Lamination and Springback A chair back curvature problem leads to a discussion about predicting and minimizing springback in bent wood laminations. December 6, 2009
Digital Modeling, Furnituremaking, and the Artist's Vision A question about CAD and CNC for furnituremaking evolves into something much broader and deeper, as some extraordinary creative visualizations knock heads with some hard-bitten practical criticism. Technology versus Art: it's smackdown time for 12 full rounds. December 11, 2007
Crowns on Band Wheels Why do crowns exist, and do they improve band tracking? January 29, 2004
Cupping and Bowing in Resawn Stock Furnituremakers discuss drying issues such as casehardening that can cause lumber to move when ripped or re-sawn. April 18, 2015
Getting Mahogany Flat Very hard woods with alternating grain patterns sometimes develop waviness when sanded with wide-belt equipment. Here's an extensive discussion of the characteristics of Mahogany, and of ways to approach it using both hand tools and power equipment. November 12, 2005
Stabilizing Details for a Mahogany Island Top Concerned about wood movement, pros consider options including threaded rod reinforcement, sliding dovetails, or thin-sawing the wood. December 10, 2008
Cabinets and Furniture: What's the Difference? A cabinetmaker who seeks greater satisfaction by building furniture sets off a long and thoughtful discussion on why furniture is different. December 12, 2008
Unstable Cabinet Geometry and Toppling Risk A furniture maker wrestles with the stability and safety issues of a tall, narrow freestanding cabinet with one heavy glass door. August 21, 2006
Trimming Tenons Woodworkers bring massive brainpower to bear on a miniature problem. August 21, 2006
Designing a Unique Rocker Inspired by Nakashima's "Conoid" chair, a Woodweb member gets advice and criticism from the Furniture forum before creating, and executing, his unique vision for a custom rocking chair. March 16, 2015
Air-Dried Oak for Furniture In theory, kiln-drying is better; but people have successfully made furniture from air-dried hardwood. April 20, 2011
Troubleshooting a Moving Table Top Another good discussion on a typical learning experience: a table top is restrained on one face from moving in service, and instead the wood cups. December 8, 2012
Indoor Humidity and Wood Moisture Content A discussion with data, about typical indoor humidity levels and the corresponding effect on wood moisture content. October 13, 2010
The Ultimate Primer on Single Head Wide Belt Sanding With understanding of how successive grits function, you can improve the efficiency of your belt sanding and orbital sanding process while optimizing the quality of the results. November 12, 2014
Joint Design for a Solid Oak Desk A conversation about how to create the joint between a solid Oak desktop and its support so as to accommodate wood expansion and contraction. June 17, 2013
Edge Sanding Curved Parts Craftsmen discuss off-the-shelf and shop-invented solutions for smoothly sanding unique curved wood items. May 16, 2014
Filling Dents with Burn-In Sticks Detailed advice from experienced pros on how to touch up dings and dents in furniture. November 8, 2007
Wide Miters in Wood Countertops This long discussion about a proposed custom project includes good explanations for why miters in wide solid wood don't work, and some suggested methods to use instead. November 14, 2014
Artificially Aging and Weathering Wood Advice on creating erosion and graying on the surface of boards, without waiting a hundred years. This discussion touches on everything from cow manure to chemistry. February 15, 2009
Wood Movement Destroys Table Top Another designer learns the hard way, as a table top cracks because of ambient moisture changes and restrained wood movement. May 3, 2011
Selling Furniture Through A Retail Store Woodworkers discuss reasonable terms of the deal when showing furniture at a retailer's showroom. Markups on already made pieces, prices for custom orders, and simple referrals each involve their own reasonable market value. June 23, 2006
Why Heat the Shop? A start-up furniture maker hears about ten reasons not to work in an unheated garage during the winter. August 21, 2006
Flattening Oversize Table Tops If a table top is too big to fit through the wide-belt or drum sander, how do you get it flat? Here's an extended discussion with several valuable suggestions. June 29, 2008
Steam Box Construction Ideas Here's a handful of ideas for building a simple steam box for steaming and bending wood. December 9, 2010
Cutting Clean Through-Mortises in Oak Techniques and equipment for volume production of accurate through mortises, without tear-out on the punch-through side. January 9, 2007
Large Double Pedestal Dining Table Construction In this interesting thread, a furniture maker first asks advice on an extending dining table concept, then reports back after the project is built. October 19, 2013
