My wife doesn’t make a big fuss about Mother’s Day gifts. But in 2001, she had a very specific request. It was our first spring in a new-to-us home with a large backyard patio. She wanted a couple of Adirondack chairs for Mother’s Day to spruce up that outdoor space.

I was more than happy to oblige. I bought some Western red cedar, stainless steel screws and got down to business. I adjusted the backrest comfort to her satisfaction, sanded the chairs until splinters seemed downright impossible and applied her choice of deck finish color. Humble as those outdoor chairs were, she was thrilled with them and always proud to show them off to friends.

After more than two decades of constant weather exposure and use, one of those chairs eventually gave up the ghost. Its mate continued to stand in the corner of her flower garden until last summer. It had long since passed the point of being sturdy to sit in, but she kept it as garden art anyway. I suppose you could say it was a token of a Mother’s Day long past. But since the chair was in real danger of falling apart, I salvaged the screws and disposed of the rest.

Nothing lasts forever, especially outdoor projects. But taking that chair apart was still a bit melancholic. My memories of handmade gifts are much stronger than what I remember about things I just buy and wrap. They’re clearer and often happier. Perhaps it’s time to see if she’d like a couple of new chairs again…

Happy Mother’s Day — and all the best hopes for your handmade gifts!

Chris Marshall, Woodworker’s Journal

Cutting Table Joints

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“Regarding your most recent article, I keep in mind what my dad (a great woodworker and welder) always told me: Don’t buy cheap tools. I have followed that advice religiously.” – Bob Sofchek

“One of my very first antique tool acquisitions was a Millers Falls hand drill. I remember I paid $39 at an antique warehouse 30 years ago. Seemed like a lot at the time, but it has paid me back many times over when it is the perfect tool for a small job.” – Jerry Levy

“My favorite tool is also a Starrett type combo square. Mine is ancient, patina stained and has no visible markings of a manufacturer. It belonged to my grandpap from when he worked in a pattern shop for a large foundry. He created the mold patterns for the sand-casting shop, and I’ve been told if it could be designed for metal, he could make it in wood. He passed away 45 years ago, and the foundry still exists. The combo square is still accurate AND has his initials stamped into the frame to prevent coworkers from (permanently) ‘borrowing’ it.” – Greg Harmon

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Do you have a favorite hand tool? I have quite a few I wouldn’t easily part with, and one of them is a Starrett combination square Starrett combination square I purchased about 25 years ago. It’s not that this square has sentimental value for me, although I’ve built many, many projects with it. I could replace it with an exact duplicate tomorrow, so it isn’t even rare. The deeper reason why I love it stems from how incredibly well-made it is, and how I know with absolute certainty that it is accurate. I keep it on a counter near my bench for the duration of every project because I’m reaching for it all the time – from taking measurements and checking blade and bit heights to scribing lines and verifying squareness. When the project is done, I tuck “old reliable” away in a foam-lined drawer. I’ve never dropped it a single time that I can recall, and there’s not a spot of rust on it. It deserves a protected storage place because every time I pull it out, it’s clean, pristine and ready to go to work again. I paid top dollar for it when I bought it, and they’re still expensive today. But this square is worth every penny.

In his book Setting Up Shop, Sandor Nagyszalanczy has this to say about the value of quality tools:

“My basic philosophy is, it’s better to own a few really good tools than an entire shop full of cheapies and clunkers—tools that are inaccurate, require superhuman effort to use, and don’t produce the work you will be proud of. Things you use every day, such as a tape measure, table saw, layout tools, and any tool that must retain precision to be good (square, rulers, calipers) should be the best you can afford.”

I wholeheartedly agree.

Chris Marshall, Woodworker’s Journal

Marking the Joints

Making a Tack Cloth

Contemporary Table

Mitered Jewelry Box

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Last week, I finished filming a video in which I install Rockler’s new Rock-Steady Folding Table Saw Outfeed Kit on my 2005-ish Delta Unisaw. If you’re new to woodworking and don’t have an outfeed table, they make a world of difference when you’re wrangling long or heavy stock across your saw. They also keep offcuts from falling off the back of the saw once cut free, which is helpful. After all, who wants to bend over to pick all that stuff up anyway?

Part of the reason for making the video was to build the tabletop for the Rockler steel framework underneath it. I chose to cover my plywood table with plastic laminate — a multi-step technique I’ve done dozens of times over the years. And I must admit that it was a pleasure working with laminate again; it didn’t pose any challenge. I didn’t learn anything new doing it, but sometimes it’s simply gratifying to repeat tasks that are familiar. Cleaning the surfaces, rolling on the adhesive, pressing the flexible laminate down flat and smooth, trimming it flush and filing the sharp edges away – muscle memory in woodworking is a good thing. I’ll even go so far as to say it’s therapeutic!

