Highland Staff

Stories from Grandpa’s Workshop: The Dreaming Part

Jan 282021
 

For the January 2021 issue of Wood News Online, Bob Rummer shares his thoughts and philosophies on what he calls “the dreaming part” of creating a project, which is where the designing and planning takes place all in your head before the first sketch is even made.

I heard someone call the design and planning stage the “dreaming part.” Somewhere, someone has an idea of something they want made. For example, I saw a documentary on penguins and thought, “I love the cute way they waddle — I want to make a child’s push toy that will waddle just like a real penguin.” I can see it in my head.

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Shop Gallery: January’s Featured Shop

Jan 262021
 

For the January 2021 issue of Wood News Online, we featured Ray Pugh’s Eastern Washington workshop:

As a young adult a major goal was always a big shop, but the navy and a young family put things off. As time went on and financial needs changed I was able to construct and outfit a large shop.

See the rest of Ray’s shop
Take a look at the Highland Woodworking shop gallery

Project: Advent Calendar Wine Rack

Jan 212021
 

Put it on your list of projects to complete this year – an advent calendar wine rack! For the January 2021 issue of Wood News Online, Temple Blackwood shows us a project he built for a dear friend, who pushed him out of his comfort zone to create something really special:

First off, I am, without a doubt, a woodturner and not a furniture designer or craftsman. But on occasion, such as this fall, a friend (and persuasive talker) has again pushed me out of my comfort zone, especially when she explained the surprise planned for her husband.

Read the rest of the article.

Country Woodcraft: Then and Now – A Behind the Scenes Look

Jan 192021
 

Country Woodcraft book

Country Woodcraft: Then and Now, is a remarkable new book from Lost Art Press, encompassing more than 40 years of woodworking knowledge and learning.

In the article linked below, Highland Woodworking instructor Jim Dillon gives us an exclusive, behind-the-scenes look at how this book came to be:

In 2013, I got the chance to be a student for a change, and went to Country Workshops, in the North Carolina mountains, for a ladderback chair course. Ten students came to the Langsners’ farm, slept in guest quarters on the property, ate communally under a timber framed shelter, and worked hard every day. We started with a log, and using hand tools, made ladderback chairs in six days. I was hooked!

Click here to read the rest of Jim’s article

Click here to order your own copy of Country Woodcraft: Then and Now

Click here to find more great woodworking reads

Achieving a Mission Style Finish by Jeff Jewitt

Jan 152021
 

 

For the January 2021 issue of Wood News Online, we included an article written by Jeff Jewitt on achieving a Mission Oak finish:

We do not sell Stickley stains at Highland. The factory uses a multi-step process using proprietary dyes; oil glazes and industrial solvent spray lacquer that’s typically beyond the scope of most home finishers. An alternative method which yields excellent results is based on the steps below and can be easily done by hand. If you follow the steps, you should have great results.

Read the rest of the article

Check out Highland Woodworking’s Finishing Department

Book Review: A Cabinetmaker’s Notebook by James Krenov

Jan 132021
 

For the January 2021 issue of Wood News Online, Norm Reid reviewed A Cabinetmaker’s Notebook by James Krenov:

A Cabinetmaker’s Notebook, the first of several books by the legendary James Krenov, offers an opportunity to get inside the thinking of a man who was an exemplary artist, craftsman, and a deeply individual woodworker.

Read the rest of the review

Purchase your own copy of A Cabinetmaker’s Notebook

Click this link for more great woodworking books to read

December 2020 Poll: What is the #1 Woodworking Gift You Want This Year?

Dec 032020
 

The holidays are already upon us and the year is almost over. Many of us have found more free time in the shop than past years have offered us. Some people may have even found a new love of woodworking this year.

Every year we share our Woodworking Gift Guide, which includes the newest tools released this year, as well as some great gifts for your shop. This month we want to know what is the #1 woodworking gift you want for the holidays this year?

Feel free to add your own answer as well!