Round Dining Table Dimensions A conversation about choosing the size for a dining table meant to seat 8 people. September 3, 2011
Construction Details for a Super-Sized Rustic Table The "rustic" label may add a "character" forgiveness factor, but there's still some head-scratching involved in building a table eight feet wide. October 28, 2014
Tinting and Staining Wood Filler Furniture makers discuss how to make wood filler match wood, and debate wood filler's proper role in the shop. December 1, 2005
Signing Your Furniture Pieces Custom furniture makers share thoughts and suggest techniques for signing pieces. December 15, 2005
Laying Out, Routing, or Templating an Ellipse Here are several approaches to cutting a large ellipse: elegant jigs, slick pencil layout tricks, and sources for paper or MDF templates. May 16, 2008
Marketing for Furniture Makers For furniture makers, word of mouth and cultivation of personal relationships are the best way to build an exclusive high-end clientele. But advertising and web marketing can also attract custom furniture buyers. October 19, 2014
Steambending How much time to allow based on thickness and proposed radius of wood. September 23, 2003
Describing Loose Tenon Joinery to Customers Domino joints have two mortises and a single floating tenon to connect them. But if you call that it a "loose" tenon, will customers misunderstand and think it's not strong? June 4, 2012
Repairing a Broken Lathe-Turned Table Leg There's more than one way to drill out, glue, and splint a busted table leg — and many opinions on which way is the best. November 14, 2014
Eliminating springback problems Determining the radius to aim for when creating a curve with vac-laminated plywood. September 23, 2003
Tenoners Basic descriptions of various types of tenoning machinery and their capabilities. November 13, 2008
Cedar for Outdoor Furniture A discussion of the health issues concerning Cedar sawdust, and of fastening and strength issues. December 6, 2011
Sleigh Bed Construction Issues Sleigh beds are traditionally made with veneers, but in this case a customer is asking for "solid wood." This brings up a discussion about wood movement and construction methods. November 26, 2006
Mitered Frame and Panel Table Tops Wood movement is likely to wreck a mitered solid wood table top with a wood panel center. Other methods stand better odds of success. August 30, 2007
Flattening and Truing Big Matched Burls A CNC is handy for dimensioning big, heavy awkward pieces accurately. But a shop-built router jig can also get it done. July 18, 2008
Ideal Humidity in a Wood Shop Indoor humidity levels correspond with wood moisture content. Here's advice on humidity control. October 26, 2012
Engineering for Tables A discussion of the stresses applied to a heavy table in use, and what they imply in terms of appropriate dimensions and construction details. March 28, 2012
Table Top Mistake/Wood Movement A craftsman gets into trouble with incorrect wood orientation in a table top. It's a learning experience. April 20, 2011
Guess the Wood Another wood identification mystery leaves the Woodweb forum guessing. What species is this highly figured, iridescent, almost glowing orange/yellow burl in a unique table. April 20, 2011
Conference Table Stability Concerns A custom conference table design draws criticism for being top-heavy (and easy to scratch). February 17, 2011
Loose Tenon Joinery for Chairs Loose tenons are easier than traditional mortise and tenon joinery, and they are a more robust and authentic solution than dowels or biscuits. October 26, 2011
Furniture Shipping and Tropical Moisture Issues Shipping from the tropics to the temperate zone, how do people deal with humidity changes? Here are some thoughts and possible solutions. November 8, 2007
Repairing Damaged Veneer Pros troubleshoot a water-damaged veneer table top, and consider possible fixes. October 30, 2005
Solid Wood Edges on an Oval Table This discussion of wood movement and the practicalities of constructing and oval table includes some nice photos of contributors' work. January 14, 2013
Veneering Table Legs A furnituremaker gets advice on applying veneer to glued-up table legs. March 26, 2013
Notching Out Dovetail Drawers Notching out for drawer hardware is tricky, slow, and sometimes blows out a dovetail. Here, custom furniture makers suggest ways to handle that delicate operation. October 19, 2005
Ripping a Glue Line on Site Have to glue boards edge to edge on the job site? Here are a couple of tips on preparing the edges for a satisfactory match.January 23, 2014
Engineering a Wide Pull-Out Table Furnituremakers puzzle over ways to construct to a wide-span, narrow table able to roll away from the wall as needed. November 3, 2010
Is Mahogany Okay in a "Mission Style" Furniture Piece? The customer is always right, of course. But technically, what types of wood are legit in a "Mission," "Stickley," or "Arts and Crafts" piece of furniture?February 17, 2014
