Woodworker's Journal February 2021

With each new issue of Woodworker’s Journal we provide four new woodworking plans. We put a lot of thought and work into these efforts, and I hope it shows. With that said, we have been doing this for a good while now, and for that reason there are many projects in our archive that are practical, fun to build and just might spark your interest. As editors, we have our favorites that we would like to share with you. For that reason, look to this spot in the magazine each issue for our picks. Or you simply can find them at www.woodworkersjournal.com/wjfeaturedplans —Rob Johnstone Shaker Plan Collection These practical and functional projects are designed in the Shaker style. They’re beautiful and simple. Item #WJ172 Three Classic Workbenches Workbenches from three expert woodworkers, all with their own…

A NEW YEAR, FULL OF OPPORTUNITIES Some folks wake up every morning and view the day as new, fresh and full of opportunities and excitement. There are others who start the day with a list of things concerning them and consternation regarding what to do about them. People face the new year with attitudes similarly divergent. Some are more positive about it, and others are not so much. Well, if ever there was a year that I would want to be an improvement on the previous one, it would be 2021. While the future is always unknown, I am truly hoping that this new year brings with it a degree of peace and some relief from the challenges that 2020 showed us in spades. (Not to beat a dead horse, but if…

Pillowcases Make Handy, Reusable Bowl Driers Woodturners often store unseasoned, green bowls in paper grocery bags filled with shavings. This slows down the drying time and helps to prevent checking. But paper grocery bags aren’t as common as they used to be. I’ve found that old pillowcases and even today’s cloth grocery bags make great alternatives. Bowls season in them just as well as paper bags, in my experience, and you can use them over and over again. Jake Marks Melbourne, Florida Right-sizing a Dowel Hole When a dowel is slightly undersized for the hole you’ve drilled for it, a scrap piece of fabric is a great way to shore up the fit. Spread glue on a small piece of fabric and the dowel. Place the fabric over the dowel hole, and tap the dowel…

It dawned on me one summer while teaching at an arts camp for children, that my students could spice up their illustration projects by using heated tools to burn their drawings into wood. The tools were rudimentary soldering irons I’d found in a bin of loose supplies, and although I had no previous experience using them, the students and I took right to it. We practiced on leftover scraps of wood, ultimately creating some beautiful work we were proud of. Though simply a fleeting project idea at the time — a small, nearly unnoticeable moment in the bustle of long, creative days — that brief introduction to a brand new way to “draw” sparked my now decade-long fascination with an art form known as pyrography. As a lifelong lover of drawing, I relished…

The artistic impact of turned wooden vessels is based on shape, the wood they are turned from and any embellishments made by the turner. Common embellishments are carving, wood burning, drawing and texture followed by paint, stain and finish. In this article, let’s take a look at various texturing options we can add to vessels to add impact to their design. Scraping Lines One of the simplest ways to add texture is by scraping evenly spaced grooves with a V scraper. If done well it can add interest and beauty to a vessel. “If done well” is the key phrase here, and while the technique sounds simple, it is anything but. The scraper must be sharp and frequently resharpened. The incised grooves must be evenly spaced, often nearly or actually touching each…

James Krenov’s distinctive cabinets, elevated on long-legged bases, have inspired scores of woodworkers to imitate similar forms. I’m one of them! So when the opportunity finally came to build a cherry cabinet on legs, I jumped at the chance. Our art director Jeff Jacobson drafted the overall concept, including the unusual frame-within-a-frame apron design of the leg base. If you look closely, four inner walnut frames set behind a “belt” of dovetailed cherry outer aprons. It’s a light and dark peek-a-boo effect that definitely catches the eye! These walnut frames and the tops of the leg tenons also protrude above the aprons, to suggest a sense of lightness, as though the cabinet is lifting off its base. Our project’s upper cabinet features through dovetails that connect the corners, and its 15½"-deep…