July 21, 2021
The other day I took my son to the shop to work on our marble run, and maybe even start a wooden spoon he wanted to make for his teacher. It was well into July, and school had been finished for about a month, but since my kids haven’t actually set foot in a school building since March, the last day of school this year had a much different feel to it than usual. I also knew where my son’s teacher lived, so there wouldn’t be a problem getting a gift to her a bit late.
July 14, 2021
When I started working with a custom woodworking shop about 25 years ago, I remember the owner staying that he thought finishing was the most important step in the entire furniture and millwork process. I would have to agree. His reasoning was that it’s the main colour the client sees, it’s what they reach out to touch right away and it’s also what will protect the wood for years to come. I’ve always selected and applied finishes with great care ever since he pointed that out to me.
July 6, 2021
Last week I talked about epoxy and where it will take us in the coming years. Epoxy river tables and cutting boards are huge right now, and likely won’t disappear from your Instagram feed anytime soon. In the coming years I have a feeling epoxy will start to be used in many other ways, though.
July 1, 2021
Epoxy has been on an incredible tear over the past five years or so. Once relegated to quick or waterproof joints, or glossy topcoats, it now plays a structural role in many pieces of furniture. Today, you’ll see many “river tabletops” in bold colours, almost always in conjunction with the one-of-a-kind lines made possible by live edge material.
June 23, 2021
I’ve always done a lot of bike riding with the kids. I also lead by example, and try to get out on my bike daily. My daughter is a fantastic mountain biker, who especially enjoys crushing the uphill sections of a trail. My son is a bit more into the technical side of mountain biking and loves “getting air” over the tiniest of rises. He even makes it into the air while riding over slightly uneven sidewalk slabs.
June 17, 2021
I went to Conestoga College in Kitchener, Ontario, right after high school, taking their three-year Woodworking Engineering Technology course. After working in a few small shops making kitchens and built-ins, I got a job engineering furniture for a medium-sized office furniture company, and spent a few years sitting behind a computer, drawing and making cut lists. It eventually became so mind-numbing that I had to quit. I started my own woodworking business making custom furniture and refinishing furniture for customers. Taking a decent cut in pay, losing any long-term stability I had and forcing me to work much longer hours were in the “con” column, but loving Mondays and truly enjoying my work motivated me quite a bit.
June 10, 2021
I recently bought my nine-year old son a book titled Excellent Engineering: 35 Amazing Constructions You Can Build at Home. With schools closed, and kids mostly at home, I thought it would be good to give him a few other things to do, other than schoolwork. It’s a good book, and includes some fun and challenging projects for kids his age. One of them was called “Engineer’s Arm,” and the first one he wanted to try.
June 3, 2021
I follow The Furniture Society on Facebook, as they often share makers’ work from across North America. The other day, Beston Barnett’s work caught my eye. Barnett is a studio furniture maker in San Diego, California, who is inspired by many different Arabic-, Asian- and African-inspired motifs. These motifs are often a complex focal point of his work.
May 26, 2021
Last week I talked about what it took to create the cover of our current “Working in a Small Shop” issue. This topic is always the theme of our June/July issue. I also mentioned how I enjoy photography, especially when the results turn out well. Today, I’d like to chat about a few of my favourite covers since I became editor of CW&HI.
May 26, 2021
A follow-up column to our “Joints Beginner Woodworkers Should Learn” from a couple of years ago, here’s a list of 10 joints to help take your joinery skills to the next level. They don’t all need to be in your arsenal, but practising some of them will result in stronger, more beautiful furniture.
May 20, 2021
Getting good photos to include in our magazine is one of the most enjoyable parts of my job. There’s something about a great photo that not only excites me, but I also hope it creates a sense of interest in our readers and lets them enjoy our articles just that extra little bit. And an exceptional photo may pull in a few new readers from time to time, too.
May 12, 2021
My nine-year-old son was learning about gears in his science class, so I told him we should try our hand at making a few plywood gears to see how they worked. He already knew about “driven” and “driving” gears, and how different-sized gears affect how fast other gears connected to it rotate. This was a great excuse to head to the shop and practice woodworking techniques while making something cool.
May 6, 2021
I’m writing this three days after starting what was to be a one-day deck reno, but I may be getting way ahead of myself. Let’s just call this Day 2. We brought the tools out to the deck and opened everything up. Stupid me. We quickly put wet tools away the previous afternoon and forgot to dry things off. Rust was already forming on my socket set and a few other tools. Luckily it was going to be drier, and the sun was even threatening to come out.
May 3, 2021
Vancouver, British Columbia furniture maker Seth Christou on sketching, woodworking books and cringing at his past designs.
April 29, 2021
My mother had a small deck built on to her house about six years ago. It should have been made wider and longer, because when the large table and six deck chairs are on it, there’s only room to move around the deck’s perimeter, especially at the two ends, if nobody’s sitting in the chairs. That’s a bit of a problem.
April 22, 2021
I’ve just started to build a textured Douglas fir coffee table for a client. The lumber is all 8″ wide and 2″ thick, and it’s also stunningly straight-grained. On top of that, the boards, which I trimmed to 5′ long, are nearly perfectly straight. The first step in making the table was to joint one face on each board, but it probably would have been fine to skip this stage and head right for my thickness planer.
April 15, 2021
While surfing the Internet I came across a stunning video of a Swedish musician who’s made a machine that plays music. I’m not talking about the latest iPhone or stereo system here. I’m talking about a completely homemade machine powered by the maker, who can also program it to play a wide range of sounds that make up songs.