Large Veneered Conference Table Top A discussion of how to lay up veneered components and assemble them for a large conference table. March 13, 2009
Spanish Cedar for Furniture? Characteristics of Spanish Cedar make it problematic, even for porch furniture. January 27, 2007
Assessing an Old Bedstead Before he tries to refinish it, a furnituremaker asks for advice on a bedroom piece's worth. October 13, 2008
Cross-Grain Dovetails Orienting dovetail keys in the wrong direction is asking for breakage at the grain. December 14, 2009
Matching a Curved Apron to a Curved Top Explanations of how to template a curved tabletop or countertop and fabricate a matched nosing or edging piece. November 14, 2009
Refinishing Teak Outdoor Furniture The table in question might not even be Teak. But here are some thoughts about the choices for a natural-looking refinishing job. January 28, 2013
Slab Table Leg Joinery Advice on table leg joinery that will tolerate movement in the slab table top. January 24, 2010
Solid Wood Tables — Span Length Limits How long is too long for a maple table? The discussion moves to apron depth and thickness, steel reinforcement, a center rib, and box panel construction. April 20, 2011
Wood Movement: How Big a Risk? In principle, solid wood joinery that does not allow for wood movement is a recipe for disaster. In practice, sometimes you get away with it. June 18, 2009
Furniture for High Humidity Conditions Advice on controlling moisture content during construction for furniture destined for a relatively uncontrolled environment. November 15, 2010
Solid Edge for a Round Table A solid wood circumference for a round veneered table poses some tricky woodworking puzzles. In this thread, craftsman offer detailed advice for a unique project. June 28, 2005
Machinery Options for Furniture Parts A furniture maker with a few standard products to sell gets advice on ways to scale up his production volume. June 4, 2012
Solid Wood Table-Top Movement Issues A plank table top with a mitered frame around the edge is a disaster waiting to happen. However, there may be ways to make it work by allowing for wood movement. (Or better yet, use veneer.) May 16, 2008
Finishing a Hand-Scraped Wood Surface Finishers and furnituremakers discuss the fine points of scraping and hand-planing, and of applying finish to a hand-worked wood surface. February 15, 2015
De-Nailing Antique Lumber Furnituremakers consider ways to get old cut nails out of old chestnut. October 8, 2005
Filling Deep Knotholes Techniques for filling knotholes before applying clear finish to a rustic Walnut table top. May 27, 2008
Wood Movement Considerations for a Large Table Top Swelling and shrinkage place stress on wood table tops, especially if both sawn lumber and plywood are involved. Here's advice on construction details. March 13, 2007
Veneering Methods for a Torsion-Box Table Top When you build a torsion box with veneered sheets of MDF over a central core, do you have to balance the veneer on each sheet of MDF? May 4, 2011
Solid Wood Octagon Table Top Failure Wood movement dooms a solid wood "sunburst" table top, and we learn why that will always happen. February 12, 2007
De-Warping Table Leaves A draw-leaf table has warped, and the maker asks for advice on fixing it. Colleagues suggest ways to quickly straighten the crooked parts. October 19, 2005
Finishing Dovetail Drawer Fronts A furniture builder gets help figuring out how to finish the fronts of some dovetail drawers in a custom piece. August 14, 2007
Table Leg Extensions Customer has an odd request: a table with legs that adjust from coffee-table to dining-table height. Pros suggest solutions. August 30, 2005
Oil-Sanded and Buffed Finish for a Table Top Tips on a custom furniture finish include advice on wet-sanding with natural oil to fill grain, then waxing and buffing to a high gloss. May 24, 2006
Reproducing a Grooved Vanity Door Thoughts on imitating the look of a reeded door panel (made with tambour mat screening in a hinged door panel). September 23, 2006
Learning to Design Furniture Tips on good books and resources for learning the principles of furniture design. November 26, 2006
Square Table Legs — One Piece, or Glued Up? Should a furnituremaker go to the trouble of laminating smaller pieces together into a built-up table leg? Here's advice on whether to do it and, if so, on how to go about it. March 13, 2007
Repairing a Scratch in Old Veneer If it's not a scratch but an indentation, then steaming would be wiser than sanding. February 21, 2013
Cubby Construction Methods Advice on joinery methods and veneer application for storage cube shelving. July 15, 2014
Windsor Chair Leg-to-Seat Joints Furniture makers discuss the logic behind using tapered through tenons with wedges for joining chair legs to seats. July 24, 2006
Murphy Bed Hardware A few general observations on the challenge of assembling and installing a Murphy bed. August 22, 2007
Warping of a Tabletop with an Unbalanced Finish A teachable moment: Finishers explain why tabletops finished on one side only (and in humid conditions to boot) experienced bad warping. December 31, 2005
