Woodworking Articles

Shellac flakes + alcohol = shellac finish — Shellac is a multi-talented finishing material: Not only does it provide a beautiful top finish but it’s also an effective sanding sealer and functions well as a barrier coat between dissimilar finishes. It also dries quickly, is easily repairable, and is non-toxic when dry. Why don’t we use this stuff more often?? The thing with […]

Mixing Shellac

This entry was posted in Finishing on November 27, 2014 by Bill Kovalick

Swiss lake marquetry scene — Looking for a little diversion from a typical woodworking project? Well, why not give marquetry a shot? If you’re not familiar with this ancient art, marquetry is all about creating a design or picture using wood veneers of varying colors and grain patterns. For example, a nature scene might use sycamore for the sky, holly […]

Getting Started in Marquetry

This entry was posted in Projects Techniques on November 26, 2014 by Bill Kovalick

Assortment of squares — Before one can cut, one must layout. That should be every woodworker’s mantra. And to that end, here is a list of recommended layout tools that should be sufficient to tackle most any woodworking layout task. Tape measure In my humble opinion, the tape measure ranks right up there with the wheel and fire as […]

Woodworking Layout Tools

This entry was posted in Accesories Joinery on November 26, 2014 by Bill Kovalick

Magna-Set alignment — When it’s time to adjust the knives in my jointer I usually use a device called the Magna-Set. The idea behind this gizmo is two parallel magnetic bars that attach to the outfeed table and protrude over the jointer knives. With a knife positioned at the top of its cutting arc, that is, top dead […]

Adjusting Jointer Knives With the Magna-Set

This entry was posted in Accesories Tools on November 22, 2014 by Bill Kovalick

Jet JBM-5 benchtop mortiser in action — After watching Norm Abram effortlessly cut mortises with a hollow chisel mortiser, and reading glowing accounts about them in woodworking mags, I decided it was high time to equip my shop with one of these bad boys. It also happened that I was planning to build several tables with mortise and tenon joinery so this […]

Jet JBM-5 Hollow Chisel Mortiser

This entry was posted in Tools on November 20, 2014 by Bill Kovalick

It’s a pain reaching for a paintbrush only to discover that the bristles are a hardened mass because you didn’t properly clean the brush after the last use. Then it’s off to the store to buy yet another new brush. Fortunately, cleaning a paintbrush isn’t rocket science. It just takes a little diligence. Think of […]

How to Clean a Paintbrush

This entry was posted in Finishing on November 20, 2014 by Bill Kovalick

Bearing down on the cut works best with a rock-solid work platform — A hollow chisel mortiser offers several advantages over other mortising technologies: it cuts a square hole so there’s no need to round tenons, it’s faster than cutting mortises by hand, it’s much quieter than a router, and it’s a dedicated machine whose sole job is to crank out mortises. This last point is a big one […]

Hollow Chisel Mortiser

This entry was posted in Tools on November 13, 2014 by Bill Kovalick

Folding Rule

This entry was posted in Tools on November 13, 2014 by Bill Kovalick

Octagon tenon jig front view — What to do when you need to make a custom cut? You make a custom jig. While making some bird houses, I was faced with the challenge of rabbeting a 1-1/2″ wide ledge along the entire perimeter of the octagonal base. At first glance, this seemed like a simple job for the tenoning jig but […]

Custom tenon jig

This entry was posted in Jigs Techniques on November 12, 2014 by Bill Kovalick

Completed cherry table and mock-up — It sure is a downer to build a piece of furniture and realize when it’s finished that is doesn’t quite look right. Maybe the piece is too bulky for the space, or doesn’t quite match the rest of the furniture. Perhaps the proportions are off. Or maybe it’s just plain ugly. To minimize the chances […]

Building a Furniture Mock-up

This entry was posted in Joinery Techniques on November 10, 2014 by Bill Kovalick

When it comes to deriving drawer heights for a chest of drawers, there are several tried and true proportioning techniques that can be relied upon to create a piece of furniture that is pleasing to the eye. The simplest approach is a uniform progression in which each drawer has the same height. This approach doesn’t require […]

Calculating Drawer Heights for a Chest of Drawers

This entry was posted in Techniques on November 3, 2014 by Bill Kovalick

Here is a collection of miscellaneous tips to help you be a more eco-conscious woodworker: Dust control Controlling the dust in your shop not only improves the quality of the air you breath but also makes it easier to collect sawdust for mulch and other eco-pursuits. Poor dust collection can lead to health problems that […]