The two walnut boards for the top have very wavy grain and quite a few knots, making it unstable (in terms of wood movement). To counteract this, I”m adding a fairly large support structure underneath. I use a french curve to find a pleasing shape and cut out the first one that will then be […]
This month I’m writing about one of Lie-Nielsen’s smallest planes, the Convex Sole Block Plane. Don’t discount the size though, as it can be as handy as any other plane in the lineup. The Convex Sole Block Plane is similar to other planes, in that it has a ductile cast iron body, an A-2 steel iron and a […]
First I want to decide how to orient the top boards. So I looked them over, turned them around, and flipped them until I was happy with the top side and match. They ended up in a slip-match but one board is turned 180 degrees because they taper in width top to bottom by 4-6″ […]
If you are dreading the end of summer, take heart in the fact that Woodworking Season has begun! The kids are back at school and you can head back to the shop. Make sure you are stocked up with all the tools and supplies you will need to get going with the Early Fall 2012 […]
I use my Festool TS55, paired with a rail, to rip off the wavy live edges from boards: it”s a safe, fast, easy way to get a straight edge. I wet the top to look at the sapwood of my air-dried walnut – trying to decide on using it or not. Using the white sapwood […]
Today I went to Artisan Lumber to look for some wood that would match my table design. Obviously I was mainly looking for material for the top, legs and stretcher. Brian (the owner) had three pieces of 20-24″ wide x 13′ long english walnut left from a flitch. It has very wavy grain, lots of […]
Welcome to the first post in a new series for Highland Woodworking: Morton”s Shop. This series of blog posts will bring you photos and text of the daily work in a furniture-makers workshop. I plan on keeping it short and sweet – just a taste of the latest. The first project I”m working on is […]