Chris Marshall, Woodworker’s Journal

Preparing Ash Stock

What is a Woodturning Lathe Chuck?

Contemporary Table

Greene & Greene Dresser

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1. Opening the shop and smelling freshly sanded aromatic cedar.
2. Pushing a router through a cut using a brand new, razor-sharp bit.
3. Seeing the face of a loved one light up when they open a woodworking gift you’ve made.
4. Jointing a piece of rough-sawn white oak to expose a bold ray flake pattern underneath.
5. Finally getting the knack of tuning your hand plane so well that it produces long, tissue-paper-thin shavings.
6. Cutting a mitered picture frame that closes perfectly.
7. Watching a sinewy curve materialize as you steer your bowl gouge through it.
8. That little puff of air you feel when a drawer fits its opening just right.
9. Buffing a finish so smoothly that it shows your reflection.
10. Picking up a load of lumber on the first day of vacation when your only agenda for the week is to build the project.

Chris Marshall, Woodworker’s Journal

Ash Table Project Design

Building with Miter Joints

Elegant Serving Tray

Quick and Easy End Table

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Two weeks ago, I asked you to share some stories about when you all caught the woodworking “bug.” Thanks for all the replies! Some great stories have come in, and you can read them in this week’s Feedback section.

I’m not sure if we find woodworking or if woodworking finds us, in some sort of magical way. Maybe it’s destiny! Whatever the truth may be, there’s no denying this: Once a woodworker, always a woodworker!

Chris Marshall, Woodworker’s Journal

Building on Basics

Five Useful Tools for Installing Trim Molding

Classic Walnut Bookcase

Making a Dovetail Chiseling Jig

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“I also took woodshop in junior high school (it wasn’t called ‘middle school’ yet) in the late 1960s. Made some stuff, but I wasn’t hooked yet. I’ve always been a ‘maker,’ and at some point I switched to making with software (paid way better). But as I prepared for retirement, I refaced all the kitchen cabinets before I sold my house and rediscovered a thing that was hiding in me! When we moved, one of my criteria for the new place was a shop. I got it. I now have almost 1,000 sq. ft., and I’ve completely traded bytes for router ‘bits.’ And I’m not looking back! Making furniture, or turning bowls, or whatever suits my fancy, feeds my need to create, and this keeps me busy and out of the house. I’m now 68, and I’ve been retired for 8 years. I get warnings from Google that I have too many pictures—and 90% of those pictures are of stuff I’ve made in my shop!” – Steve Kendal

“For me, it was when I took the motor out of a 78 record player and used it as a lathe to make a toothpick holder out of a chunk of cedar.” – RileyG

“I’ve been making things from wood for several years. I started when I decided to replace all the door facings and jams and baseboards in our home with molded red oak.  Of course, that spiraled out of control. When did I know I was a woodworker? I am still not completely sure I’ll ever be a real ‘woodworker.’ I’ll probably die trying to become one.” – Charles Tubbs

“Nice to know that I’m not alone in early ‘rough cuts.’ I used to say that I do rustic woodworking, because that was the only level of precision I was capable of! I did shop in high school, but I was absolutely 100% terrible at it! I became a woodworker in the process of building meditation benches. I couldn’t find anything the right size for that purpose, so I resolved to build one. YouTube made it possible. Along the way, I’ve generally discovered that A) I needed the right tools (or better tools) to make things happen, and B) I needed to know how to use those tools. Even after learning how, I needed to acquire the skill to actually do it. (Much less easy than it appears in most videos, as I discovered so frequently. It gave me a whole new respect for the trades, I can tell you!) My first ‘bench’ was nothing more than a box, minus front, back, and bottom. It wasn’t anything I could put on the market, but I still use it today. Using it convinced me of its value for yoga and for meditation, so I wrote a book on the subject (at Amazon), and I began working on something I could put on the market. Eight years and thousands of dollars later, I’ve gone through 12 iterations of the design, and I have a heck of a lot of equipment I needed for versions I no longer build! (Egad. But the good news is, I’m prepared for almost anything.) Of course, my website still has the $450 version that was my 2nd iteration. I need to update with the $200 wooden version and $85 resin-molded plastic version from an end table I modify with my equipment! Then maybe, at long last, I’ll actually be on the market! (Where a whole ‘nother set of skills lie waiting to be acquired.)” – Eric Armstrong

