Maybe I visit the Gamble House too often. Maybe not often enough. But that’s where I got the idea for this mantelpiece. Several JLC LIVE attendees asked about getting plans for the mantel. I hope this article is more helpful. Read the full article…
Once I find something that works, I pretty much stay with it. And the system I’ve used for making simple cabinets is still largely the same. I use multiple shaper setups for making cope-and-stick stile-and-rail doors, raising panels, and other high-end cabinetry projects. But in this article I want to focus on basic cabinet construction using a minimal number of tools—tools that most carpenters already own. Read the full article…
The most important part of carpentry is design. If the design isn’t right, if the drawings are mediocre or worse, no amount of joinery skills will save a project from failure. Unfortunately, executing proper drawings prior to cutting wood and creating sawdust isn’t a common component on jobsites today. Read the full article…
The required joinery for a molding that transitions from level to rake around a corner frequently puzzles many carpenters. At first glance it appears that it should work, but upon experimentation, it can be maddening to find out that it won’t.
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A little over a year ago we published an article about Eave Returns. While the focus of that article was about creating a “Poor Man’s Return,” we continue to receive comments and emails asking about how to develop the required molding profiles for a “Classical” eave return and pediment. Read the full article…
For almost fifteen years I’ve been meeting a friend of mine, Ken, on Friday mornings. He’s retired, but he still does a few small jobs. Sometimes he gets one that is a little over the top and asks me to help. Recently, he pulled out a picture of a door and said, “Do you think we could make one of these?” Another builder friend of his had a client who had to have the door, until they found out the price! Read the full article…
While this article won’t teach you everything about crown molding, it will get you started on the right foot!
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Over the years, I’ve done my share of beam work, but I didn’t get a taste of real timber framing until a few years ago, during the recession, when a friend and I salvaged an old barn—there wasn’t much work around and the opportunity presented itself. Even though the barn had outlived its useful days and the roof had failed, most of the timber framing was still stable. And here’s why—joinery. Read the full article…
For the 2014 IBS show, Plastpro asked me to produce a special presentation on installing an SDS unit. They shipped me all the materials so I could practice the presentation and shoot a video before the event. I was kind of surprised when the freight delivery arrived and the package was so small—the entire unit came knocked down, which reminded me of the olden days. Read the full article…
In 2011, I was given the opportunity to frame up four small houses with Dutch Hip roofs on a remote island in the tropics. I planned to use the experience to teach the contractor’s crew western style framing. Read the full article…
It’s been three years since I wrote about the last wooden storm door I built. When that article was published on TiC, many readers expressed concerns about my decision to use pocket screws to fasten the boards together. The question was: would the wooden storm door last through New England’s changing seasons? Read the full article…
One of the most time consuming aspects of my work has been machining and hanging doors. Installing doors and casing has never been a problem, but beveling, mortising hinges, and drilling the doors and jambs always slowed things down. Plus hanging doors is a rats nest of potentially expensive errors. Read the full article…
At my new home, I built a small guest cabin down by the river (reservations are booked years in advance, so good luck with that!). I wanted to open up the west wall of the cabin, along the river, to both the sight and the sound of the water. But I couldn’t afford a 12-ft. wide commercially manufactured sliding door unit. And besides, I wanted it to look cool. So I made the unit myself. Read the full article…
When it comes to decks and especially exterior stairs, there are several critical areas that can spell the difference between safe and dangerous construction techniques. For that reason, current code requirements focus on some of those areas. In this article, we’ll look at just one detail: the prescribed method for securing the bottom newel post at the base of a stair.