Woodworker's Journal August 2020

Maybe you haven’t noticed, but sometimes magazines repeat themselves. If you’re one of our long-time subscribers, you know that we’ve published multiple dining room table designs, many versions of router tables, bookcases by the dozen, dressers and beds galore. But the reason they take their turns over and over is because woodworkers love practical, fun-to-build furniture. The same goes for shop projects which, according to our data, are also very popular. And why not, as they help you become more efficient and productive with your skills, workspace and tools. Our “Ultimate Miter Saw Station” at left is a good example. Chris Marshall designed and built it for our June 2010 issue, and it has continued to be a much-requested project plan with many readers building their own versions. This issue,…

A NOTE FROM THE END OF APRIL In the regular course of events, I don't have any trouble imagining what woodworkers might be doing when our magazine is delivered to your house. In my current circumstances, that is just not so. In what I hope will be a dim memory, you may recall that the COVID-19 pandemic was looming large for most of us at the end of April. There were scads of concerns and opinions flying around with little in the way of certainty. But one thing was true last spring that will be evident when this magazine arrives: woodworkers were in their shops making things (see below). I am grateful for the constancy that my shop fellows exhibit — we are steady Eddies who don't tend to let the…

Pandemic Productiveness Early last spring, as many states issued shelter-in-place mandates to help quarantine the public against the COVID-19 virus, many of you hunkered down in your workshops and got busy on to-do lists of projects. In a March editorial for Woodworker’s Journal’s “Weekly” online newsletter, Rob Johnstone requested photos and descriptions of what readers were building. More than 70 people responded to his query with photos and descriptions sharing a range of projects and stories. For those of you who missed out on the fun, here’s a sampling. You can see all the submitted projects at woodworkersjournal.com by doing a search for Pandemic Projects. Walnut/Maple Bench “Living in Montana, I felt lucky to score a 10-ft. slab of 8/4 bird’s eye maple. I mixed it with some 8/4 walnut and designed this…

Dadoes and grooves, as well as mortises and tenons, make up a significant part of woodworking joinery. How those joints get formed is up to the woodworker. Here is a breakdown of your favorite methods. What is your preferred method for making dadoes and grooves? a. Table saw 59.27% b. Router (handheld) 17.44% c. Router table 14.51% d. Router hand plane .49% e. I don’t make dadoes 5.85% f. Other 2.44% What is your preferred method for making mortises for mortise-and-tenon joints? a. Mallet-driven mortising chisel 3.07% b. Drilling and paring the sides/ends with a sharp chisel 20.15% c. Routing the mortise 15.23% d. Dedicated mortising machine 29.61% e. I don’t make mortises 28.01% f. Other 3.93% What is your preferred method for making tenons for mortise-and-tenon joints? a. Cutting by hand with hand saw and bench chisel 5.9% b. Tenoning jig on the table saw 38.45% c.…

While a couple of you Stumper sleuths could only venture a guess at R.K. Motheral’s threaded mystery tool in the April issue, more than 100 readers knew what it was beyond all shadow of a doubt — and many of you still own one. “Having been in the plumbing trade for the past 44 years, says Duane Haugen of Omaha, Nebraska, “I immediately recognized it as a valve seat dresser.” Larry Graves, the son of a master plumber, and Daniel Pagerie of Johnstown, New York, both recall watching their fathers use these tools on the job when they tagged along on plumbing calls. “As a live-in maintenance man, I used one every week,” says George White of Laceyville, Pennsylvania. “Mine’s over a half century old and still works well.” Dave Johlin of…

“The chestnut blight was accidentally introduced to North America around 1904 when Cryphonectria parasitica was introduced into the United States from Japanese nursery stock. It was first found in the chestnut trees on the grounds of the New York Zoological Garden by Herman W. Merkel, a forester at the zoo. By 1940, most mature American chestnut trees had been wiped out by the disease. Saplings would attempt to grow but then would also succumb to the same blight. Around 1950, I remember walking through the woods with my dad and looking for chestnut trees taller than 15 ft., but sadly, we never found any.” Sikeston, Missouri…