It isn’t getting what my dad used to call the “gray hair discount” and it isn’t the fact that almost everyone calls you “sir”. Those things don’t make up for the creaking joints and failing eyesight. It’s the color that … Continue reading →
When you reach a certain age you find yourself becoming more careful about some things, but not giving a hoot about others. There are a lot of interesting things I could pursue, but I find myself deliberately avoiding some new … 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 →
I don’t teach classes very often; a few times a year at most. While I really enjoy teaching, I’m not crazy about travel, hotels or unknown sources of food. I don’t actively solicit teaching jobs, but when somebody calls or … Continue reading →
About a week ago I stumbled across a Facebook post where people were offering up “Get Well” wishes and speculating on my possible demise, in response to a “Weekly Woodworking News” video from Stumpy Nubs. Stumpy was looking for an … Continue reading →
Last evening, Chuck Bender, Glen Huey and I sat down with Dyami Plotke, Tom Iovino and Chris Atkinson and recorded a conversation about our new adventure 360 Woodworking. You can listen to the conversation by tuning in to the Modern … Continue reading →
Over the last few years it has become obvious that the values we have for the craft of woodworking, creating and marketing content, and relations with the audience are not shared by the management of Popular Woodworking and its parent … Continue reading →
It wasn’t long ago that I didn’t know what a Makerspace was. You can think of it this way: imagine that you have a neighbor with a really cool, well-equipped wood shop. Take your conception of “really cool and well-equipped” … 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 →
I’ve written before about Dean Mattson and his work as a shop teacher at North Salem High School in Salem, Oregon. Shortly after meeting him online, I published “The Future of Woodshop, Win, Win, Win.” That inspired me to travel … Continue reading →
Last week I was honored to be a guest at a chair building class at the Chidwick School of Fine Woodworking in Stevensville, Montana. Most classes at Chidwick’s are comprised of guys in their fifties whose lives are pretty well … 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 →
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 →
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 →
My latest video is now available. 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 … Continue reading →
“Bob Lang’s Complete Kitchen Cabinetmaker” has been one of my most successful books since it was published in 2006. It’s been reprinted several times (an unusual occurrence for a woodworking book in this day and age) and about a year … 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 →
Through tenon joints are one of the hallmarks of Gustav Stickley’s Craftsman furniture. These joints are incredibly strong and they look impressive. This little table is a great project for practice, and it was one of the projects I taught … Continue reading →
Last Wednesday evening I spent about an hour chatting with Dyami, Chris and Tom from the Modern Woodworkers Association. They recorded the conversation about SketchUp, my day job at Popular Woodworking Magazine, my books old an new, Arts & Crafts … 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 now available. Click Here for More Information and to Order Click Here for Photos of the Finished Clock The project I recently completed, a reproduction of a C.F.A. Voysey mantel … 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 →