Hot Cooking Surface Built Into a Wood Tray Puzzling over an odd problem: How to put a heated stone or iron cooking surface into a wooden tray for use at a restaurant table. Interesting suggestions here for insulating materials, air spaces, et cetera. January 19, 2012
Reclaimed Heart Pine Bleeding Trouble starts when heat brings out the sap in resawn antique pine used for a table top. Here's advice on sealing the surface.December 9, 2010
Routing an Elliptical Table CNC techniques are quick and accurate, but can also produce a template for edge work or future jobs. April 10, 2007
Casters for an Island Cabinet Here's a look at how to equip an island with casters, while providing for it to be held fixed when necessary. August 12, 2014
Repairing a Veneering Defect A void in the plywood veneer press caul caused a bubble in a trophy tabletop. But it all worked out in the end. March 28, 2012
Glass Table Top Connection Methods Thoughts on how it might be possible to structurally fasten glass to wood for a custom table design. July 29, 2014
Table-Leaf Warping Problem Why are extra leaves from a tabletop warping? Experts explain causes and cures. June 28, 2005
Joints for a HEAVY Tabletop A tough project has a tricky angle: how to fasten the legs to a heavy table when there's no shelf or apron to control racking. A furniture-maker gets advice from colleagues. July 5, 2005
Stocking a Furniture Touch-Up Kit Here's a nice look at what you might want in your starter kit for furniture touch-up and finish repair. July 14, 2010
Repairing Table-Top Cracks Tips on how to patch cracks in a wood table top caused by shrinkage and poor design. October 27, 2008
Shaping Tapered Table Legs Tips on profiling and tapering custom table legs when there's no easy outsourcing option. February 20, 2008
Fan-Shaped Table Top Glue-Up A discussion of how wood movement may affect a table top assembled from thin pie-slices, assembled in a radial pattern. January 19, 2012
Joinery for Mitered Corners Suggestions run the gamut: lock miters, splines, dowels, floating tenons, pocket screws, and butterfly splines. Take your choice. October 19, 2013
Drying Walnut Stumps Slow air-drying of Walnut stumps and roots can yield some remarkable pieces. April 18, 2015
Appearance Considerations with Sapele Sapele wood darkens over time (as do Cherry and Mahogany), and its compatibility with the look of other woods is a matter of personal preference. April 11, 2008
Comparing Low Angle and High Angle Planes Woodworkers discuss the differences between low angle and high angle planes, and the appropriate uses for each. February 14, 2010
Making a Curved Table Skirt Methods and materials for making up skirt pieces for a round Mahogany table. October 26, 2005
Air-dried lumber Is it air-dried cherry acceptable for furnituremaking? March 20, 2001
Shellac Before Poly Finish on a Custom Table Shellac is a good sealer coat to apply to a furniture piece while still under construction, during a delay before final finishing with poly.October 19, 2014
Table Border and Wood Movement Here's an idea (untested perhaps) for constructing a wood tabletop border that allows for movement of the various parts without self-destruction. November 16, 2011
Single or Two-Head Sander for Table Tops? A discussion of whether a table-top maker should invest in a single-head belt sander, a two-head belt sander, or a stroke sander. February 15, 2015
Expanding Table Leaf Details A nice discussion of how to build a table with leaves whose grain runs in the long dimension of the table, with some examples. October 26, 2011
Calibrating a Hollow Chisel Mortiser Careful adjustments to the spacing between the chisels and the bit can prevent overheating, smoking, and chisel breakage. January 3, 2012
Repairing a Water-Damaged Lacquer Finish If it's nitrocellulose lacquer, you can use specialty sprays or denatured alcohol to remove the white water damage. May 24, 2006
How to Eliminate Beetles in a Finished Slab Heating in a kiln to 130 degrees Fahrenheit will destroy the finish, but it's the only sure, safe way to kill the bugs. June 18, 2010
Stapling Into Hard Wood Hard Maple is tough to penetrate with staples. Fortunately, shorter staples will hold well in harder wood. August 6, 2010
Edge-Sanding Round Tops Jigs and rigs for sanding the edges of solid wood round table-tops. March 31, 2008
Repairing or Filling Tear-Out Tips for filling planer tear-out and blending the area with the surrounding wood. February 12, 2010
Mortisers Basic info on mortising machinery. November 12, 2008
Laminating Plywood Panels Together When gluing multiple pieces of plywood together for a built-up thickness, make sure to balance thicknesses to balance opposing stresses. December 27, 2006
A Spalted Slab in a Wine Cellar Kiln-drying kills the fungus in spalted wood, and 60% RH in a wine cellar will not support fungal re-growth. December 6, 2011
