Fine Fettling

I like small wooden boxes as there are an infinite number of possibilities with design. I have not made many boxes but I thought I would make a box out of a plank of cherry (Prunus serotina) that had a nice even line between heartwood and sapwood. I decided to use this change in color [...]

I always loved the butterfly keys in contrasting wood in the furniture of George Nakashima. In Nakashimas’s furniture this provides both aesthetic content and structural integrity in his natural plank designs. Of course these devices have been used for centuries if not much longer. Some time ago I wanted to use these in a large [...]

I always liked the idea of shooting boards, allowing one to shave off thousandths of an inch with a finely fettled hand plane (Lie-Nielsen 5 1/2 bench plane) to get just that right fit. For making the wenge inlays with miters I relied on some thoughts of David Charlesworth in his books(Furniture making techniques [...]

This is my first series of posts and I will keep things simple by recording and commenting on the design and construction of a commission for a set of bedside tables. I have made a number of pieces for this family in the past and most recently a queen size bed in cherry [...]