This is the season for high school graduation, and after the parties are over it’s time to adjust to the real world. Kids fresh out of school don’t have a lot of good choices. It’s either off to college, the … Continue reading →
This post is adapted from my book “Bob Lang’s Complete Kitchen Cabinetmaker”. The book details reasonable options to enable readers to make decisions that make sense for them. Good information about hanging cabinet doors is hard to find, and I … Continue reading →
Cabinets, Moldings & Built-Ins For Every Room In The Home The first, and only book of it’s kind. Based on Gustav Stickley’s original architectural drawings and information from The Craftsman magazine, this book contains detailed drawings for recreating or renovating … Continue reading →
This is one of my favorite sitting/learning/teaching projects and it was featured on the cover of the final issue of the now defunct “Woodworking” magazine. It’s a strong, sturdy and useful stool, and the layout information in the video will … Continue reading →
Shop Drawings and Professional Methods for Designing and Constructing Every Kind of Kitchen and Built-in Cabinet This new technical handbook shows woodworkers exactly how to approach the complex job of designing and making built-in cabinets for kitchens, family rooms, and … Continue reading →
23 American Arts & Crafts Masterpieces This book is the first publication of detailed drawings for the construction of authentic reproductions of the furniture designed by Charles & Henry Greene, and constructed in the workshops of Peter & John Hall. … Continue reading →
A few years ago, Glen Huey and I traveled to Winston Salem, North Carolina to visit MESDA and do research for a book of measured drawings of early southern American furniture. MESDA is different from most museums and their collection … Continue reading →
One of the fundamental skills of woodworking is sharpening, and the often seen recommendation to use a jig plays to one of the fundamental character traits of most woodworkers. If you can sell a beginning woodworker on the idea that … Continue reading →
Jigs and templates are common in professional woodworking shops, as well as common topics in woodworking books, magazines and blogs. A good jig will do two things; make the work better and get the work done faster. If you … Continue reading →
When the “Great Book of Shop Drawings for Craftsman Furniture” was published, I hoped to include all of the material from the three books that were originally published individually, “Shop Drawings for Craftsman Furniture”, “More Shop Drawings for Craftsman Furniture” … Continue reading →
The Chinese stool pictured at left is one of the most popular magazine projects I’ve made. It’s been about 4 years since the first one, and I still receive photos from readers and see folks building them online on a … Continue reading →
One of the things I don’t like about magazine articles is the lack of photos of the finished project. There simply isn’t room for more than one “beauty shot” within the six or eight allotted pages. I’ve had the cover … Continue reading →
This chair, the Gustav Stickley No. 369 Morris chair is one of the most iconic of his designs. I like it when complex things can be simplified, but I seem to like it more when something that appears simple at … Continue reading →
This clock was originally designed in 1895 by British architect and designer C.F.A. Voysey. The best known version is painted, but there are also examples in ebony and oak with inlaid faces. The clock in the video is featured as … Continue reading →
Picking a favorite project is like deciding which of your children you love the most. Picking my favorite kid would be easy, I only have the one. Among all the things I’ve made from wood, the Byrdcliffe Linen Press is … Continue reading →
DVD — “Build an Arts & Crafts Mantle Clock” is no longer available. Click Here for Photos of the Finished Clock The project I recently completed, a reproduction of a C.F.A. Voysey mantel clock in alternate materials was one of … Continue reading →
When I was a self employed furniture maker and cabinetmaker I didn’t have much choice about what I would build, it was mostly a matter of what a client wanted and was willing to pay for. For the last 9 … Continue reading →
A couple of weeks ago, I was the special guest in the WoodCentral chatroom, taking questions on Arts & Crafts furniture and trying to keep up. A transcript of the March 11, 2013 chat is now available online at WoodCentral. … Continue reading →
One of the things I like most about building reproductions is that it takes me out of familiar territory and puts me in a place where the easy way out isn’t an option. If left to my own devices, I … Continue reading →
Original Designs by Gustav Stickley & Harvey Ellis This unique book presents full-size patterns for the inlay designs and hardware originally used in Craftsman Furniture. Text includes history of these designs and the designers, materials and techniques. My last copy … Continue reading →