Designing Banquette Seating Advice on seat height, table height, seat back slope, et cetera, for built-in banquette seating at a table. September 25, 2014
Sanding Drawers After Construction Ideas for sanding distinctive hardwood drawer boxes after building them, without distorting the corners. November 26, 2008
Air-Dried Wood for Furniture As this example demonstrates, when a people tell you your air-dried lumber won't make a sweet (and sweet-smelling) piece of furniture, sometimes it's because they want to take your wood away for free. January 11, 2007
End Leaves on a Dining Table Dining tables with extending leaves on the end are called "refectory tables," and information on how to make them is not hard to find. March 4, 2009
Matching Maple Veneer to Sawn Maple A furnituremaker's problem: dealing with a color difference between solid sawn Maple table legs and the birdseye Maple veneer top. January 19, 2012
Ebony Substitutes for Inlay Suggestions for softer woods to substitute for Ebony as an inlay in a table top, along with a tip on bringing Ebony flush to softer woods during sanding and finishing operations. November 15, 2011
Rocker Lamination Tips Advice on hardwood lamination thickness for rocking chair rockers, and tips for cutting the laminations. February 12, 2007
Murphy Bed Hardware Choices Advice on shopping for hardware to build beds that fold back into the wall. March 22, 2013
Gluing Up Split Turnings Advice on paper choice for gluing up split wood turnings in furnituremaking. July 16, 2012
Conference Table Leveling How do you incorporate practical, accessible leg levelers into the pedestal bases for a big, heavy conference table? August 31, 2010
Cracks in a Butcher Block Woodworkers consider why cracks would open in a butcher-block cutting board during orbital sanding. January 8, 2010
Repairing an Imprecise Glue-Up Tiny bevels on the ripped edges of boards have resulted in a visible gap after glue-up. How to fix? February 13, 2013
Wood Tabletop Stability A little puzzling over desktop spans, frame stability, and related issues. May 16, 2008
The Use of Wax Finishes on Pre-Industrial American Furniture Here's a scholarly paper on the history of wax finishes applied to early American furniture, and the difficult challenges of identifying and restoring original wax finishes. December 11, 2007
Antiqueing Brass Brass gets old quick if you fume or soak it with the right stuff. June 10, 2006
Ostrich Skin Technique Whack wood with a ball peen hammer, then wet it, and the dimples turn into pimples. Who knew? Only the ancient Chinese — until now. December 31, 2012
Table Top and Base Proportions Because table height is generally a constant, the ratio between table top and base needed to provide stability varies with table diameter. October 28, 2005
Controlling Bugs in Finished Furniture Fumigation or spraying are ineffective and have drawbacks. Instead, here's a tip for heat-treating furniture. April 24, 2013
Shoji Screen Material Sources Here are a few leads if you're shopping around for material for those translucent Japanese paper screen assemblies. June 18, 2009
Moisture Movement of Mixed Wood Species Mixing species in a single furniture piece is no problem in most situations, but could create an issue if there are drastic changes in ambient humidity. March 30, 2008
Chess Board in a Table Top Addressing wood movement details for a chess board set into a table top. December 30, 2007
Leather Desk Tops Quick tips on attaching hides to desktops. December 30, 2005
Wood Movement and Strap Hinges Quick tips on mounting large hinges to solid wood in a way that won't restrict the freedom of the wood to expand or contract in response to ambient conditions. July 11, 2013
Building a Table In Boat-Builder Style Here's an discussion of costs, pricing, and technique concerning a unique table made using methods inspired by the boat-building trade. August 26, 2008
Board Widths for an Oak Table Top Wood movement is the big concern with table tops. Here's how that concern affects the choice of lumber size. May 7, 2007
Bending Pressure-Treated Wood Detailed, authoritative information on the ins and outs of bending pressure-treated wood for curved outdoor decks or garden structures. May 23, 2007
Polyethylene Versus Wood for Drawer Runners A discussion of practical issues with ultra high molecular weight (UHMW) polyethylene drawer slides, and the all wood alternatives. April 10, 2008
Pushing the Envelope with a Herringbone Table Top Small pieces of wood sliced 1/8 inch thick, laid into a herringbone pattern, and applied to an MDF substrate on both sides, have been known to work as a custom table top. March 26, 2007
Pricing Furniture Cost is a hard fact, but the market value of a unique furniture piece can be very subjective. October 28, 2008
How to make a tenon Accurately sized tenons without a tenoner. September 25, 2002
Pedestal Table Dimension Limits A furnituremaker gets advice for making a scaled-up version of a pedestal table at a customer's request. March 13, 2014