“Growing up in the 1950s, my grandad owned a corner grocery store, and there were always small wooden crates in the basement. Occasionally, I’d ask if I could take one to make something (bookends, bird houses, etc.). Fast forward to 1969. My wife and I married while I was still in college. Like you, money was really tight. Our first apartment was furnished in family attic cast offs that we repaired, stripped and refinished (a small mahogany drop leaf, a grandmother’s antique bed, another grandmother’s cedar hope chest, a card table and chairs). One of our first purchases was a turntable, amp and speakers. These sat on the floor of our empty living room for almost a year, when my wife wondered whether I could build a record cabinet to house them and our albums. Her grandfather gave me a few reclaimed pine boards that I cut to size with a hand saw. I bought a Stanley No. 4 smoothing plane that I used to joint the boards to glue up the sides, shelves and top of the cabinet. I also used the plane to raise the panels for two raised panel doors on the piece. I designed a base molding, and a talented older friend showed me how to cut the coves in the molding on his table saw. As we worked, I said it would be cool if someone made furniture kits with the pieces of wood already milled and cut to size for guys like me who had the will but not the tools to build furniture. The record cabinet came out better than I expected. That started my love affair with sawdust. A couple years after this first successful project, I saw an ad for a grandfather clock kit from the Emperor Clock company. It had all of the lumber and parts milled and pretty much ready to trim or miter and glue/screw together. I built two of these (which are still in the family). I learned a LOT repairing and refinishing antique pieces, observing how they were designed and constructed. That experience has colored everything that I’ve built. Fifty-plus years on, I’ve acquired a collection of tools that make wood working much easier and have built about 100 different tables, cabinets, built-ins, chests, sideboards and small projects for members of the family. My proudest achievements include a reproduction cherry armoire to match an antique Eastlake bedroom set (bed, dresser, and commode) that we have, a slate bed oak pool table and a black walnut bourbon storage/service piece called a Cellarette. I could never make a living as a cabinet maker (it’s a hobby and stress relief), but I love every minute I get to spend in my shop.” – Mike Campanella

“I have a picture my parents took of me with my diapers on, nail apron and hammer in my hand. My dad did a lot of house renovations and I was right there. When I was young, my dad said he always bought an extra pound of nails for me to drive into wood. I was told I started making a bird house and after hours of cutting and nailing I threw my tools in it and said, ‘It’s a tool box.’ I built projects with my dad, curved top pirates chest, real bird houses and back yard play houses. When I got into high school I met the new shop teacher, Mr Smith. With his guidance I made a complete bedroom set out of walnut. So when people asked to make things for schools and the town, he would pass it to me. I won regional woodworking shows. I bought an old house and restored it, making many of the moldings, adding a porch, building a garage (which is my shop) and do projects for others. I have taught many children and adults how to woodwork. I like it to this day and still make one-of-a-kind pieces. I am 72 and going strong.” – Mark Erickson

And several weeks ago, Chris shared a story of a former executive he once knew who retired reluctantly and without hobbies. It has prompted several replies from fellow readers. – Editor

“As a junior/senior high school woodworking teacher of 37 years, I am retiring (graduating) from high school this year. Like you, my plans are to build a very large shop/garage and continue doing what I love, second to teaching, and that is working in the shop. I have been fortunate enough to have large wood, welding and mechanical shops at my disposal on my weekends, but I have collected most of the tools I will need for my shop. I am excited to start my new ‘job’ and travel with my wife in the future. I have seen too many people retire and die from boredom (literally and figuratively) because they had nothing to do.” – Darwin Feakes

“I can’t tell you how much I agree with you. I have a family business, and I see employees all the time who don’t want to retire. They say, what would I do at home—sit around and watch TV? And I think, OMG NO! I would build so many things, and when I was done building all the things I needed, I would build things to give away and teach others to build things. I guess I can finally see the value of not doing woodwork for a living. I have not grown tired of it, and I look forward to doing it in retirement. I feel for those who don’t have hobbies that they look forward to doing for the rest of their lives.” – Todd Teresi

“(Retirement) is more complicated than that. First you need to increase your volunteer work to help others. Maybe start at your house of worship or kids (or grandkids) school. What can you help organize, or fix? Plan some of those trips that you wanted to go on while you still have your health. Do NOT plop down in front of the TV and let your mind go to mush or you’ll die within the year. Try to work in some woodworking as a special treat for yourself. And once in a while, ask yourself how you got everything done and still went to work? I can’t seem to get everything done that I want to and I’m not going to work. Right now, I’m checking the emails in between waiting to apply the next coats of finish to something I’m modifying for someone at our synagogue, after doing online continuing education to keep up my pharmacist’s license, and doing data entry on a project I help my wife with while she’s at work. It’s a good day. You might also ask how you got here already…didn’t I just graduate from high school? But we’ve got our 60th (seriously!) graduation reunion this summer. Send your article to your previous editor and mention that you are thinking about him.” – Paul Tanenbaum

The post What Sparked Your Woodworking, Plus Retirement Thoughts appeared first on Woodworking | Blog | Videos | Plans | How To.

