Popular Woodworking Editors' Blog

This is the third part of a series – actually it's the fourth part because I slipped the Mortise Machine Mortises entry in without a mention of the bed (read that entry here) – about my wife's new bed. Read part one here, and Part two here.

In all the furniture I’ve built in the past, I really feel there are two projects that were exceptional. Translation: I would almost always change something about each and every project I build. Never would I build that same piece the same way.

Most times, I have the project finished before I make that assessment. However, after the holiday weekend – during which I had completed a good part of the work – something bothered me about this bed I’m building. The design was stuck in my thoughts. Where I was at that point with construction is shown below.



What bothered me were the rails of the bed running from post to post and the stiles fitting between those rails. Of course the center stile would fit that way, but the outer two stiles – if viewed without the added posts – would not. Think about a door. The stiles run from top to bottom, not between the rails. It was bugging me, so I made the change. Take a close look at the top photo and you can see the difference. Also, the close up of the headboard (below) shows the construction change.



By the way – I blame this on all the blog commenters who didn’t point out this error in my SketchUp drawing (Hey, I can’t blame myself!). I burnt a Saturday in the shop making the necessary changes, but, as you can see, I did move forward on the project.



I also had a chance to use my favorite router technique, a square platform jig (watch a video here). The rails are too long to stand up and two-step cut the tenons as I normally do. And, before you say it, it’s not easy to push king-size bed rails over a dado stack if you don’t have a sliding table at your table saw. So the jig is the perfect answer.



What’s left on the bed build is to attach the posts. As you can see in the photo above, that’s not an easy process due to the length of assemblies. I have two 84"-long pipe clamps, but those do not stretch the entire length of the head and foot boards. Shown in the photo is my idea as to how and make this happen. I plan to cut a couple biscuit slots into the post and end stiles to help hold things in position as I add the clamps as shown. The problem I have with this scenario is the time it takes to complete. I’ll have to add one post at a time.

Anyone have another suggestion? If so, post your thoughts and let’s see if we can’t knock this build out next weekend. If you remember from the first post (read it here), my client is losing her patience.

Back a few weeks, Wood Talk Online (WTO) – hosted by Marc Spagnoulo and Matt Vanderlist (and sponsored by Popular Woodworking) – ran an interview with Chuck Bender, the chief cook and bottle washer of Acanthus Workshops; really he’s the owner and the Master Craftsman at Acanthus (here’s a link to his web site). During the interview, Chuck signed into the chat room to see how things were going and to answer any questions that might arise. While there, someone mentioned a give-away and the proverbial light bulb went off in Chuck’s head. (Listen to the episode 50 interview here.)

Marc and Matt were contacted, as was Popular Woodworking Editor Christopher Schwarz, and the group further developed an idea. Many things were thrown into the pot and stirred to perfection. The result is a contest that will be announced on Wood Talk Online Wednesday at 8:00 EST. Tune in to hear the details.

How do you get to Wood Talk Online? Well, you can link from Marc’s site (click here to go to The WoodWhisperer.com), from Matt’s site (click here to go to Mattsbasementworkshop.com), or you can simply jump directly to WTO here.

No matter how you get there, just get there. The contest will be fun, entertaining and informative. And if you cannot make it to WTO for the show and announcement, you can read all about the contest in a blog entry posted to this site on Thursday.

Good luck to all. I’m going to bet you’ll have a blast.

— Glen D. Huey

I stumbled upon these clamps from Lidwig – an Australian company – a couple weeks back, but decided to hold my post until a few samples made it to our shop. Those samples arrived this week.

To me, this is a new concept in woodworking clamps. These clamps work similar to locking pliers, you know – Vice-Grips. Once the clamps are set, it takes a single hand to close or open the clamp. And as you can see in the photo above, Lidwig has a number of designs and sizes; each clamp has a screw-adjust for dialing in the perfect grip.

The X-4 and X-5 clamps are made of glass-filled resin. Each clamp is available with a swivel or a fixed clamp pad. The X-5 has a spring-loaded catch that locks in six different positions. The maximum opening for the X-5 is just more than 6". The X-4 opening is maxed out at 2".

The X-6 and X-7 clamps are produced from lightweight aluminum. These clamps also have a deeper throat at 3" to the pad center. The X-6 has an opening of just more than 2" and the X-7 is fully adjustable, quick sliding bar that allows speedy clamp adjustments. Set the X-7 clamp for anywhere between 0 and 12-1/4".

Here’s how to use these clamps. Close the clamp handles and adjust the clamp pads until the two pads just touch your material. Remove the clamp and rotate the adjustment knob up to two complete revolutions, then reposition the clamp and squeeze the handle closed. These clamps can be preset so the complete clamp action is quick.  

So how much do these clamps cost and where can you get them? As I noted, these clamps are new but as of today date, Lidwig clamps are available at Eagle America (eagleamerica.com) or click here to go directly to the store listing for Lidwig clamps. Pricing are as follows: X-4, $20.99; X-5, $25.99; X-6, $35.99; X-7, $57.99.