Buying and Using a Stroke Sander Advice on buying a used stroke sander, and tips on making and using sanding blocks for it. July 24, 2006
Bending Wood: Steam or Heat? In steam bending, is it the moisture or the heat that makes the wood bendable? The doctor explains, it's both. October 17, 2012
Portable Mortising Tools Furnituremakers look at handy mortise-cutting power tools that work on the same principle as a biscuit-slot cutter. November 27, 2007
Hand-Made Appearance of a Scrub Plane To get the scalloped look of this made-in-Mexico cabinet, you need a scrub plane — a traditional tool that some woodworkers really like. March 4, 2009
Bending and Laminating Cherry Quartersawn wood will behave a little better than flatsawn for making a laminated bent piece, but it's not a critical issue. April 21, 2008
Building Outdoor Chairs An example and step-by-step instructions for an Adirondack-style rocker. December 1, 2005
Prototypes for Custom Furniture Jobs Custom furniture makers discuss whether, when, and how to make a prototype mock-up before beginning a furniture project for real. May 23, 2007
Poplar for a Dining Table? Even for a paint-grade piece, Poplar is not a great choice because of its softness. Maple makes more sense. December 6, 2011
Hand-held Router Accuracy Routers are not perfectly centered from the factory, and require tuning. You'll notice it on fine-tolerance work such as dovetail joinery.October 4, 2011
Built-Up Shop-Made "Crown Moulding" Two examples of crown-moulding-like details on furniture pieces, created by stacking and routing curved sections of flat stock. July 16, 2012
Breadboard Table Top Ends Tips on the mortise and tenon joinery for a breadboard table end. October 2, 2005
Dining Table Stability Here's an enlightening, if confused, discussion of the forces required to tip over a table based on its mass distribution. Also, this is a cool looking table. July 16, 2012
Structural Testing for Chairs There's the Fat Man test, the Little Boy test, the Throw it Off the Roof test, and the "Entire state is sliding into the ocean" test ... you get the idea. January 3, 2012
Pursuing perfect miters Methods and equipment for achieving the highest quality. September 20, 2003
Drilling a Hole the Length of a Log People have actually succeeded at drilling holes in logs the long way. Here, they explain how to do it. December 27, 2006
Conference Table Disaster One of life's hard lessons: Moisture-related wood movement has caused severe bowing in an unbalanced conference table. August 21, 2006
Troubleshooting Glue Line Swelling in Furniture In this long and complicated thread, woodworkers and experts try to figure out what's causing a slight ridge to form at the glue line in a wood chair lamination. July 29, 2014
Chair Re-Caning Basics Here's a generous portion of advice and tips for a beginner about chair seat cane replacement, from craftsmen who've done a little or a lot. September 5, 2010
Troubleshooting Cupping in a Bar Top A solid Ipe bar top starts to show cupping. Furniture-makers chime in on wood movement and the nature of the problem. January 13, 2006
Table Leg Attachment and Veneer Details This thread offers good analysis of table structure, veneering techniques for complex shapes, and the business problem of trying to compete with cheap manufactured goods as a custom furnituremaker. October 1, 2010
A Laminated Bent Chair Leg Furniture makers take a close look at the concept of building a bent chair leg by laminating cross-grain thin sawn layers into a thicker member. May 18, 2010
Table-Leg Design Issues A discussion of table leg thickness and related considerations when designing in the Arts and Crafts style. March 13, 2007
End Joint Splitting in Table Glue-Ups Here's a long troubleshooting discussion about splits that form at the end joints between boards in a round table top. August 29, 2014
Sliding Dovetails in Bookcases A furnituremaker tries dovetail joinery for bookcase shelves, and likes the result. February 3, 2011
Wood Table End Options Woodworkers discuss breadboard table end details, and a slick mitered-end alternative. January 10, 2006
Mitering a Solid Wood L-Shaped Top A discussion of the risks inherent in building a corner into a solid wood table or counter top. April 24, 2014
Outdoor Wood Table Ideas Woodworkers kick around some design and construction details for a wood table that can hold up to conditions on an outdoor deck. January 9, 2008
Drying a Walnut Slab This thread about how to slowly air-dry a Walnut slab has some beautiful photos of a Walnut slab table. August 16, 2012
Re-Gluing an Old Hide Glue Joint New hide glue can re-activate old hide glue. But old and busted joints may present some pesky complexities. December 27, 2008
Table Top Breadboard End Repair A woodworker gets advice on re-attaching breadboard table ends that were never properly attached to begin with. July 20, 2011
