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…
In my shop, I use dado blades a lot. So much so that I keep one table saw as a dedicated unit with dado blades in it all the time. I find that, for one cutter, the number of operations I can complete is worth the money and floor space required. Read the full article…
Most finish work is a matter of repetition. And if you don’t come up with a good system for all that repetition, you’ll never make any real money. I had one job where we had to glue up almost 100 panels made from a mixture of recycled beech and maple. We wanted to biscuit all those glue joints, but the last thing anyone on my crew wanted to do was plunge a hand-held biscuit joiner a few thousand times. And the last thing I wanted to do was invest in a big-dollar tool that I might not have a real need for again. Read the full article…
Most woodworkers are familiar with biscuit joinery. But what they might not know is that there are really only two types of biscuit cutters: the Lamello, and all the rest. I know biscuits—I’ve been using them to assemble panels for over twenty years. And after putting Lamello’s new Top 21 machine to the test, I realized I could never go back to using another manufacturer’s. If you have an appreciation for stepping up your game in fine joinery, then read on. Keep in mind, however, that this tool comes with a hefty price tag. I’ll tell you why it’s worth it. Read the full article…
Between my cabinet shop and remodeling company, I have the opportunity to work on a lot of fun and challenging projects. I recently tackled a project in which we converted a home office into a master bathroom. The interior designer on the project threw us a real curveball—(almost) literally! Read the full article…
I had a set of custom doors to build from scratch and boy was the timing right. Festool picked me as one of the few carpenters to get a Domino XL for user evaluation. And I took full advantage of the opportunity, one that I felt was both a privilege and a responsibility. I carefully documented the process for my peers on THISisCarpentry. Maybe another contributor will follow up with a different angle on this awesome second generation tool. Read the full article…
Today, ‘tangent handrail’ is certainly an obscure topic. Until recently, when I taught a seminar on the subject in Seattle, I didn’t think anyone would be interested. I was wrong. At that seminar, hosted by Keith Mathewson of Seattle Fine Woodworking, we had a full house of dedicated craftsmen who came together from all parts of the country for one reason only—to learn something new. Read the full article…
I used to close my eyes and visualize which way to swing my saw, especially if I was mitering a tricky corner. When I first started using a miter saw, there was a time I’d cut the wrong miter. And on tricky corners, even after years of experience, I still got them wrong nearly as often as I got them right. Read the full article…
This is a follow-up to the Curtis Mitertite article by Dave Parker, and an attempt to answer the question about the feasibility of making this joint in the field. I previously posted some comments to Dave’s article and uploaded some photos of a prototype jig that I made with the resulting joint. This is a more detailed account of what I think a setup should be, taking into account the problems encountered with the prototype, and also addressing the need for different size casings. Read the full article…
Have you ever said to yourself, “How’d they do that??” I have. Lots of times. And when I found a mysterious casing on a recent job, I said it again. This time, though, it took a little longer than a day or two to figure out how they did it.
I was in the midst of trimming out a recent remodel when one of the guys described a miter joint he’d noticed while doing the demo work. What he described sounded more like a Japanese temple building joint than the conventional miter joint found in your typical American house. I was intrigued. When he found a sample of the joint and showed it to me, I was amazed. Read the full article…