Here’s another fun gadget from Lidwig. Pictured is the Claw. The Claw is labeled to hold extension cords, air hoses and band saw blades, and it does that extremely well. But my first thought was to use this product to hang 4" dust collection hose. The Claw wraps perfectly around the hose and can be hung anywhere in the shop. As a bonus, the hook is on a swivel, so once piped, you could move from tool to tool with ease. The Claw is available for a whopping $8.

Lidwig clamps look good at first glance. As I get a chance to use them in the shop, I’ll let you know if that opinion holds up. Take a look at these clamps (go here to watch video at Stu's Shed), then leave a comment and share your thoughts.

— Glen D. Huey

Chuck Bender is the author of "Carving Spanish Feet" in the current issue of Popular Woodworking magazine and has a couple additional articles forthcoming. He was also the subject of an interview on the latest podcast on Wood Talk Online (listen to episode 50 here).

This is one of seven bookcases I have in my home filled with books on period furniture and furnishings and a few other things. Several bookcases house the collection of books that are for use in the shop while a few others house books that are so scarce that they should be nowhere near sawdust.

On the shop bookcases is a complete run of The Magazine Antiques as well as several other "collector" related magazine. There are even a few nearly complete runs of a few woodworking magazines. Although I wrote a blog post describing my top five books for those who love period furniture (click here to read that post), the question put to me for this endeavor was specifically my favorites. Because someone requested it in David Thiel's original blog post, I've tried to put them in bibliographic form and I’ve listed them in my order of importance.
 
Nutting, Wallace, Furniture Treasury, 3 Vols. Framingham, Mass.: Old America Company, 1928. This massive collection has something for everyone. With more than 5,000 illustrations, you can’t find better training for your eye.
 
Hipkiss, Edwin J., Eighteenth Century American Arts: The M & M Karolik Collection, Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press, 1941. An awesome record of this amazing collection housed in the Boston Museum of Fine Art.
 
Griffith, Lee Ellen, The Pennsylvania Spice Box, West Chester, PA: The Chester County Historical Society, 1986. Who doesn’t like spice boxes?
 
Lindsey, Jack L., Worldly Goods, Philadelphia, PA: The Philadelphia Museum of Art, 1999. This is a great catalog of an unprecedented exhibit at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
 
Nakashima, George, The Soul of a Tree, New York, NY: Kodansha, 1981. Sure, it’s not period furniture but it is George Nakashima. Graceful, simple furniture forms constructed impeccably. What else could a craftsman want?
 
Hornor, William MacPherson, Jr., Blue Book, Philadelphia Furniture, Philadelphia, PA: By the author, 1935. This book is filled with pictures and info about the furniture of the center of furniture making in the Colonies. It’s divided up by style rather than the usual museum book template dividing things up by furniture type.
 
Loan Exhibition of Eighteenth and Early Nineteenth Century Furniture & Glass…For the Benefit of the National Council of Girl Scouts, Inc., New York, NY: American Art Galleries, 1929. This is a very cool catalog of a very early loan exhibit. While everything that was part of the exhibit isn’t photographed, the pieces that are make this catalog indispensable.

— Charles Bender, Acanthus.com

Do you have plans for the furniture you build for magazine articles or for the projects in your books?

That’s probably the most-asked question I get when talking with woodworkers. It seems that no matter what plans and drawings we can get our hands on, we always are on the lookout for more. Is too much information a possibility? If it is, I hesitate to have you read on.

As a regular reader of Popular Woodworking magazine, you no doubt know the name Rob Millard. Rob has written a couple articles for PW and has an article coming out in one of the next few issues. Go back and take a look at Basic Inlay Techniques from August 2008 (issue #167), click here to watch a video as Rob makes a corner fan, and in his article about Federal Furniture (issue #170) get an in-depth view of period designs (click here to purchase issue #170 for $5.99). Don’t just reread the articles, although I’ll bet that would be beneficial, but study the furniture. In that article, all the pieces shown are Rob’s projects. If you look at the pieces you’ll get a handle on the amount of detail work that’s needed to produce this furniture style.

How does this tie in with a woodworker’s desire for additional plans? Here’s how. Rob is offering plans of pieces that he has built. These are not simple line drawings or Google SketchUp offerings. These are old-school drawings on 18" x 24" velum paper – of course you get like-sized photocopies of these drawings – and each set includes a CD of photos taken during the construction of the desk.

This is a set of plans you would expect from an engineer. The detail is spot on. You can almost see Rob squinting in faint light as he letters the elevations and marks in the sizes. Even if you don’t expect to build these projects, I’ll bet money you will pick up on period details and understand just how the piece goes together.

His first plan offering is the small Seymour desk shown above. This project is of particular interest to me. On a visit to New York City and a stop by Israel Sack (before the shop closed), I had a chance to see the original desk up close and in person. I will build this desk before my woodworking days are over, so I purchased a set of plans immediately. When I’m ready to begin, I won’t need to spend the extra days deciding on and scribbling out construction details.

Rob has additional plans in the works. Visit his web site (americanfederalperiod.com) to take a look.

— Glen D. Huey