Woodworking Magazine Blog

The Skansen bench that I built for the April 2010 issue of Popular Woodworking Magazine has proved to be a popular project with readers. But if you like, you can do a better job of emulating the original than I did.

I built the project for our "I Can Do That" column, which features furniture you can build using basic tools and home-center materials. As a result, we sometimes have to make design changes to our projects because of the rules set down by the column.

Last week we offered free plans for the Skansen Bench I built for the April 2010 issue of Popular Woodworking Magazine. If you didn't hear about this, it's likely because you don't subscribe to our free weekly newsletter. You can correct that oversight here.

In any case, this bench was tremendous fun to build. It was $22 in yellow pine from the home center and a couple evenings in the shop. The sucker is stout, has some nice curves and exposed joinery as well. Read the whole article and download the free pdf here.

So what's stopping you? The legs?

Expanded and detailed plans for the Roubo Try Square from the February 2010 issue are now for sale as a download in our store.

The plans include the original two-page article published in the February 2010 issue of Popular Woodworking, plus another six pages of detailed step-by-step instructions on the construction and truing process. There's also a page of the three critical full-size details (the moulding shapes on the ends and the profile of the stock). And a detailed SketchUp file. The price is $4.99.

If you have the February issue and are an intermediate woodworker, you have everything you need to build the try square, which I scaled directly off Andre Roubo's plates with the assistance of a translation of the 18th-century text.

However, every time we publish a project, our customers ask if there are plans with more details available for purchase. We decided to use this project as an experiment. So I took an extra two days to completely flesh out the construction and truing process in minute detail. Art Director Linda Watts took a day to design the package like a story in the magazine.

To read more about the plans, visit our store.

— Christopher Schwarz

You can download a deluxe SketchUp drawing of the Schoolbox, a project that was featured on the cover of the Autumn 2009 issue.

This file was made by Randall Wilkins, a set designer in the film industry who uses SketchUp in his job and in his woodworking hobby. This file is extremely cool. Here are some details.

For me a design is never done until the finish is on the piece, I've stared at the thing for a long time and I've turned my back on it.

Up until that moment, I'll readily shift gears if need be. I'll order new hardware, rebuild a drawer or change a moulding. So this morning I found myself in SketchUp tinkering with the design of the laminated veneer lumber (LVL) workbench we're building in the shop right now.

The most significant woodworking tool that has been introduced in my lifetime doesn’t cut wood and costs nothing. It is Google’s SketchUp program, a 3D computer-aided design program that runs on virtually any computer.

Before SketchUp (the BS era), I used a variety of CAD programs to create construction drawings. Because I use only Macintosh computers, the CAD programs available to me were expensive, clunky or just laughable.

Last week a reader posted a nice SketchUp drawing of a Roubo workbench that you can download (for free) from Google's 3D Warehouse.

The drawing features the Benchcrafted Wagon Vise and a dovetailed end cap that holds the vise in place. I've had several readers ask me what this construction should look like. Now you can download the plan, take this bench apart and see one good solution.

A few years ago I was teaching a class on handplanes when one of the students came up to my bench to ask a favor. One of the main reasons he had signed up for the class was to get me to sign the cover of the December 2004 issue of Popular Woodworking.

On the cover was the Arts & Crafts Tool Cabinet I'd built. He had read the article so many times that the issue was falling apart. I hope he got the courage up to build the piece.

During the last four years, I have been continually surprised by how popular that project is. We quickly sold out of the back issue. And I get requests for reprints all the time. Plus, people still send me photos of their progress on building the cabinet.

Today reader Peter Alonso sent us a SketchUp model of the tool cabinet that we placed in Google's 3D Warehouse. You can download it (and SketchUp) for free here.

It's a detailed model. All the assemblies are made into components, so you can really take the thing apart, learn how it was built and alter it to your satisfaction.

While you're at the 3D Warehouse, you might want to check out all the other free models we've posted there – many of them are from Woodworking Magazine.

— Christopher Schwarz

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Ever since we published plans for the Holtzapffel Cabinetmaker's Workbench in Issue 8 of Woodworking Magazine, readers have requested information on how to build the bench so it could be easily knocked down and moved.

