Author Archives: woodworksbyjohn

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About woodworksbyjohn

I'm a retired woodshop teacher. I build one of a kind furniture pieces and custom picture frames. You can see some of my currently available work, boxes, carvings through my Etsy store: https://www.etsy.com/shop/WoodworksbyJohn?ref=si_shop Contact me about your project -- always up for the challenge of unique work.

Difference between a good woodworker and one not so good!

Posted on January 6, 2015 by woodworksbyjohn

That may strike you as a strange blog title but many times during my teaching career a student would ask me: “what’s the difference between a good woodworker and one that’s not so good?”  Keep in mind, these were sixth … Continue reading →

Posted in Hand Cut Dovetails, Hand Tool Woodworking, Johns Armoire, Tutorial | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Drawer Web Frame: My Approach for the Armoire

Posted on January 3, 2015 by woodworksbyjohn

In my latest post, the end of the year one; I was working on the mortise and tenons for the armoire.  This unit has three, main frames; the left, right, and one in the middle.  The tricky part of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Hand Tool Woodworking, Johns Armoire, Mortise and Tenon Joint, Tutorial | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Cutting Tenons & End of Year Thoughts

Posted on December 31, 2014 by woodworksbyjohn

First off, we’re experiencing a cold spell here for the end of 2014 and earlier had predictions of up to 3″ of snow on the Las Vegas strip!  Snow isn’t completely unheard of here in the desert but is somewhat … Continue reading →

Posted in Hand Tool Woodworking, Johns Armoire, Mortise and Tenon Joint | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

2014 in review

Posted on December 30, 2014 by woodworksbyjohn

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2014 annual report for this blog. Here’s an excerpt: The concert hall at the Sydney Opera House holds 2,700 people. This blog was viewed about 21,000 times in 2014. If it were a … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments

DrawBored Mortise and Tenon; My Method

Posted on December 26, 2014 by woodworksbyjohn

Work continues on my Armoire  and I’ve also received a deposit for one commission and a verbal approval of another — I won’t count on it until the check is in my hand which is scheduled for the 31st.  I’ve … Continue reading →

Posted in Hand Tool Woodworking, Johns Armoire, Mortise and Tenon Joint, Tutorial | 3 Comments

Sculpted Cargo Shorts: Work Diary

Posted on December 19, 2014 by woodworksbyjohn

The Chopped Challenge contest is over so I can now post this blog!  The title of this project is Heavy Starch and I’m happy to say they tied for third place in the People’s Choice award which gave me a $25.00 prize. … Continue reading →

Posted in Carving | Tagged , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Panels and Lap Joints

Posted on December 18, 2014 by woodworksbyjohn

During the time that the dovetail joinery is being cut and fit, I’m also trying to make up  the panels for this project.  There are two needed for the door, plus two more for each side, and a small one … Continue reading →

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A (much needed) Neighborly Diversion

Posted on December 17, 2014 by woodworksbyjohn

As work continues on the Armoire the thought occasionally crosses my mind that this is a big undertaking!  Having discussed my procedure on the blog about how I intend to go about it and not hearing suggestions regarding other ways … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Measuring, Marking, & Keeping Organized

Posted on December 13, 2014 by woodworksbyjohn

As I’m looking at the plans and pieces of material that will go into the making of my Armoire, I realize that this is a big undertaking!  This is on the scale of building my own house which, although I’ve … Continue reading →

Posted in Hand Cut Dovetails, Hand Tool Woodworking, Johns Armoire, Tutorial | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Armoire Work Begins — Outer Legs

Posted on December 9, 2014 by woodworksbyjohn

The Armoire project is quite challenging so I’m being very careful as the work progresses.  There are so many parts and pieces to the casework that labeling them properly is very important.  Starting with the legs shown here, a customary way … Continue reading →

Posted in Hand Cut Dovetails, Hand Planes, Hand Tool Woodworking, Johns Armoire, Tutorial | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments