New England Home Show and Furniture Project 2013

Posted on February 21, 2013 by Ben Hardy

Step stool by Rob Bois.

The New England Home Show is back, and with it comes The Furniture Project (formerly WoodExpo).

The Furniture Project 2013 is essentially an oversized exhibit within The New England Home Show, held at the Seaport World Trade Center in Boston this weekend, February 21 – 24. Like WoodExpo, The Furniture Project is a celebration of the craft of furniture-building. the Mission Statement of The Furniture Project reads:

The Furniture Project strives to kindle the relationship between makers and buyers of high-quality custom furnishings. By providing a venue for talented furniture designers and makers to present their craft, we give makers a chance to represent themselves to the public. This offers both makers and buyers a unique opportunity to learn from each other about the mutual benefits of custom furniture. In this arena, we are able to recognize excellence in design, creativity, and construction as examples to aspiring makers and interested consumers alike.

To that end, The Furniture Project exhibit will feature presenters spread out across three venues: The Main Bench, Masters Workbench and the Main Stage. Presentations will range from the rudimentary (How to Use Handsaws) to the requisite (Promoting Yourself & Building Your Business). The show will cater to the hobbyist and aspiring professional alike.

Visitors can expect another WoodExpo carry-over: the woodworking contest. A select number of entries into The Furniture Project’s 2013 contests in two categories (Open and Interpretive) will be on display at the exhibit.

Fans of Rough Cut – Woodworking with Tommy Mac will want to swing by and meet some of the Tommy’s guests on the show. (Sten Havumaki will be on location demonstrating carving techniques – don’t miss it!)

Be sure to visit both the New England Home Show website and The Furniture Project website for more information.

See you at the show!

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Plyboo Makes a Case for Bamboo at Your Workbench

Posted on January 22, 2013 by Ben Hardy

Bamboo plywood in the kitchen. Photo courtesy of Plyboo.

In Episode 08 of Rough Cut, Tommy heads west to San Francisco for a quick tour of Smith & Fong, makers of Plyboo, a sustainably manufactured bamboo plywood.

After the tour, Tommy  heads back to the shop and uses bamboo plywood to construct a sturdy and stylish vanity (with the help of Rough Cut regular Al D’Attanasio).

Bamboo isn’t winning any awards for most popular woodworking material. It can be tough on tools and cross cuts can result in tear out.

But if the appearance of the vanity isn’t enough to convince you, here are three reasons why you should consider bamboo in your next project:

Healthy Harvest. Bamboo naturally regenerates annually and has inherent qualities that helps to prevent erosion. It can be grown without fertilizers and pesticides and can be harvested by hand, without the use of heavy, destructive machinery. It’s a great species choice for the woodworker who keeps an eye on sustainability and the overall health of the environment.

Toughness. Bamboo’s inherent durability and strength — it’s harder than maple — suits its use across a wide range of applications, including furniture, tables, bookcases and more.

Conversation Piece. Let’s face it, bamboo does not exactly enjoy widespread use in woodworking projects. Although it is more frequently seen in flooring, fencing and decking across the country, it’s not a go-to material for your average woodworker. So a bamboo piece is going to stand out. Best of all? When a friend asks if bamboo is a tough wood to work with you can respond, “It’s not a wood.” Because it’s not. It’s a grass. And then take it from there.

Tommy and the bamboo vanity.

Want some more info on bamboo? Check out these sites:

American Bamboo Society. Tons of good knowledge here.

BambooWeb.Info. For woodworkers with some specific questions about bamboo.

Bamboocraft.net. Similar to the above.

Have you ever worked with bamboo? Tell us about it or show off pictures of your project in the Forum.

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DIY Nintendo Controller Table

Posted on January 7, 2013 by Ben Hardy

Photo Credit Jonathon Hicks / Instructables.com.

