Furniture
You Can Build
Projects that hone your skills
by Joe
Hurst-Wajszczuk
Softcover
215 x 275mm
172pp
Published by Taunton Press, CT, USA
R.R.P.$29.90
ISBN 1-56158-796-6
Desk Organizer
Blanket Box
Storage Bench
Serving Table
Sofa table
Bookcase
Simple Bed
Desk
As reviewed in The Australian Woodworker Issue 133
The key to success in woodworking is building your skills and the only way to do that is to practice. Unfortunately, practice can be boring.
The author of Furniture You Can Build has an easy solution to this dilemma. He describes the construction of eight pieces of functional and attractive furniture, but adds to the information contained in the usual instructions, photos and drawings. There are, for example, Skill Builder, Work Smart and Jig boxes designed to help the reader gain the maximum benefit from each project.
The Skill Builder component is often quite extensive. Included in one of these boxes, for example, are full constructional details for making a Crosscut Sled. Another is devoted to Making and Using Featherboards while yet another deals with Using a Cabinet Scraper. The latter is, incidentally, one of the best descriptions of the sharpening and use of a cabinet scraper that appears in currently available woodworking books.
Each of the projects begins with a photo and description of the item of furniture. This is followed by notes (usually about a page) devoted to What You’ll Learn.
For example, the preamble to these notes for the Storage Bench lists: Making four-sided quartersawn legs, Using a biscuit jointer, Using a slot-cutting router bit, Cutting tenons with a dado cutter and Keeping panels square during assembly.
The projects described in the book are a Desk Organiser, Blanket Box, Storage Bench, Serving Table, Sofa Table, Bookcase, Simple Bed and a Desk. The designs are contemporary and the structures are sturdy.
There is also a preparatory chapter that deals very briefly with woodworking tools and machines.
The book would be of use to anyone who wishes to learn or revise their knowledge of woodworking in a pleasant and productive manner.
Photos: Colour
Units of Measurement: Imperial
Contents
Introduction
Tools
Hand
Tools
- Marking and Measuring Tools
- Handplanes
- Chisels
- Saws
Clamps
Handheld
Power Tools
- Sander
- Drill
- Router
- Circular Saw
- Biscuit
Jointer
- Jigsaw
Larger Woodworking Machines
- Tablesaw
- Planer
-
Jointer
- Compressor
Safety
Desk
Organizer
Buying
Materials
Building the Case
- Make wide boards from narrow ones
- Sizing
your stock
- Jointing edges on a tablesaw
- Using a cabinet scraper
-
Making the sides and dividers
- Assemble the case
- Making a simple router
table
Building the Drawer
- Assemble the drawer
Finishing
Blanket
Box
New Size
for a classic design
Buying materials
Building the Blanket Box
- Mill
and size your stock
- Shape the boards and cut the joinery
- Making an auxiliary
fence
- Resawing wood on a tablesaw
- Making a crosscut sled
Assembling
the Case
Making the Lid and adding the hinges
- Install the hinge
Building
the Drawer
Finishing the Box
Storage
Bench
A step
beyond your basic bench
Buying materials
Building the Bench
- Making
the legs
Building the Sides
- Self-squaring assembly table
- Cut grooves
to accept the panels
- Stile-grooving jig
Assembling the Box
- Squaring
jig
- Finish out the inside
Making the Lid
Finishing
Serving
Table
Service
with style
Buying materials
Building the Table
Gluing up the Top
-
Making an edge-cutting guide
- Making and using featherboards
Building the
Legs
- Cutting through mortises
Building the Feet
- Cutting tenons on
the tablesaw
- Tenon-cutting jig
Building the Stretcher and Top Supports
-
Assembling the Base
- Building the Bottom Tray
Finishing
Final Assembly
Sofa
table
Sofa Table
with style and storage
Buying materials
Building the Sofa Table
Cutting
the Case Parts
Making the plywood panels
- Acute angle jig
- Cutting
plywood
Grooving the Legs and Rails
- Making a double-biscuit joint
Assembling
the Panels
- Renewable push stick
- Pulling the Case together
Making
and installing the Shelf
Building the Top
- Making tabletop fasteners
Finishing
touches
Bookcase
Built
for books
Buying materials
Building the Bookcase
Cutting the Rails and
Stiles to size
Making the plywood panels
Grooving the Legs and Rails
-
making a double-biscuit joint
Assembling the Panels
- Drop in the bottom
Building
sturdy Shelves
- Building sag-free shelves
Building the Top
- Routing
a Top in two steps
- Shelf-drilling guide
Finishing touches
Simple
Bed
A flexible
bed design
Buying materials
Building the Bed
Start and finish the Rails
Making
the Legs
- Cutting big boards in a small shop
Making the Headboard and Footboard
-
Starting the rails and finishing the slats
- Hiding knots and blemishes
-
Making mortise strips
- Routing wide dadoes
- Assembling the headboard and
footboard
Making the Bed
- Bed rail detail
Desk
Write
this way
Buying materials
Building the Desk
Making the Top
Building
the Base
- Cutting and milling the aprons
- Button-slot jig
- Simple
slot mortise
Making and fitting the drawer
Applying a two-part finish
-
Finishing the Base
- Finishing the Top
Final assembly
Sources
Index