I take old things made by artisans in past times and see things we never do now in our more advanced society and with more advanced equipment, machinery, guides and such. And people actually believe society to be more advanced, you know, but the ordinary of past made things pop out all the time to... Read the full post What’s Ordinary on Paul Sellers' Blog.... Read more

Before I started to write today's blog I looked to see if I had any comments. I didn't have any for the past few days and I wasn't expecting any today. There was a boatload of them with some going back to the 20th. This is a new hiccup with blogger for me. The comments must have gotten waylaid in a black hole somewhere. My apologies to those who commented without getting a reply from me. I can't answer what... Read more

This evening, I was alerted by a bowl horse builder of a typo in the materials list portion of the plans. The swing arm length is correctly labeled at 31 1/2″ everywhere else on the plans, but in the materials … Continue reading →... Read more

 Yes, my blog has been quiet for a while, not because of a shortage of projects currently on the go, but rather, yah, been busy.Part of a new project I am developing for my Rotary club to address food insecurity in our area.In a nutshell, how to grow your own food at home easily and cheaply.  Supplemented by communal gardens and setting up gardens project at Senior residences, school etc.A bit of a departure for my woodworking blog, but not... Read more

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I’ve been pretty immersed in JA chairs lately, having just finished teaching it for 6 days. And talking about chairs most every moment of those 6 days. Above is a chair I just assembled back here at home. I had made part of it before the class, intending to use it for all the demos … Continue reading Ladderback chairs for sale... Read more

This lowback stick chair is made using a stash of old Honduras mahogany I have been sitting on since writing “Campaign Furniture.” The mahogany had been sitting for decades at Midwest Woodworking until they closed a few years back. This chair is made from one single board, so the color is consistent throughout all its...... Read more

 If you have ever wondered about how the old masters worked wood without the tools available today then this book is a must read. I have often thought how did the old masters make such beautiful and functional objects when they only had layout tools they made. The layout tools were wood just like the medium they worked with. How did those tools perform and were they accurate?Well boys and girls this book dispels all the questions about making and... Read more

The first workbench I ever made was back in 1967. Aproned benches were the commonest of workbenches for a variety of reasons, not the least of which were simplicity, stability, strength and functionality. In a good day’s work, two or three for some, you have a quick-release (QR) vise installed in your just-finished workbench and... Read the full post My Workbenches on Paul Sellers' Blog.... Read more

By the late Victorian period, manufacture benches had made inroads into the woodworking community. There were still attempts to entice the furniture maker into building their own bench, usually with the addition of store-bought vises. The cabinetmaker’s bench described below hails from a 1884 issue of the English magazine The Furniture Gazette, (Feb.9, p.116-117). It … Continue reading A hybrid Victorian bench... Read more

I'd made one of these two-step stools in early 2018 and it has been extremely useful.  The two side panels are angled front and back for stability.  The two steps are dovetailed into the sides.  The three rails are dovetailed or half-dovetailed into the sides.Sketchup drawingEarly last year I grabbed four small folding tables that were destined for the landfill.  They've been sitting in (read: cluttering) the shop ever since, so I thought I'd make use of them.  The tables... Read more

 The past two days were fantastic weather wise. Sunny both days with the temp getting up to 63F (17C) which made for pleasant walking after lunch and dinner. Tomorrow it is forecasted to rain but I might be able to get the AM and after lunch strolls in. Fingers crossed on that happening. needs some reworkI noticed a hiccup with the garbage bag dispensers I made. If there is only one roll of bags in the box the next bag won't... Read more

I'm in the middle of the largest design project I've worked on in years. The design process I use I think is kind of universal and might be helpful to some people who are stuck on how to design their own stuff.In the past two articles (Part 1 and Part 2) I wrote about how to arrive at a creative solution. Expect to sweat a bit, in keeping with the well known aphorism attributed to the inventor Thomas Edison, the... Read more

 Got back to the layout tools in Euclid's Book today. I finished the triangles and 45 layout square(s). There are two tools left in the book to make and I'm on the fence about doing them. I doubt that I would ever use either of them but making them would be a skill builder. Making them or not will depend mostly on which way the wind blows me. the light came onAs much as I read and read it again, this... Read more

We were on vacation in Murphy NC.  Beautiful place. On one of my early walks with the dog, I saw a wood handle in sticking out from brush under an electric pole.  I pulled it out and found an old 24oz ball peen hammer.  It was in pretty bad shape with and had ants crawling […]... Read more