Fitting Shelves Into a Crooked Alcove
Most people think you need a high-end router and a workshop full of expensive jigs to get a professional finish, but that’s just a load of nonsense. I’ve spent forty years on site, and I can tell you that the secret to learning how to build fitted shelving in an alcove isn't in a power […]
A Wardrobe Built Into an Alcove
Most people think you need a workshop full of screaming power tools and a massive budget to get a decent piece of furniture into your bedroom. They’re wrong. I’ve spent forty years on sites and in classrooms, and I’ve seen more men struggle with a complex circular saw than they ever would with a well-tuned […]
Getting a Carcass Square and Keeping It
I remember a lad I taught back at the college, a bright enough boy, but he spent three hours fighting a router to get a clean line on a side panel, only to end up with a splintered mess that looked like it’d been chewed by a dog. He thought the more expensive machinery he […]
Making a Drawer That Slides
Most people think you need a table full of expensive, noisy machinery to get a clean fit, but that's a load of rubbish. I’ve spent forty years on sites and in classrooms, and I’ve seen more men struggle with a drawer because they relied on a vibrating router instead of a steady hand and a […]
A Box Whose Lid Fits
Most people think you need a table saw and a high-end biscuit joiner to master how to build a box with a lid, but they’ve got it backwards. I spent forty years on site watching lads rely on loud, vibrating machines only to end up with joints that gape like a broken tooth. I remember […]
A Bench Strong Enough to Stand on
Most people think that if you want to build a sturdy piece of furniture, you need to go out and spend a small fortune on a garage full of loud, vibrating power tools. They think the more electricity they plug in, the better the result will be. But I’ve spent forty years on site and […]
Allowing a Tabletop to Move
Most folks think that if you want to learn how to build a dining table, you’d better head straight to the hardware store and load up on every loud, vibrating power tool they’ve got on the shelf. They think more electricity equals more progress. I spent forty years on site and another ten in the […]
A Side Table as a First Project
Most people think you need a workshop full of screaming, vibrating power tools to figure out how to build a side table, but they’re usually just masking poor joinery with a thick coat of veneer. I remember a student of mine back at the college who spent three days fighting a router to get a […]
A Bookcase Whose Shelves Do Not Sag
Most people think that building a bookcase requires a workshop full of screaming power saws and expensive, vibrating machinery just to get a clean edge. They spend more time fighting the dust and the noise than they do actually working the timber. But if you ask me, that’s the wrong way to approach how to […]
A Shelf That Holds Books
Most people think that building a shelf requires a garage full of expensive, battery-operated gadgets and a mountain of plastic components that'll end up in a landfill by next year. They spend more time hunting for a charger than they do actually working the wood. I've spent forty years on site and ten years in […]