Woodworker's Journal April 2020

Or at least the history of Woodworker’s Journal … One of the underutilized benefits of a subscription to Woodworker’s Journal is the premium content that can be found on our website: woodworkersjournal.com. Not only is there video and other unique content for subscribers only, but you will also find every magazine that we’ve ever published — from the first volume in 1977 up to the current issue. There are more than 1,500 archival projects complete with their original illustrations and photos. (As hard as it is to believe, we were really stylish back in the 80s!) So if you haven’t taken advantage of the subscriber-only premium content yet, be sure to check it out. You can log into the Premium Content section with your account number (found on your magazine’s…

A TABLETOP REFLECTING POND? Many of us have used epoxy in our shops for years, but most of us have turned to it for its adhesive qualities. For some time now, woodworkers have been using large amounts of resin in new ways to fill voids and even become an integral part of a tabletop or a turning. The now ubiquitous “river table” should have its own URL on the Internet. This “river of resin” trend in woodworking is replete with its proponents and critics, and that is completely as it should be. Trends come and go and styles change. When I was a young man, we went to great lengths to never show end grain in a piece of furniture. But end grain is now a lovely thing to behold — or…

Backwards Bumper I’m sure I’m not the only one to catch this, but the 1930 Ford on page 20 of the December 2019 issue [“Design in Wood Show Draws 365 Entrants”] has the front bumper mounted backwards. The curve in the bumper should be reversed so the concave side is towards the front of the car. I’ve made many old car models and actually owned a 1930 Ford coupe, and this one is wrong. Paul Blackwell via the Internet Sander Recommendations In December’s Questions & Answers, Sean Johnson was wondering about what benchtop sander to buy. I spend about two hours a day sanding cutting boards. I’ve sold more than 4,000 of them in the past 15 years. Here’s what I own and use for sanders: several 3" x 21" belt sanders, several random orbit…

Speaker Soundoff These Bluetooth®-enabled Wireless Speaker projects from page 40 of your December 2019 issue made great holiday gifts. I built five of them shown here: two oak and one each of walnut, cherry and padauk with contrasting species of dowels used for the corner joints. Kevin Knehr Millis, Massachusetts Couple Create Piano Accessory Table When my wife and I aren’t in our shop, chances are you’ll find us at the piano. We each play and were jointly responsible for the unsightly clutter that regularly accumulated on the instrument: sheet music, eyeglasses, metronome, pencils and such. To neaten up the area, we decided to build a “piano accessory table” modeled on a kitchen cart we designed and built several years ago. Our project features a drawer for small objects and a shelf for matching music…

An old controversy among woodworkers is whether painting enhances or hurts the appearance of a wooden project. Here’s what you think: Do you approve of painting indoor or “fine” wooden furniture projects? Yes: 9% No: 45% Depends entirely on the project: 46% Have you changed your mind about how you feel about painting indoor or “fine” furniture projects over the years? Yes: 17% No: 81% Occasionally: 2% Have you painted any of your indoor or “fine” furniture projects? Yes: 35% No: 63% I don’t make furniture projects: 2% There’s more online at woodworkersjournal.com Check online for more content covering the articles below: Woodturning (page 22): Band saw features with woodturning in mind (video) Slab “Pond” Table (page 30): Complete build video including pouring epoxy resin (video) Modern Adirondack Chair (page 36): Making templates from gridded drawings (video); gridded chair drawings and cutting diagrams (PDF) Entry Bench (page 40):…

Readers Locate Patent Don Swanson’s December Stumpers tool prompted a culinary guess from Doug Wathen who speculated that the wood-and-metal apparatus shown at above right might be “a kitchen tool for coring or peeling fruits like apples or pears or potatoes.” Lawrence Balash thought the object’s purpose is closer to the building trades: “It appears to be a ticking stick.” Robert Rose of Escondido, California, took one of the device’s smaller details more to heart and wished for a clear patent number: “The stamp ‘Reston’ (on it) sounds a lot like a residence, as in Reston, Virginia. The tool looks like it is part of a much larger assembly … Given the time period, and the farming going on in Reston, my hunch is that this is part of a harvester, in…