Back in the 1980s, woodworking was part of our general middle school curriculum. That gave me the chance to dabble in a woodshop at a young age. But it wasn’t until after college that I started to take woodworking seriously. Newly married and of very modest means, my wife and I wanted a hutch to store all the kitchen supplies that wouldn’t fit in our postage-stamp-sized first kitchen. We couldn’t afford to buy a new one, so I decided to build a hutch instead. It’s still in the family to this day. When I look at its uneven joints, the jumble of material choices I made and its wood putty sticking out like a sore thumb under the stained finish, I have to laugh. But at the time, I was so proud of that hutch! The sense of satisfaction I got from building it, and the praise from family members about its beauty and function, lit a fire in the belly for me to continue learning and acquiring tools. My next project was a tile-topped Shaker table, and its quality was a big step forward from the hutch. I was on my way to becoming a bona fide woodworker, and I knew it!

At some point in our lives, we all were “woodworking curious.” What then flipped the switch for you to stop dabbling and take your skills more seriously? Were you encouraged by a shop teacher, a woodworking family member or an online influencer? Maybe it was the afterglow of a special project when you “just knew” that woodworking would be an important part of your life from then on. I’d love to hear your stories, and we’ll share them all in an upcoming issue.

Chris Marshall, Woodworker’s Journal

Final Assembly

Guiding Accessories for Circular Saws

Limbert-Style Hutch

Downdraft Sanding Cart

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During my first publishing job out of college, a vice president with a tenure of more than 40 years reluctantly decided finally to retire. He was one of those old-school executives who was well into his workday by the time the rest of us editors arrived in the morning, and I have no doubt he turned the lights off in the building at the end of the day. Two weeks after retiring, the VP was back in his former office on Monday morning. Life after publishing, it seemed, wasn’t working out so well for him. He had fostered no hobbies or other interests, and career was what got him out of bed in the morning. So, the company agreed to keep him in an emeritus role, and he came out of retirement. Several years later, I left that publishing house to pursue a new opportunity, and the gentleman was still occupying his corner office five days a week. He was 82 years old.

I’m grateful in more ways than I can count to have hobbies. My weekend shop time allows me personal space for creativity, purpose, accomplishment and peace. I don’t think I’ll ever lose the simple joy of working with my hands or the rewarding sense of pride these activities give me. Thanks in large part to various hobbies, the thought of retiring one day doesn’t scare me. How I’ll fill my days is already clear. I’ll leave work on a Friday for the last time. And when Monday rolls around, I’ll turn the lights on in my home shop, grab a board or a wrench or a bowl blank and smile. I’ll get back to my work away from work that never really feels like work. Retirement, I’m pretty sure, will suit me well.

Chris Marshall, Woodworker’s Journal

Gluing Up Sub-Assemblies

Track and Circular Saw Fundamentals

Build a Kitchen Island

Woodworker’s Dog Bed

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Last Sunday evening, our water heater stopped making hot water. I was informed of that in no uncertain terms when my wife and daughter were both trying to take showers in different bathrooms at the same time. They weren’t one bit happy about the increasingly uncomfortable chill, either. My response to the issue was much as it always is when something breaks – I started researching how to fix it myself. That stems from being a self-taught woodworker and DIYer from way back. Problem-solving is part of woodworking, and I’ve been tackling little problems of one kind or another ever since I connected two boards for the first time. I’m no different from nearly every woodworker I know in this regard.

In his book Ellsworth on Woodturning, master woodturner David Ellsworth has this to say about the resourcefulness that often comes from being a self-taught craftsperson:

“Teaching oneself a skill without a teacher available is laborious, yet ultimately self-fulfilling. I learned each mistake one day became a learning tool for the next, and swearing was a good thing if it helped me understand that catching the tool in the wood wasn’t the tool’s fault after all…or the wood’s. I learned to make my own tools, to develop my own techniques, and to challenge the limits of my own experiences. Equally important, I learned to become a problem solver. Years later, I would realize all highly skilled craftspeople are also highly skilled problem solvers.”

Turns out, the water heater isn’t broken after all. But when it does kick the bucket, I’ll be ready!

Chris Marshall, Woodworker’s Journal

Finishing Inside Faces

What is a Woodturning Lathe Chuck?

Workshop Bench and Wall Cabinet

Majestic Mountains Marquetry Box

The post Doing It Yourself appeared first on Woodworking | Blog | Videos | Plans | How To.