One of the curious things about woodworking is that you don’t really know how thorough to be in one step until you are knee-deep in the next. With experience you develop a routine and can move along efficiently. Without experience … Continue reading →
I only have a few classes scheduled (at the moment) for the coming year. Space is limited and my classes often fill early. Here are dates, places and information about signing up: SketchUp Weekend at Rockler Denver, January 30-31, 2016 … Continue reading →
This piece is available to purchase – scroll down for buying information. Good design is timeless, and one of my pastimes is taking an old design and reproducing it with a contemporary selection of materials. If you weren’t aware of … Continue reading →
This piece is available to purchase – scroll down for buying information. This is a reproduction of a Gustav Stickley No. 70 Music Cabinet in solid quartersawn white oak. The cabinet stands 47″ high, is 20″ wide and 16″ deep. … Continue reading →
This piece is available to purchase – scroll down for buying information. One of my favorite pieces of Gustav Stickley furniture doesn’t look like Gus had anything to do with it. The Poppy table was part of the collection of … Continue reading →
This solid quartersawn white oak table is a reproduction of a Gustav Stickley splayed leg side table (the legs angle from front to back). This was not a regular factory production piece; I only know of one example that has … Continue reading →
This piece is available to purchase – scroll down for ordering details. This little table is 16″ in diameter and the top is 18″ above the floor. It is made entirely from solid quartersawn white oak with through mortise and … Continue reading →
Like a guy who remembers the first girl he kissed, I know exactly when and where my fascination with Byrdcliffe carving began. In the late 1980s I came across one of the best books about the Arts & Crafts period, … Continue reading →
A few weeks ago I spent the weekend teaching a class on carving reproductions of the panels from the Byrdcliffe Iris Desk at the Marc Adams School of Woodworking deep in the corn maze of central Indiana. Carving is the … Continue reading →
I’ve never been to Madison, Wisconsin but it is one of my favorite places because it is the home of the University of Wisconsin Decorative Arts Collection. This is an online image resource that I highly recommend, but with the … Continue reading →
Space is still available for this class August 1 & 2, 2015-Click Here to sign up at the Marc Adams School of Woodworking website. On the weekend of August 1 & 2 I’ll be teaching a weekend workshop at the … Continue reading →
This chair is not included in my book “Shop Drawings for Craftsman Furniture” and now I am pleased to make large format plans of my favorite chair available. This is the chair I built for the cover of the April … Continue reading →
A completed piece of furniture provides a feeling of satisfaction and accomplishment that people who don’t make furniture miss out on. I suppose it’s like most things in life that take dedicated effort and practice; those who have been there … Continue reading →
Please Note: The paperback edition of this book has been replaced with a hardcover. CLICK HERE FOR DETAILS OF THE NEW HARDCOVER EDITION OF THE “Great Book of Shop Drawings for Craftsman Furniture”. Revised Edition of the “Great Book of … 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 →
“Classic Arts & Crafts Furniture: 14 Timeless Designs” is a collection of project articles from Popular Woodworking Magazine, built by Robert W. Lang between 2004 and 2013. The entire book is a fresh design, and the many of the original … 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 →
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 →
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 →
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 →
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 →
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 →
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 →
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 →
The L. & J.G. Stickley No. 220 Prairie Settle is one of the bestselling plans in our store. The most frequently asked question I get is about building it is “how do I attach the arms”, and my answer, “glue … Continue reading →
I’ve been selling plans online for 10 years through craftsmanplans.com, large format printed plans. They’re nicely done, but if you’ve never made any furniture or worked with measured drawings, they can be intimidating. Over the years, there have been requests … Continue reading →
I never set out to be a writer. I’m a cabinetmaker first and foremost and have been since the early 1970s. In those days resources were few and I was continually on the prowl for new information about woodworking and … Continue reading →
27 Stickley Designs for Every Room in the Home This is the first book to present accurate, detailed drawings for reproductions of Arts & Crafts period furniture. Drawings for 27 pieces of furniture, text chapters on the history of the … Continue reading →
