At Long Last: The Rocking Chair is Done!

After over a year of planning, preparation, and building (plus the birth of my son and sudden lack of shop time), at long last the Boston Rocker project comes to a close!

Getting Into Fine Woodworking, Part 2: Dust Collection

In part 1 of the series, I talked about possible locations for your shiny new workshop. Now that you've picked out that perfect spot, it's time to think about how you're going to keep yourself healthy in it! Besides the obvious (read all instruction manuals, follow proper safety procedures, blah blah blah), one of the most important things you can do for your shop is install some sort of dust collection system.

Getting Into Fine Woodworking, Part 1: Location, Location, Location!

A friend of mine recently asked me for advice on getting started in fine furniture building. I thought this would make a great topic of discussion here.

There's a lot of ways to get into fine woodworking. Maybe you inherited a workshop from your parents or grandparents and decided you want to learn how to do something with it. Or maybe you saw woodworking shows like New Yankee Workshop or The Woodwright's Shop and became inspired by the craftsmanship (or power tools).

No matter how, getting started in the craft tends to work pretty much the same way.  So, I want to discuss what I think are the most important parts to getting started quickly, and largely how I got into the craft myself.

A New Family Member and a Completed Changing Table

You may have noticed my absence from the blogosphere these past few months. Well, that sort of thing happens when you get a newborn! Rowan Stewart-Maccarrone, at your service!

In related news, I managed to get his changing table done just-in-time, and it came out beautiful! All of the problems I had initially with warping wood went away after I figured out what to do. Then, it was a matter of cutting out the rest of the pieces and putting it all together.

Making Progress: Soft Wood Not So Bad Afterall

In my last post, I mentioned the various difficulties I was having using alder for my changing table. Well, as it turns out, almost all of this was easily preventable! With a bit of reading and some adjustments to my technique, I was able to overcome these challenges, and have been making great progress on the changing table!

Changing Table Woes

This mortise broke as I was attempting to fit
it to its tenon.

Sometimes things don't work out how you planned them.

Top o' the Rocker to ye!

It's really coming together! I turned the last couple of days into solid shop days and managed to tear through the next few steps on the rocker: the front roll, tapered mortises on the top of the chair, and the back posts and spindles — not to mention the initial mounting of the top crest.