Christopher Schwarz reaches into the family tree of furniture for our cover story for the February 2015 issue; the aumbry is the ancestor of kitchen cabinets, bookcases, armoires and other storage. Chris shows you how to create the Gothic tracery showcased in this build and how it’s all held together by simple joinery and cut nails.
Tom Calisto shows you how to use simple shop tools to make your own copper Stickley-style hardware. It’s easier than you think, and Tom shows some innovative techniques for working with the metal.
Find out how to build one of the lesser-known gems of the Arts & Crafts movement as Peter Marcucci takes you step by step through building Charles Rohlfs’ 1898 Desk Chair. It’s art as furniture and furniture as art. Peter shares patterns for the insets and medallions, based on his extensive research into Rohlfs’ work (as well as step-by-step instructions for the chair itself, of course).
Ever use a Donkey’s Ear? You might want to…Graham Blackburn shares six must-have shooting boards to help you plane accurately and precisely.
And in a feature article, Bob Flexner examines teak oil&emdash;the oil that doesn’t exist.
In Tool Test, we review the new line of bevel-down bench planes by Veritas, available with frogs milled at a custom angle; the Tormek T-4 water-cooled sharpening system; and Christopher Schwarz reviews Tiger Flakes shellac. In Design Matters, George Walker discusses how depth (or the illusion of depth) adds life to design. In “I Can Do That,” Megan Fitzpatrick builds a kitchen pot rack (and introduces a new video series). And Peter Follansbee builds a Chinese wood carrier in his Arts & Mysteries column.
Plus Tricks of the Trade, reader letters and more.