Blog

Best Joint in the Joint
It’s all about the joint. The best joint in the joint (or at least in the furniture piece you are building) is the joint that will…

Ex Nihilo
The ancient “geometers” believed that geometry was the key to comprehending the incomprehensible; that an understanding of its inherent truths was the key to unlocking the mystery of…

The Ellipse Stick Trick
Here's a really quick way to layout a good-enough ellipse using just a batten: Ellipse from a Batten from Jim Tolpin on Vimeo.

Morning Sun, front and back
Morning sunlight streamed through the back kitchen door and something about the light gave me pause to look more carefully at the design of the door itself. An…

Da Vinci’s Teacher
This short video clip is a sample of what Jim Tolpin and I are putting together for our soon to be released on-line design workshop. This is one…

If Doors could Talk
I’ve been thinking a lot about doors for an upcoming “Design Matters” column for Popular Woodworking Magazine. A good door design satisfies our demands for function as well…

Height by Hand and Eye
An astute follower on Instagram mentioned that an old-school forester could easily get the height of a tree using only a stick the length of his arm.…

If a Tree Falls in the Woods…
...does it make a difference? Where it lands that is. If it does, you likely want to know how far it will fall in order to move…