The version I built and published plans for in Issue 8 used old-world bench-building principles where the legs were tenoned into the top and the base parts were permanently drawbored. But when Kelly Mehler and I taught a class in constructing the bench last month, we decided to modify the plans to make the whole thing break down for easy transport. The students hailed from all over the country (Missouri, Alaska, Michigan), and so a portable version was necessary.

By the way, if you missed my daily blog posts about this class, you can find them over at the Popular Woodworking editor's blog by clicking below.

Day 1: Sticks
Day 2: Glue
Day 3: Grit
Day 4: Gruntwork
Day 5: Grease
Day 6: Guessing
Day 7: Gone


This weekend my blisters from the class began to fade, and so I cleaned up the construction drawing and cutting list a bit – you can download them for free below.

Here's how the knockdown construction works in a nutshell: The workbench's base is made up of two end assemblies, which are permanently glued and drawbored, plus two long stretchers.

Compared to the original design, the only changes to the end assemblies are that the legs don't have tenons on the top and you need to add a 3"-wide top stretcher to each end assembly. These top stretchers will help you attach the base to the benchtop.

The base's long stretchers are significantly different. The long stretchers have short tenons and are attached to the end assemblies with 1/2" x 8"-long hex-head cap screws, washers and nuts. All in all, the base's joinery works a lot like a traditional bed.

The assembled joint that shows the cap screws in place and the plywood template.

The disassembled joint that shows the short tenon on the long stretcher.

To install the cap screws, drill 5/8"-diameter holes through the legs. Then rout out slots for the nuts and washers in the long stretchers using a plywood pattern, a 1/2" spiral bit and a guide bushing (see the photo for what this looks like). With the slots routed, install the cap screws, washers and nuts. Snug everything up with a socket set and box wrench.

With the base assembled, attach the workbench's top to the base with 3/8" x 5"-long lag screws through the top stretchers in the end assemblies. We used four lag screws per bench. The screws at the front of the bench were in 3/8"-diameter holes. The screws at the rear of the bench were in 1/2"-diameter holes, which allows for wood movement.

Everything else about this bench is identical to the plans found in Issue 8.

Holtzapffel_KD_Bench.pdf (52.91 KB)

— Christopher Schwarz

Now you can download six free SketchUp drawings for projects published in Woodworking Magazine during the last four years.

These files work with Google's free drafting program, SketchUp, and allow you to take the projects apart, see the joinery and view the projects at any angle. These files are great for understanding how a project goes together before you start building it.

These files were provided by draughtsman Louis Bois, who has been providing technical illustrations for Woodworking Magazine for the last couple issues. Louis does these drawings as a free service to the readers, so please join me in thanking him for his hard work.

The projects below are some our favorites:

Shaker Hanging Cabinet: This is the cover project from Issue No. 1. I've built this project about five times now for various family members and customers, and it is always well-received.

HangingShakerCabinet.zip (100.4 KB)

Shaker Side Table: This project from Issue 2 has enormous popularity. The delicate legs and fine proportions of the top make this project one of my favorites.

ShakerEndTable.zip (125.94 KB)

Sliding-lid Box: Also from Issue 2, this box is a great lesson in how to build drawer boxes (with one table-saw set-up) and makes a great home for your chisels.

SlidingLidBox.zip (31.44 KB)

Dining Room Tray: From Issue 5, this project is a great lesson in learning to use cut nails (and a tanning bed) to build a nice cherry project.

DiningRoomTray.zip (24.34 KB)

Enfield Cabinet: Also from Issue 6, this tall cabinet -- it looks like a jelly cupboard I suppose -- is an excellent lesson in vintage case construction techniques.

EnfieldShakerCabinet.zip (128.46 KB)

American Trestle Table: This cover project from Issue 6 has a special place in my heart because the prototype is my dining room table. Endless nights of homework have trashed the perfect film finish, but I like it even more now than they day I finished it.

AmericanTrestleTable.zip (75.25 KB)

All of these files are compressed in a .zip format. Double-clicking on them will unzip them.

— Christopher Schwarz

We have completed work on Issue 9 – our first ever issue for subscribers – and we are just about to send the issue to the printer. That issue will mail out to subscribers (boy that is nice to type!) on the week of March 3.

To give you a small taste of the issue, you can now download the digital eDrawings of two versions of the cover project – a Gustav Stickley Tabouret.