On Monday night, March 11, I’ll be staying up late for a live chat on WoodCentral. It gets underway at 9:30pm EST and goes until my fingers won’t type anymore. The topic is Arts & Crafts furniture, so if you … Continue reading →
PLEASE NOTE: THIS BOOK IS NOW AVAILABLE IN HARDCOVER AT THE ORIGINAL PRICE! CLICK HERE FOR DETAILS. A little while ago the folks at the WoodNet Hand Tools forum were discussing Stickley furniture and where to get plans and information … Continue reading →
A Free Excerpt from the “Great Book of Shop Drawings for Craftsman Furniture” Step One: Cut all the pieces to the sizes listed in the cut list. Please don’t do that. Not if you’re building from the large format plans … Continue reading →
Professionally drawn, custom printed, fully detailed plans for accurate reproductions of many of the pieces originally made by Gustav Stickley, L. & J.G. Stickley and Charles Limbert from “Shop Drawings For Craftsman Furniture” and “More Shop Drawings for Craftsman Furniture”, … Continue reading →
Quartersawn white oak isn’t the easiest wood to work, but with experience and an understanding of its character, it is steady and predictable. In gaining that experience, you’ll better understand your own character. The work becomes a partnership between man … Continue reading →
Gustav Stickley, while an innovator in design, did not work single-handedly, and his work does show influences from designs that were seen in England prior to the introduction of his Craftsman furniture. Although Stickley’s daughter Barbara, maintained that Harvey Ellis … Continue reading →
Before I start most projects, I kill half an hour or an hour making a full-size layout on a piece of scrap wood. This can be a simple stick, as shown in the photo, or it can be a full … Continue reading →
One of the most common questions asked about building pieces from my Shop Drawings Books is “What do I do about the cushions? Your drawings don’t show any details.” There were several methods used in the original Stickley pieces, and … Continue reading →
“Great Book of Shop Drawings for Craftsman Furniture Now in Stock” The new, corrected printing of “Shop Drawings for Craftsman Furniture” is on its way from the publisher. This is a combination of three of my earlier books, “Shop … Continue reading →
The Gustav Stickley No. 332 Morris chair is an iconic example of Arts & Crafts period furniture. It isn’t as flashy as the bow arm or bent arm chairs, but it’s a challenging project. In my never-ending hunt for details … Continue reading →
This post is adapted from my book “Bob Lang’s Complete Kitchen Cabinetmaker”. You can buy a signed copy of the revised edition from our store. Few things are more terrifying to many woodworkers than hanging a door on butt hinges. … Continue reading →
Almost every task in woodworking comes down to cutting to a line. If you can cut to a line consistently and accurately, you can build anything. There are any number of ways to do it, and the more methods you … Continue reading →
Furniture from the American Arts & Crafts period is extremely popular, but it is also misunderstood. We’re not even sure what to call it. Is the correct name Mission or Craftsman or something else? Much of the confusion comes from … Continue reading →
Although hand-hammered copper is often thought of as the definitive handle on a Stickley drawer, wood pulls were common on original pieces, often in a pyramid shape. I’ve seen people jump through all kinds of hoops to make these with … Continue reading →
Update the “Great Book of Shop Drawings for Craftsman Furniture” is now available. Coming Summer 2012 Combined Edition of “Shop Drawings for Craftsman Furniture” “More Shop Drawings for Craftsman Furniture” “Shop Drawings for Craftsman Inlays & Hardware” Revised introductory text … Continue reading →
I’ll be in beautiful Franklin, Indiana the week of September 17-21, 2012, teaching a hands-on woodworking class at Marc Adams School of Woodworking. The class is called “The Real Details of Arts & Crafts Furniture”, and registration is now open. … Continue reading →
A reader had an interesting question; “How would you build or put leaves (mounting) in the 599 dining room table? ” The great thing about trestle tables, such as the L & JG Stickley No. 599 (sometimes referred to as … Continue reading →
Here is a more accurate SketchUp model of the Thorsen House plant stand, one of the projects that students can build in my “Real Details of Arts & Crafts Furniture” class. The model in the Popular Woodworking 3D Warehouse collection … Continue reading →
Sometimes our brains get wrapped around a problem, and we think we know what we need to solve it. A typical situation is a subtle angle, and a typical response is a desire to define it numerically: Purchased the two … Continue reading →
In January 1902, Gustav Stickley suggested to readers of The Craftsman that they should examine furniture in the same way they would examine prospective friends, to look for moral and agreeable qualities in both. That may seem like an odd … Continue reading →
