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Rosewoods and boxwood for that matter have a strange property. Theor stability improves with age. That is why many older rulers were made from boxwood. Infills often used rosewood as well. What many don’t know is that impinga or African Blackwood is not ebony but rather a rose wood. Clarinets...

Nooooopr!!!!! My dad bought a few chests from an antique dealer in Chicago. My ex/Grilfteind was stupid and did not think much of them. I found one destroyed by weather out by the barn and all I could salvage was the brass. Chipoendale eventually used craftsmen in his employ to do much of the...

Couple of common sense points. 1). You need to develop the skill to saw accurately to but not over the gage lines! If you need practice do it. I even do it as a warm up if I haven’t done it in a while. 2). Your chisels have to be BRUTAL sharp. The softer the wood the sharper the chisel. When...

They do come in handy. Kingshot got one from an English source that is to die for. It was made of naval brass and had interchangeable templates for your various angles. I doubt it works better than a simple shop made one, but holy cow was it sexy. I wish I could remember the name of it.

The work that Derek has shown demonstrates what is possible. Having worked on literally millions of dollars worth of commercial work, I have seen that world from the inside. I would never buy a set of commercial cabinets from a major manufacturer!!!!!!!! I know the issues and the short cuts. I...

on Curves While most amateurs focus on square work, you also have to consider the utilitarian purpose of what they made. When I needed a file caninet, of course it’s got square lines. Ever see a round filing cabinet? stickly was influenced by scandavian lines and shaker lines. His initial work...

I agree with your grand dad!!!!! In the states, kitchen gut outs are averaging six to ten years. Finish is an issue. We had quite a finish department and toning was a skill. The big boys use conversion varnish. Don’t even consider stripping. Most of my work saw lacquer. My ex girlfriend bought...

WARNING! When a true woodworker enters the commercial field, one of three things will happen. 1). He becomes so dismayed and beat down that it becomes a matter of looking forward to a meager paycheck. 2). He becomes so dismayed that he leaves woodworking forever for other opportunities. 3). He...

The commercial market is horrible. particle board and MDF. Veneers so thin you learn the term Burn Thru quickly. A burn thru is a sander mistake in finish. Drawer fronts are often sub fronts that fail frequently. Doors are barely glued together because of the use of stub tennons to fill the...

No. I jumped on the jig without reading the Manuel. When I did read it, I followed their marking convention. On a cherry toolbox I made for myself, the plan was to build the box and then saw the lid assembly free using the table saw. The problem is that one of the tails had to be wider by one...

LOL That’s not funny! As I partly mentioned, you need to keep track of the ends when using a router on the Leigh D4 jig. That is exactly what I did by accident while in a hurry. Oops….. RECUT!!!!

LOL I have to admit I have not seen your website but I have now marked it. I love your drawer work and the blue tape does make things look electric. Kingshot had difficulties seeing those same half lap lines in mahogany and he used white chalk. It never occurred to me personally to use blue...

Could be. The cross pollination in this world is great. I live in the states. My Wadkin buddies are in England, Australia, South Africa, Canada. Isn’t it crazy how something like a dovetail can bring us all together? We should send some politicians to wood working school. LOL

not sure how to add video references but go to YouTube and search for “just another dovetailing video”. in time you sift thru all the noise and settle on a basic straight forward approach that works.

Yup that is the guy.

Yes if possible. Otherwise you may have walk the chisel. It’s nice but not always possible to start your chop with a single light tap. Then go and excavate a thin lateral cut to remove a morsel. This keeps the chisel from backing into the gage line.

Absolutely! Moxon and Nicholson had some awsome ideas. They to had an influence on me and how how I view things moving forward.

I often used white chalk board chalk to mark out when it’s hard to see. Masking tape works also and I believe this idea came from the guy who works for fine woodworking mag. His name is hard to remember though. He wrote a book on his work and it’s a wonderful book for those who are getting...

Agreed. As I mentioned, end grain was considered “obscene”. So today it’s often overworked or underworked. My last employer just closed this last Friday so I am looking for a new job. We did commercial fitment in PLAM. PLAM is the Formica plastic glued to particle board. Hospitals, jails, hotels...