This interactive 3D illustration can be opened and manipulated using a free program from eDrawings that is available both for the PC and Mac. Even if you’ve never used a CAD program before, I think you’ll find an eDrawing easy to use.

With the help of the eDrawings you can rotate the projects around, make parts transparent and move parts around to examine the joinery. It’s an excellent way to figure out how a project goes together before you start cutting.

These eDrawings were prepared by Louis Bois, a draughtsman and good friend of Woodworking Magazine. He also prepared all the construction drawings for the tabourets that will appear in Issue 9.

Tabouret-Corbel-Assy.zip (11.84 KB)

Tabouret-Trumpet-Assy.zip (11.99 KB)

— Christopher Schwarz

With the release of Issue 8 of Woodworking Magazine now imminent, we’ve uploaded a free eDrawing of the cover project – a 19th-century workbench – for you to download and examine.

This interactive 3D- illustration can be opened and manipulated using a free program from eDrawings that is available both for the PC and Mac. Even if you’ve never used a CAD program before, I think you’ll find an eDrawing easy to use.

With the help of the eDrawing you can rotate the project around, make any part transparent and move parts around to examine the joinery. It’s an excellent way to figure out how a project goes together before you start cutting.

This eDrawing was prepared by Louis Bois, a draughtsman and good friend of Woodworking Magazine. He also prepared all the construction drawings for the workbench that will appear in issue 8 (which is available in printed form, a digital downloadable version and a bundled version that includes both).

In addition to the eDrawing, we’ve prepared a slideshow of the construction process, which I posted earlier on our blog at Popular Woodworking. I’ve also linked it here for readers who might have missed it.

— Christopher Schwarz

Holtzapffel Final Bench Assembly.zip (2.48 MB)

BuildingtheHoltzapffel.pdf (1.64 MB)

Building a workbench is a bit like childbirth. Some benches come into this world like my firstborn did, fighting the entire way and taking twice as long as expected – like the English workbench. Other benches are like my second child, where you are done before you know it.

This weekend I’m putting the finishing touches on a workbench inspired by a design shown in Charles Holtzapffel’s “Construction, Action and Application of Cutting Tools Volume II.” I built the bench because it borrows the best features from three traditions: It has massive French bones with both English and German workholding. Holtzapffel himself was a reflection of this bench, a German who lived and worked in England.

This bench was very easy and fast to build. I’ve logged only 35 hours of shop time on this bench so far and have only a couple hours of work ahead of me – mostly cleaning off pencil marks and applying a finish.

Here are some of the details of the bench. I’ll be publishing a full version of the construction details of this bench that will be available by summer, but you can download the (admittedly rough) construction drawing below.

The bench is 6' long, 24" deep and 34" high. The 3"-thick top is ash, with the base and vise chops made using hard maple. All the joints are traditional drawbored mortises and tenons. The legs and stretchers are all flush with the front (and rear) edge of the top.

The face vise is a twin-screw, with 24" between the two wooden screws. The wooden screws are 2" in diameter and move very quickly. I bought the screws off of another woodworker who lives in California. He had bought them off another guy many years ago. In other words, I don’t know where you can get another set for yourself. But I’m working on that issue right now.

The chop for the face vise (the big wooden part) is lined with leather, and both legs are bored with ¾" holes for holdfasts to support work from below. I’ve always been intrigued by vises with wooden screws, and I can report that they are remarkable. I’ve been working with this vise as the bench has come together and the wooden screws have tenacious holding power. It’s also nice that your work doesn’t get marked with grease, which happens with metal-screwed vises.

The end vise is my own doing – Holtzapffel showed a proper tail vise. I used a quick-release vise with a massive (2-3/4" x 13-1/2") maple chop. Usually, I don’t much care for quick-release vises, especially in the face vise position. The screws and guide bars prohibit you from doing many useful cabinetmaking operations, such as dovetailing.

But a quick-release vise used in the end-vise position is a fantastic proposition. The large chop and its accessory dog give you lots of support below your work. And because I bored the dog holes in the top on 3-3/8" centers, virtually all of my work is supported from below no matter how long or short it is.

