Category: Frog Blog

“Air Filtration” Making the Shop Safer This past weekend, Jules and I hung a new Air Filtration system in the shop. The purpose is to clean more air to make it safer for us to work in the shop. It has the added benefit of reducing dust particles when it comes to finishing time. It is […]

Walnut with Maple String Inlay Custom furniture is not cheap, and I completely understand why most people don’t want to pay the extra cost. In most situations, you can find a great piece of furniture that will meet your needs for a fraction of the cost of a custom-built project. But if you find yourself […]

“Greene & Greene Style Hickory Mirror” with Walnut Plugs I’ve always loved Greene and Greene style furniture, but it hasn’t fit in the decor of the cabin too well. I finally found a way to make it work with this mirror in our front room. It is a small space, so this large mirror over the hickory […]

Using Hand Tools If you follow my blog, you know I’ve recently taken quite an interest in hand tools, especially planes. Over the past twelve years, I’ve perfected many of my woodworking skills, but I’ve relied almost exclusively on power.  I’ve always wanted to improve my hand tool skills, but I’ve always had a personal […]

Facts About Old Planes There’s so much information on the internet, as well as written sources on Stanley planes, it would be silly for me to try to write up a lengthy blog on Stanley planes. Instead, I’ll just point out a few interesting facts, and if you really want to dig into it, I’ll […]

Veritas and Two Stanleys Over the past twelve years, I’ve been perfecting my furniture-building skills, and I think I’ve gotten pretty good at it, but I’ve left out a critical piece of the woodworking experience and perhaps the joy. That’s the use of hand tools. I’ve obviously used some hand tools — some chisels, a […]

Hickory with Walnut Panels I just completed a new blanket chest based on a design I found in the January/February 2009 edition of “Fine Woodworking.” I made every effort to joint together nicely matched boards, especially for the walnut panels. I’m very pleased with how it turned out.  I built it in the midst of […]

“Being your Best Woodworker” When I first started woodworking, I got frustrated by my inability to be precise, and with that, there were several flaws in my projects. Often they were minor and only I could see them, but they were still there, and they could’ve been avoided. In this blog, I’ll provide a few […]

Using Pore Filler. For this project, I tried a technique I’d never used before. I used pore filler to fill the deep wood grain of the oak table top. I saw April Wilkerson use it on an oak desk she built, and it looked amazing. Check out her project  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1q6jBO-ZByw. She uses a different building […]

“Get Started In Woodworking?” All your expensive tools look intimidating. Many people ask me how I got started in woodworking, and what I would recommend to get started. The first question is difficult for me since I’ve been working with wood in one way or another since I was old enough to carry nails and […]