Woodcraft Magazine

OWAIN HARRIS designs and builds custom furnishings in Gonic, NH. His award-winning work has appeared in Fine Woodworking and New Hampshire Home. Owain shares his passion for furniture making and design through teaching at The Center for Furniture Craftsmanship and other schools across the country. Read Owain’s Expert Answer on page 64. KYLE MEYER began his woodworking journey in 9th grade and continued it through college at the University of Rio Grande. Kyle was hired at Woodcraft in 2010 and has been promoted through the years to Product Manager, bringing new product lines to Woodcraft. See Kyle’s clamp recommendations on page 28. ASA CHRISTIANA is the former Editor of Fine Woodworking magazine. Christiana’s latest article for Woodcraft is excerpted from his “Build Stuff with Wood” book series (Taunton Press), a project-by-project introduction to the…

Woodworking is hard. I don’t mean it’s a slog, though sanding can come close. But it’s not the most languid hobby, not if you take it seriously. For starters, woodworking is physically demanding. It takes strength and dexterity just to move planks of wood around your shop. Plus, mistakes can be costly, and therefore the work requires persistent attention to detail. And the more you learn, the more you realize there is more to learn. From sharpening to joinery and sanding to finishing, whole worlds of knowledge await your understanding. But what really makes woodworking such an arduous affair is the fortitude required to do it well. It necessitates the mental wherewithal to anticipate and solve the seemingly countless problems you’ll meet during even the simplest projects. So why do we do…

Hot take Sophie Glenn’s Expert Answer on custom patinas (Feb/Mar 2023) was very informative. But it left me with one question: for a hot application, do you need to reheat the hardware before additional coats? —Bill Steinbach, Front Royal, VA Associate Editor Sarah Marriage replies: The metal needs to be hot for the application process, regardless of whether you’re applying a first or subsequent coat. After the first coat, your hardware may have retained enough heat to accommodate a second coat. But don’t burn yourself checking the temp. When in doubt, reheat. Tambour rollback The dimension of the upper locking slat was inadvertently omitted from the diagram of the Modern Sideboard (Apr/May 2023). The piece should measure 3/16 × 15/16 × 57/8". Additionally, the leg dimension should be 11/2"-dia., not the 13/4"; it’s noted correctly…

GREG LANGENHORST ITASCA, IL Nice pair of plants. Inspired by the Coopered Cafe Table (April/May 2022), Langenhorst designed and built these white oak planters to house particular plastic pots. He dadoed each pot’s 20 staves before tapering and beveling them. After glue-up, one pot received a dark walnut stain while the other got a shou sugi ban torching. Then he wrapped each dado slot with solid copper wire, left unfinished to oxidize with time. The pots measure 12 3⁄4" high, with a top circumference of about 17" tapering to a bottom circumference just under 10", where a crossbar allows for drainage and supports the inner pot. CHARLES BOWMAN LEESBURG, FL A long time ago in a workshop far, far away. At the request of a Star Wars fan, Bowman pieced together this intarsia Tusken Raider.…

WOODRIVER 4-JAW LATHE CHUCK Securely hold round stock or workpieces in either expansion or contraction with WoodRiver’s 1" × 8 tpi self-centering chuck. The 31⁄2" body includes 50mm jaws that expand into a 2" to 23⁄4" dovetail recess or contract to hold round stock from 15⁄8" to 27⁄16" diameter. A 11⁄4" long right-hand thread woodworm screw is included. Works on lathes with a 16" swing or less and is compatible with other WoodRiver jaw sets. woodcraft.com, $149.99 #183464 FESTOOL KAPEX KSC 60 Combine accuracy and portability with Festool’s new miter saw. Twin column guide with dual bearings minimizes wobble or deflection. Cuts miters up to 60° either way and bevels 46° right and 47° left. The brushless motor runs off two 18v Li-ion batteries. Available in tool-body only ($999) or with a two-battery, two-charger…

PRICE: $279.00 (tool only), dewalt.com OVERVIEW: • Brushless motor• Cuts #0, 10, 20 biscuits• Accepts DeWalt 20V MAX batteries• DeWalt Airlock compatible dust port• 1⁄8 × 4" blade For many years I had been wary of any battery-operated power tools beyond your standard hand drills and drivers. One particular circular saw that would grind to a halt mid-board comes to mind. So when I first tried out DeWalt’s line of 20V Max XR tools a few years ago, I was dubious. But the angle grinder I tested out worked like a dream, rarely bogged down, and the charge typically lasted longer than I needed it to. I was a convert. When I heard there was a new DeWalt 20V Max XR biscuit joiner on the market, I knew I wanted to give it…