Website Changes

This blog is used by the Web Administrator to list updates to the website. This blog is summarized on the front page to make it easy for the members it locate new material without having to go  through the entire site. 

  • December 30, 2020 11:05 PM | Vincent Valvo (Administrator)

    The new year brings a Featured Piece by Jim Allen.  Noted for his interest in period furniture, just a couple of months ago this column published his article on Arts and Crafts, Jim has modified the design of a bed frame to be far from that age.  However, with hints of Asian, Scandinavian, and Shaker design, Jim has blended a contemporary piece of furniture – sleek, sturdy, and well-crafted. From the look of it, I’m sure Jim sleeps well at night.  Read the Evolution of a New Bed Frame article here.

    You can reach Jim at here.


  • December 30, 2020 11:01 PM | Vincent Valvo (Administrator)

    River tables are what they are called.  Colored epoxy seemingly running along the middle of a dining room table is an example.  You’ve seen lots of them now in more creative applications than just dining room tables.  In this month’s Bevel Cut article, Andrew Davis writes about epoxy and his attempts using this simple carbon compound, tinted or not, in furniture applications and pitfalls to avoid.  Read about Epoxy here.

    Andrew welcomes your feedback.

  • December 27, 2020 5:08 PM | Vincent Valvo (Administrator)

    Making a Table Saw Sled was presented and captured in the Resources section.

  • December 23, 2020 3:51 PM | James Russell (Administrator)

    Making a Table Saw Sled by Jamey Pope December 12, 2020


  • December 08, 2020 5:21 AM | Vincent Valvo (Administrator)

    The Gadget is found on the Home page.

  • December 02, 2020 8:51 PM | Vincent Valvo (Administrator)


    Learning Curve Blues

    by Andrew Davis

    There’s no shortage of interesting behavioral aspects about woodworking that Andrew Davis can conjure up.  This one is deals with concept of the learning curve.  Something we all know intellectually and have experience it practically.  I suppose many of us rarely make the same piece repeatedly.  I don’t mean when making the same two chairs or tables at the same time.  I mean, make them serially.  Some of us have taken advantage of the learning curve. Andrew has a way of taking this notion and giving his Bevel Cut version of an everyday activity to another analytical level.

    Andrew welcomes your feedback.


  • December 02, 2020 8:48 PM | Vincent Valvo (Administrator)


    Curly Maple Bureau with

    Carved Curly Cherry Drawers 

    by Steve McKenna

    This brings a piece back to life from 2018 by Steve McKenna.  That’s not to say that the curly maple bureau with carved curly cherry drawers lay dormant since then.  It was built for Steve’s daughter-in-law.  It’s nice to have a relative who’s a woodworker, especially one as talented as Steve.  The name of the piece says it all.  But don’t be disturbed when you see the picture of the bureau when taken under a different light.  It’s an optical illusion.  Have a look.

    You can reach Jim at here.

  • November 16, 2020 9:02 PM | James Russell (Administrator)

    The November Guild presentation has been posted to the video library. 

    18th Century Furniture Design by Will Neptune November, 2020

  • November 14, 2020 11:11 PM | Vincent Valvo (Administrator)

    Period sources written for cabinetmakers wanting to create new designs suggest using techniques borrowed from classical architectural.  A compass and straightedge can be used to establish the height and width where parts will be joined, as well as for constructing patterns of curved elements. This talk will present research Will did for an article co-authored with Steve Brown which was published in “American Furniture”, Chipstone Foundation, 2017. Learn how furniture makers built pieces that are seen as well proportioned.

    Will will be using a combination of Powerpoint slides, photos, and some short videos showing hand tool work.  While the focus is on specific 18th Century work, the techniques can be applied to simpler, yet elegant, moldings and other components of Federal to modern designs and studio furniture.

  • November 01, 2020 10:00 AM | Vincent Valvo (Administrator)


    Sharp as a Chisel

    by Andrew Davis

    You might think that the picture above should have been used for last month's article "What's in Your Scrap Heap".  But the picture is not a mistake, and that's what Andrew Davis' article is about.  Mistakes and mental errors.  Like Andrew's, mine, and your scrap pile, the picture above of scrap has contributions made not just from leftover accurate cuts but from bad cuts.  All to often, especially when it gets to angles and math, and frankly not paying enough attention to detail, mistakes happen due to mental errors.

    We all fall into this category.  But in this month's Bevel Cut article Sharp as a Chisel Andrew reveals his own recent experience.

    Andrew welcomes your feedback.


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