You’ll notice that there’s no sliding deadman on this bench. My theory here is that I’m not going to need it, though I have built in a track for a deadman in case I am wrong. I think the twin screw and the holes in the legs will offer all the support I need for working on edges and ends of boards.

All three of the workbenches I’ve built recently, the French-style Roubo bench, the English-style Nicholson bench and the Holtzapffel cabinetmaker's bench, perform all the basic woodworking operations that a bench should. But each has a slightly different personality. So picking a favorite bench is like asking which of my children I love more. I can’t do it. They’re all good. They’re all different.

HoltzapffelBench.pdf (35.47 KB)

— Christopher Schwarz

You can now download a free 3D eDrawing of the cover project from Issue No 7 (the Spring 2007 issue) by following the link below. By using a free program from SolidWorks, you can examine the projects from every angle imaginable. You can take the projects apart, inspect the joinery, make certain parts transparent and then put it all back together.

It's the closest thing to actually having the finished project in your shop to examine. (It is, in fact, even better than having the finished project because these eDrawings are easier to lift and turn upside down.)

All of our eDrawings are provided by intrepid draughtsman and good citizen Louis Bois, who has taken extra pains with these drawings to provide accurate detail that will be useful to you (take apart the inlay piece by piece if you don't believe me).

You can open these files using a free program from SolidWorks that you can download for both Mac and Windows machines. You can find other eDrawings of our projects here on the blog our on our CD of the first seven issues of Woodworking Magazine.

– Christopher Schwarz

CraftsmanMirrorAssembly.zip (1.74 MB)

You can now download free SolidWorks illustrations for the Stickley Magazine Stand from Issue No. 3 and the Sliding-lid Box from Issue No. 2. The printed versions of these back issues have been sold out for some time, however you can order them (plus three more issues) on one CD.

Also, the Stickley Magazine Stand has one error in the drawing on page 19 (which has been corrected on the CD, by the way). On the illustration labeled "Rear View" we call out the overall width as 10" – it should be 14", as shown below. Our apologies for the mistake.


You can open these SolidWorks files using a free little program from SolidWorks that you can download for both Mac and Windows machines. With the program, you can open up the drawing file and examine the project to your heart's content. These SolidWorks files were drawn by reader and draughtsman Louis Bois, who has prepared SolidWorks files of many of the other projects from the first five issues, which are now available on CD.

Magazine Stand Assembly.EASM.zip (550.04 KB)

Sliding-lid Box Assembly2.EASM.zip (381.36 KB)

— Christopher Schwarz

Issue six of Woodworking Magazine is now available for sale on our website and is on its way to bookstores. (Just about every Barnes & Noble and Borders carries it, so those are good places to look in the coming weeks). It will be on sale on the newsstands until Sept. 15, after which it will be available only on our website.

As a special treat for the readers of this weblog, we also are making available the SolidWorks files for this issue today. These 3D models of our American Trestle Table and Traditional Sawbench will help you understand the joinery and subassemblies.

An industrious person could even build these projects without the printed version of the magazine, but there's some good information in the printed magazine I think you'll want one.

You can open these SolidWorks files using a free little program from SolidWorks that you can download for both Mac and Windows machines. With the program, you can open up the drawing file and examine the project to your heart's content. These SolidWorks files were drawn by reader and draughtsman Louis Bois, who has prepared SolidWorks files of many of the other projects from the first five issues, which are now available on CD.

Sawbench Assembly.EASM.zip (395.48 KB)

American Trestle Table Assembly.EASM.zip (780.23 KB)

We hope you enjoy the new issue. Let us know what you think of it. As always, your comments guide our future course.

— Christopher Schwarz

The first issue of Woodworking Magazine has been sold out for a long time, but we still get comments and requests for it regularly. So we've done two things: First, we've reissued that first edition (along with four other issues) on a CD that is now available. And second, we've also asked draughtsman Louis Bois to make a SolidWorks "live model" of the cover project available for a free download.

You can open this file using a free little program from SolidWorks that you can download for both Mac and Windows machines. With the program, you can open up the drawing file and examine the project to your heart's content.

For me personally, this project is a bit of a nostalgia trip. After I built this cabinet in 2003, we sold it to an employee here at our publishing company, so I haven't seen the thing in years. It was great fun to open the 3D model and take the thing apart.