Raised Glue Lines after Sanding and Finish Moisture in glue can cause swelling of wood near the joint, which may result in noticeable lines at the joint (depending on the timing of sanding and finishing). October 19, 2014
Removing Old Glue from Furniture Tips and tricks for softening hide glue or old formulations of carpenter's wood glue. April 24, 2012
Antique Lumber: Steam Bend or Laminate? Upon consideration, a furnituremaker decides to laminate a curved table apron rather than try to steam and bend historic old wood. October 17, 2012
Avoiding Messy Excess Glue on Through Tenons When you use through tenon joinery with exposed tenon ends, it's hard to keep glue off the tenon ends. Here's some advice on dealing with the mess. April 20, 2011
Vacuum Pressing a Scroll Table A furniture maker grapples with the problem of veneering a curved table shape. April 18, 2009
Copper-Clad Table Top Ideas for wrapping and fastening copper sheeting over a plywood table top. January 7, 2010
Glue Reacting with Cherry A Cherry table shows witness lines at the glue joints. The culprit: a reaction between the wood and the glue. November 13, 2005
Edgebanding a Round Table Here's a list of steps for applying edgebanding to a round laminate tabletop. April 8, 2013
Touching Up Furniture that Won't Take Stain Sometimes a piece is still sealed, or has been sanded down to a glue-saturated veneer ply. Here are tips on restoring color to those pieces. May 24, 2006
Mahogany Table-Top Glue-Up A discussion of how to avoid problems in a large round table-top slab. March 13, 2007
From Slab to Tabletop How one craftsman took a big chunk of tree and turned it into furniture. January 27, 2007
Waterproofing with Epoxy Waterproofing outdoor furniture may be a losing game. But if you're using epoxy to protect exposed wood, choose the right product. May 16, 2014
Carton Marks on Finished Furniture A furnituremaker considers how to prevent his cardboard packaging from abrading the finish on his pieces. February 15, 2015
Avoiding Warping in an Unfinished Wood Tabletop A customer has asked for a natural-wood kitchen island table top. Here, pros discuss the risk of warping and how to minimize it. December 15, 2005
Chair Making Equipment The category "chair-making equipment" includes a wide variety of specialized and more general tools and machines. September 20, 2008
Plastic Glue Odors in a Cedar Chest A furniture maker tries to understand why it's so hard to get the smell of polyurethane glue out of a cedar chest. May 5, 2007
Powderpost Beetles in Furniture Pinholes and powder are a dead giveaway of a beetle infestation. Here are some facts about the bugs and how to handle them. February 19, 2006
Exterminating Insects in Furniture A table built from old wood previously stored in a barn now has "old house borers." The solutions are fumigation or heat. March 13, 2007
Darkening of Oil-Finished End Grain Unusual tables milled from whole logs present an interesting stain and finish problem, besides the obvious moisture-related movement concerns. May 23, 2007
"High End" Ready-to-Assemble Fasteners Furnituremakers take a look at Lamello's new line of knockdown assembly connectors for cabinetry and furnishings. March 28, 2012
Duplicating A Gadroon Molding More complex than egg and dart (because of the asymettrical tadpole detail), a gadroon pattern is probably best carved by hand. March 12, 2006
Working Safely with Ipe Dust and oils from Ipe wood are allergenic and toxic. You need serious personal protective gear if you work with Ipe. Here's more info. May 16, 2008
Value added defined Many definitions and interpretations are offered up. July 29, 2003
Three-phase motors 101 Three-phase power and converters; explained in layman's terms. June 19, 2003
Stupid Woodworker Tricks With a nod toward David Letterman, pros discuss their least-best moments. January 24, 2005
Custom Built-In Seating for a Boat The furniture forum discusses plumb, level, port, starboard, pitch, yaw, and relating nautical seating terminology. June 10, 2006
AWI certification Is membership or certfication with AWI worth your while?July 29, 2003
Starting Out as a Furnituremaker Making custom furniture is a very tough business, and most craftsmen who try it fail. August 29, 2006
Toning a Table Top This finishing problem is really more of a customer relations issue. But it's worth reading just for a look at the table top (a lovely piece of work). August 22, 2013
Furniture Manufacturer Direct Sales A furniture manufacturer gets some well-informed and thoughtful advice on how to structure a direct sales operation so as to survive tough market conditions that are destroying his multi-step dealer sales volume. December 27, 2008
Choosing CAD/CAM for Complex Carved Custom Furniture What programs could handle the drawing and machine control requirements for reproducing an intricate, highly decorated, hand-carved piece of custom furniture? April 19, 2011
Low-tech panel squaring Methods and machines for squaring that don't involve CNC equipment. April 9, 2003
