Tools

2019-05-16T09:03:30-04:00February 11th, 2019|Cabinetmaking, Carving|

Whether you’re sawing, planing or carving, the transfer of muscle power to the tool you’re using is accomplished by the way you are holding the tool. Hand position sounds like some esoteric study by an anatomist, but it’s extremely important when it comes to tool [...]

How to Measure a Ball and Claw Foot

2018-06-13T11:32:55-04:00May 14th, 2018|Cabinetmaking, Carving|

When I'm carving a ball and claw foot, I use a gauge that includes all the info needed to carve the foot. The information is transferred to the gauge from an original or from a prototype that I’m satisfied with. Most feet I carve [...]

  • Custom Built Woodworking Plane

Make Your Own Woodworking Tools

2018-03-26T07:14:17-04:00March 26th, 2018|Cabinetmaking|

As a woodworker there are a few times when you need something unusual or just in a hurry, and these are the times you need to just make tools for yourself. Here are some examples of tools I’ve made on the fly. This plane [...]

  • Six Legged Highboy - Legs

Six Legged Highboy – Part One

2018-02-25T15:31:58-05:00February 25th, 2018|Cabinetmaking|

My wife has wanted a 6 legged William and Mary highboy forever. I am finally chipping away at it bit by bit. The process is interesting, so here is what I have so far.I started out by turning the six legs from some beautiful air [...]

  • Marking Gauges

A Broccoli Car

2018-01-11T14:57:28-05:00January 11th, 2018|Cabinetmaking, Carving|

Do you have a special car that you bought that you only use to go out and buy broccoli? Do you have a special refrigerator at home only for the purpose of cooling the broccoli? Of course you don’t. That’s because any old car can [...]

  • wooden planes

There’s Something About Fill in The Blank

2017-11-20T12:53:44-05:00November 20th, 2017|Cabinetmaking, Carving|

There’s something about wooden planes. There’s something about a really nice piece of clear pine. There’s something about riving out a beautiful piece of red oak. There’s something about turning a blank of year old air dried white birch. There’s something about a real plastered [...]

  • assorted scrapers for cabinetmaking

The Mighty Scraper

2017-10-13T15:09:04-04:00October 13th, 2017|Cabinetmaking|

The basic scraper is a piece of metal, sharpened on the edges and held in the hand or in some sort of stock that creates a fence. That’s it. At its worst, the scraper is a hard to sharpen, hard to hold hand numbing [...]

  • Queen Anne Side Chairs for Dollhouse

Make Me a Little Furniture

2017-08-27T12:31:29-04:00August 20th, 2017|Cabinetmaking|

I have never had the least interest in making tiny furniture. For the same amount of work I could make a big one of whatever Barbie sized piece it was. It snuck up on me. My best customer had given me an 18th century English [...]

  • Newport Highboy

Merging Moldings

2017-08-27T12:31:56-04:00August 3rd, 2017|Cabinetmaking|

This is one of those instances where you may not hear me say "Don't worry, we'll just get another piece of wood and fix it." Some operations are just high-risk, and this is one. Many Rhode Island chests have a curved pediment molding that merges [...]

  • Dwarf Clock Case

A Short Tall Clock

2017-08-30T09:09:54-04:00June 10th, 2017|Cabinetmaking|

Dwarf clock is the antiques biz name for a small version of a tall clock or grandfather clock. A good old one from the early 19th century can set you back a hundred thousand or so, so I’ve made a few for collectors who can’t [...]

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