Our cover article for the April 2014 issue is a William & Mary five-drawer chest with a two over three drawer design built by Chuck Bender. The chest also features frame-and-panel ends with mitered-stuck moulding profiles (plus, he includes a sidebar that walks you through his technique for brushed on shellac).
In "Chipbreaker: Theory & Use," Kees Van Der Heiden and Wilbur Pan present video evidence from two Japanese professors that demonstrate how most bench planes come equipped with everything you need to eliminate tear-out as you work. If you set your chipbreaker properly, you'll have smooth sailing. Autumn Doucet, the winner of the 2013 Popular Woodworking Magazine Excellence Awards, shares her insight into building a jewelry box with wood and shell inlay; you'll discover how to cut and inlay mother-of-pearl and abalone. Don Williams improves his workbench with the addition of a shop-made tail vise — a sheet of Baltic birch plywood and a few metal parts, including an 8" handwheel, transform his bench into a workholding marvel. He shares his measured drawings and step-by-step build. And Marc Spagnuolo builds his version of a Greene & Green-style blanket chest, complete with ebony embellishments and a secret drawer — he also shares a special router technique used to form the chest handles.
Christopher Schwarz introduces Freddy Roman in "From Punk to Period." If you're not familiar with young Mr. Roman, you'll be amazed at the finished projects he's turned out in such a short period of time. And you'll discover how teachers such as Phil Lowe, W. Patrick Edwards and Bob Van Dyke have influenced his woodworking.
In this month's Tool Test, we review the Bosch 10" Dual-bevel Glide Miter Saw, Senco's FinishPro 23 XLP headless pinner, a magnetic-mount LED Work Light from Lee Valley and EyeMuffs (Sells Safety) that are hearing and eye protection combined into a single apparatus. In Design Matters, George R. Walker discusses how to combine cyma curves to produce an outstanding swan's-neck pediment . Woodworking Essentials has Glen D. Huey's take on woodworking mallets. Learn what shapes, sizes and weights are best. Bob Rozaieski discusses "Period Clamping Techniques" in Arts & Mysteries. Bob Flexner explains how you can use soap as a wood finish — a finish that imparts no color to your project and is great for woods that are light in color in Flexner on Finishing. And in End Grain, John Ipekjian, in "Blacker House Garden Bench," shares how a Bermuda cedar tree planted by Greene & Greene is re-purposed into an outdoor bench that resides on the property.
Plus Tricks of the Trade, reader letters and more.