The Business of Chair-Making A cold look at the hard numbers for furniture building. Between rock-bottom overseas competition at the low end, and popular established competitors at the high end, it's hard for a small shop to find a profitable niche. April 21, 2011
Structural Concerns for Boat Cabinetry A proposal for a free-standing entertainment center on a boat sets off a discussion about appropriate technology in nautical cabinetry. July 30, 2007
Sliding Table Saw Tips Sliders are a little different for those used to working on a standard table saw. January 24, 2005
A multi-faceted challenge An architectural woodworker gets ideas for making a too-wide handrail intersect gracefully with an octagon-shaped newel cap. December 17, 2003
Income Goals for a Furniture Maker How to approach the calculations involving cost, overhead, and labor time for a one-man craftsman business. November 16, 2011
Troubleshooting Tearout on End Grain A furnituremaker gets advice on avoiding tearout when machining Maple end grain with a roundover bit. October 19, 2014
Staining MDF Products and techniques for best results. July 28, 2004
Material for Doors with False Drawer Fronts Furnituremakers discuss whether to use solid wood or MDF and veneer for a set of vanity doors with fake drawer fronts. April 27, 2011
Restoring Duncan Phyfe Table-Leg Joints Advice on how to dissolve existing hide glue, inject new glue, and apply clamps when restoring distinctive antique table-leg joinery. July 27, 2008
Long-Span Shelves Ideas and resources for dealing with long shelf spans. December 30, 2005
Distressing wood Creating a well-worn look on newly built furniture. February 6, 2002
Pricing a Custom Piece of Furniture A custom cabinet-maker asks for input on pricing a specially-ordered free-standing chest of drawers. The discussion covers a lot of ground on estimating, pricing, and the difference between cabinets and furniture. October 19, 2005
Pricing a Furniture Prototype How do you decide what to charge for designing and building a piece of furniture that will then be mass-produced by others? June 22, 2010
Bowing in a Panel Glue-Up Woodworkers consider why a one-inch thick shelf made up of a 3/4-inch wood layer glued to a 1/4-inch MDF layer came out of the vacuum bag bowed. October 13, 2012
Pricing Out a Bookcase Design A customer's design based on an existing manufactured product probably can't be made for a cost that's competitive with the original. June 4, 2012
Pricing a Stump Woodworkers get a good laugh out of chunks of hardwood log, sold in catalogs as two-hundred-dollar furniture. February 11, 2009
Hide glue Proper mix ratio and storage info. September 24, 2002
Presenting A Quote There are reasons to sell the job face to face, in person. April 10, 2005
Does Your Sanding Make Sense? "Trouble starts when taking off more than a belt can handle, or taking off more than the scratch pattern of the previous head. These are the most common mistakes in sanding... It can be incredibly frustrating to see a company trapped in a prison of their own design because they really never und ......
Adding value to old pallets Examples of how woodworkers have recycled pallets and other old wood into new products. June 5, 2002
Glue Injection Techniques When laminate or veneer is lifting, you can make a slit, inject adhesive, and clamp for a clean repair. Here are some detailed tips on getting the glue where it needs to go. February 20, 2008
Scribing three edges Templates, tic sticking and more for efficient scribing in difficult situations. September 20, 2003
Sawdust as fuel Building a sawdust-fired boiler to heat kiln and shop. November 18, 2002
Making Code from Sloppy Drawings The frustrations of messy drawings, and a parallel discussion of CNC theory vs. reality in terms of function. December 9, 2004
Clamping Veneer Core to Plywood Advice on clamping methods for gluing two panel faces together without a vacuum bag. July 20, 2011
Fortune Teller: Making More Money in the Wood Industry Wood Doctor Gene Wengert makes some educated guesses about the near future in the wood products industry, and offers some advice about how wood-based businesses can profit from change. April 15, 2013
Moving to Metric Tips on making the transition as smooth as possible. September 9, 2004
Truing-up rough wood Planers will not remove the bow from rough stock; jointing is required before boards can be properly thicknessed. February 13, 2001
Waxing Equipment Surfaces Using butcher's wax to make wood move easily across machine tables. April 18, 2004
Warping and cracking in glued-up pine To find clues for cracked and warped pine panels, a measure of moisture content is needed before the splitting occurs. 1998.
ITEMIZER - From R & R Drummond, Inc. Use your computer to generate efficient layouts for cutting sheet material into desired sizes (a link to a demo download is provided)1998
Blind woodworker's story A blind cabinetmaker tells the story of his education and career in woodworking. (From WOODWEB's Cabinetmaking Forum) January 21, 2003