Have you ever been in part of your home and thought, “I could really use a place to sit down here” but not had one? If so, an easy woodworking project for a small bench from PopularMechanics.com may be for you. An attractive bench with storage space inside can be built in seven steps using [...]
Aug 172009
Jul 282009
When a tree is dead, what should be done with it? Most people would say it should be cut down and discarded, but others come up with more creative solutions. One Colorado man fills a niche in his area by making woodwork projects out of standing beetle-killed trees into a variety of items. Mark Mahoney [...]
One of the most exciting advances in Web 2.0 is social networking. While sites such as Facebook do include woodworking groups, there are advantages to sites that are designed specifically for creative individuals. A social networking site called The Behance Network offers a forum for artists such as woodworkers to showcase their work, get feedback [...]
Jul 132009
“Two heads are better than one” is a well-known saying. So, why not put the two woodworking heads of supply and work together? Some woodworkers in Champaign, Illinois are doing just that by starting a dual-purpose woodworking retail store and workshop that will offer benefits to its members. Dennis Coleman of Champaign is the originator [...]
“When you see kids selling lemonade by the sidewalk, always buy from them.” That is a piece of wisdom I once read in one of those short books of fatherly advice. I think it is good advice and that kids’ lemonade stands are a great summer tradition. Writer Susan Dunlap of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram [...]
Ten thousand Windsor-style chairs were shipped from Philadelphia to Havana between 1797 and 1799. The chairs were very popular in their day, and still are among classic wood furniture lovers. Woodworker George Mathews constructs Windsor chairs, which have a long history and solid construction. George Mathews is a woodworker who lives in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, [...]
Jul 052009
The annual Midsommar Festival – Swedish Days in Geneva, Illinois, is touted as the “’Granddaddy’ of Illinois Festivals.” It includes a pie-eating contest, pet parade, and kids’ woodworking projects sponsored by Home Depot, the latter of which is highlighted in an online article from TheGenevaSun.com. The Home Depot Kids Workshop held at the Swedish Days [...]
Looking for a kit to do small woodwork projects such as engraving? Dremel has just come out with a new Hobby range for just such a purpose. The new Dremel Hobby range includes an engraver, glue gun, multi-tool, gas butane torch, project table, and original Dremel 300 Series multi-tool, all of which can be used [...]
Station wagons were so named because the wooden-bodied vehicles were used to take travelers and their baggage back and forth from hotels to train stations in the early twentieth century. This is one piece of information I learned from an article I read at thebeachsideresident.com about a man who restores the old “woodies.” Erik Johnson [...]
The guitar is the most popular instrument in the world. As with any musical instrument, crafting one is no simple process because of the acoustic considerations. An online article from mlive.com tells the stories of two guitar craftsmen from Michigan. As evidenced by the stories of Stephen Ziegenfuss and Lance Kragenbrink, handcrafted guitar making is [...]
How much time do you spend in your backyard? Most of us spend a fair amount of time there, but do not dedicate as much effort to organizing it as we do the inside of our homes. I read an online book review that pointed me to a resource for designing an attractive backyard space. [...]
“Woodturning by Sophie A., on flickr.com” One of the many subsets of woodworking is woodturning, the process of turning wood on a lathe and carving it with various tools. Some woodworkers adopt it as their particular niche. A Virginia woodworker named Nick Aloisio became fascinated by woodturning and now creates products for the kitchen using [...]
Jun 212009
Do you ever wish you could have a place to show off your woodwork to the rest of the world? One place to do that is an online contest. Cabinet Makers Supply, an online supplier of woodworking and cabinet making supplies, is holding a woodworking contest on Facebook. Cabinet Makers Supply is an online company [...]
Jun 202009
Who is the typical woodworker? Most people would say an older retired man, but that stereotype may be changing these days. According to an article by Amy Bartner at indystar.com, young woodworkers such as Indianapolis’ Allison Ford are embracing crafts such as woodworking in larger numbers and selling their wares at art show “revivals” like [...]
When I need some information fast, the first place I look is the Internet. It is a great resource for information on just about any subject. Three good websites for information on woodworking are doityourself.com, diynetwork.com, and fixya.com. Doityourself.com provides help on many subjects, one of which is woodworking. The site contains an archive of [...]
Marshall McLuhan coined the phrase, “The medium is the message.” A woodworker who lives and works by that creed is Bruce Gray of New Brunswick, Canada. Master woodworker Bruce Gray follows a unique creative process in the work that he has done. Bruce Gray comes from a family of innovators but came to woodworking in [...]
What would you most like to do as a woodworker? Some people get to do woodwork projects that give them great pride and a sense of spirituality. One such person is Bill Kennebeck of Classic Woodworking, Inc. in St. Louis. Classic Woodworking, Inc. recently created a wooden coat of arms plaque for the installation of [...]
Jun 102009
The mesquite tree’s taproot has been recorded at a depth of up to 190 feet. This is why it is so hardy and drought-resistant, and one man who works with it shows the same fortitude. Sixty-nine year-old Sleepy Gomez of Rising Star, Texas, finds mesquite wood on his and his neighbors’ property and creates unique [...]
Jun 092009
Some people find woodworking therapeutic because while they do it, they become completely focused on the act of creating and forget about everything else. One such person is Dan Santos of Cape Cod, whom I read an online article about by Jen Ouellette. That may be why he has chosen to make woodworking his full-time [...]
Do you hate to throw away pretty woodwork? If you have any unused rounded fence post caps, here is a woodwork project for you. You can create an attractive footstool with round fence post caps by painting them, attaching them to a wooden top, and covering the top with foam and fabric. I read in [...]
