Every weekday until the February 1st opening of Issue Four pre-orders, we will be announcing one article from the table of contents here on the blog. If you have yet to sign up for a yearly subscription, you can do so here.
It has become clear to me that the greatest inefficiency in our furniture making has nothing to do with the machines vs. hand tools discussion and everything to do with ill-considered workflow. Because this has proved to be such a valuable insight to my own shop practice, I decided to tackle this topic head on in Issue Four. In this article, I expand on the “Tables” video by breaking table construction down into a logical, systematic order.
Consider this a pocket guide intended to give readers a holistic view of making tables using only hand tools. The backbone of this piece is showing how essential reference faces are to work efficiently. I cover rough stock prep, drawbore mortise-and-tenon joinery, tapering legs, assembly, table tops, breadboard ends, and leveling the feet.
You don’t have time to piddle and neither do I. When our daily responsibilities are done and we retreat to our workshops to put in another hour on that end table, we want to make the most of our time. I hope this article proves to be an inspiration, making your shop time more efficient and therefore more enjoyable.
- Joshua Klein
You can reserve your copy of Issue Four here.