Jonathon Hicks of Hicks Custom Furniture recently posted this cool Nintendo Controller Coffee Table project to Instructables.com. (Before you even throw in a Contra unlimited life joke, read the comments!) He breaks it down into 16 Steps — although it’s a few more, if you look closely into each step.

Hicks was inspired to do it himself when he looked into the prices of other NES controller tables found online.

Hicks uses three different species for the three different colors on the NES controller table:

  • Oak for Black
  • Maple for Grey
  • Mahogany for Red

Those are two “push-to-open” drawers in the front of the table, which allowed Hicks to dispense with the handles.

All said it’s a great piece of work, although there’s one glaring error that the maker noticed only after it was too late. Can you spot it?

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Spotlight On Sten Havumaki, Rough Cut Guest

Posted on December 7, 2012 by Ben Hardy

In Episode 07 of this season’s Rough Cut, Tommy invites acclaimed woodcarver Sten Havumaki into the shop to demonstrate letter carving techniques for the hand-carved picture frame project.

Although Havumaki might claim specialty in architectural carvings and mantle work, he is also an accomplished woodworker, as evidenced by his table project pictured left.

Says Havumaki on the design process for that table:

“I find that commissions and collaborations often inspire original designs and elegant solutions I would have otherwise never thought of. This table design came about as a commission from a Connecticut couple who wanted a piece to blend with their existing furniture. I saw how versatile the simple design was and how it could be a successful production piece. In some ways it’s a diversion from my typical work, but I love the simplicity of the form; how spare and light it is. The graceful curving lines are contained nicely within the faint edges of the thick glass top.”

We’ve thrown in a few other examples of Havumaki’s work below for your enjoyment.

Don’t forget to tune in for the latest episode and be on the lookout for Havumaki’s guest appearance! And check out the Sten Havumaki Facebook page for updates on his work.

10″ Drop Newel Carving in walnut. Replicated to match the existing ones hanging below newel posts in a Back Bay apartment building renovation.

A custom-designed fern motif decorative heel carving on banjo, in walnut.

Federal tilt top table, in mahogany, solid and veneer. The table features a tigerwood cross banding with walnut accents and an inlaid sand-shaded shell on top.

A pair of stylized tigers for the Princeton University class of 1957, presented as awards. Cherry. 15′ L x 8 1/2″ H.

36″ tall Neoclassical Urn, made as a decorative study piece in the spirit of Samuel McIntire (1757-1811) of Salem, MA. Basswood, pine, paint.

12″ tall carved capitals in mahogany, made for a home office interior in Back Bay, Boston. These were reproduced to match old capitals and paneling that were being retrofitted to the space.

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Thanksgiving and Pilgrim Woodworking

Posted on November 22, 2012 by Ben Hardy

Firstly, a very Happy Thanksgiving to all! We hope everyone takes a few minutes today to count blessings and express gratitude for friends, family and anything else worth your thanks.

Since Thanksgiving has its roots all the way back in the 1600s, we thought we’d take a quick look at what our Pilgrim ancestors were doing for woodworking.

Pilgrim Period furniture, which some define as encompassing 1620 – 1690, was very much influenced by the Jacobean period furniture of England that they would have brought with them. Pilgrim furniture was functional first, with little in the way of ornamentation. The joint work was also scarce, with iron braces serving to hold the pieces together. Common materials used were pine, walnut, oak and other species found in the East. It was usual to see shellac and oil finishes.

Since furniture served practical purposes, it was often built with the same tools used to build homes back then. The building and maintaining of homes was the priority back then, particularly as those cold, harsh winters bore down.

Pilgrim blanket chests played a big role in storage of clothing, bedding, blankets and more. Incidentally, the pilgrim blanket chest piece has been carried on into today’s shops, where woodworkers both aspiring and established work on their machining skills and table saw work putting the chests together. Tommy took at stab at one, which you can see on the How To page. Follow the videos to see the step by step.

Take a look through the gallery below to see some historical Pilgrim furniture pieces.

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