All in all, I think I'd change very little to the project. Depending on my mood, I might change the sub-top piece a bit to reduce the weight: Instead of using a piece that was the full depth of the cabinet, I might change it to a thinner rail, maybe 2" wide or so, up behind the cabinet's frame. The most time-consuming thing about the project was getting the top and bottom to fit snugly against the carcase. So a thinner rail there would make things easier.

The hinges are also a problem. I used the Amerock non-mortise hinges to keep things simple. Since then, that particular hinge has had some quality issues in my opinion. So I'd probably simply buy a more delicate and traditional mortise hinge if I built it again.

Hanging Shaker Cabinet Assembly.EASM.zip (405.48 KB)

— Christopher Schwarz

Below you will find a SolidWorks "live model" for the Shaker Side Table from the sold-out Autumn 2004 issue. This table is probably the second-most popular project we've built (second only to the Roubo-style workbench). In the next two weeks we're going to announce a new product that will give you access the plans from all of the sold-out issues (so stay tuned).

This nifty drawing was prepared by Louis Bois – a reader and mechanical draughtsman who is fast becoming a vital part of the Woodworking Magazine team. You can open this file using a free little program from SolidWorks that you can download for both Mac and Windows machines. With the program, you can open up these two drawing files and examine the project in extraordinary detail. Even if you have never used a CAD program, you'll find this program a cinch to use.

When you open up the file you'll see the assembled table floating in space – this is what we call a "live model." Using the tools at the top of the window, you can rotate this project in every direction to see all sides of it in its assembled form. You can pull individual parts off and rotate those around to look at all the joinery by zooming in and out. You can strike measurements, look at cross-sections.

Louis also pointed out another very useful tool to me: You can make any single part (or assembly) transparent. Use the "Components" menu on the side of the drawing. Click on any single part, such as "Top -1" and then click the box below that reads "Transparent." It turns the assembly into a jellyfish-like thing that you can see through.

Shaker End Table Assembly.EASM.zip (1.04 MB)

Thanks to Louis again for this excellent service to the readers of this magazine and weblog.

— Christopher Schwarz

Below you will find a SolidWorks "live model" for the Roubo-style Workbench I built for the Autumn 2005 issue. This nifty drawing was prepared by Louis Bois – a reader, mechanical draughtsman and all-around interesting fellow.

You can open this file using a free little program from SolidWorks that you can download for both Mac and Windows machines. With the program, you can open up these two drawing files and examine the project in extraordinary detail. Even if you have never used a CAD program, you'll find this program a cinch to use.

When you open up the file you'll see the assembled workbench floating in space – this is what we call a "live model." Using the tools at the top of the window, you can rotate this project in every direction to see all sides of it in its assembled form. You can pull individual parts off and rotate those around to look at all the joinery by zooming in and out. You can strike measurements, look at cross-sections (do check out the dowels – Louis even drew all the dowels).

You can see exactly how the sliding deadman works with the groove in the benchtop and the bevels on the stretcher. In short, this file should answer almost any question you would have about assembling the workbench.

Thanks to Louis again for this excellent service to the readers of this magazine and weblog. And he says there are more drawings to come.

— Christopher Schwarz

Roubo Bench Assembly-2.EASM.zip (2.28 MB)

Whenever I build a project for the first time, I always build it first in my head and then on the computer so I can figure out the best way for all the pieces to come together and to  eliminate superfluous joinery or assemblies. In my head and on my screen, I'll pull each imaginary piece apart, look it over and make sure I understand its relationship to the whole.

I've always wanted to be able to hand all this information over to our readers (because I know that a lot of you do this as well), and starting right here and right now, that's exactly what we're going to do with one issue of the magazine.

Louis Bois, a reader and mechanical draughtsman, has prepared two extremely useful (and cool) files for the most recent issue of Woodworking Magazine (Spring 2006, the issue with the Enfield Shaker Cabinet on the cover). Using a free little program from SolidWorks you can download (for both Mac and Windows machines), you can open up these two drawing files and examine these projects in extraordinary detail. And even if you have never used a CAD program, I think you'll find this program a cinch to use.

When you open up the files you'll see the assembled project floating in space – this is called a "live model." And boy is it live! Using the tools at the top of the window, you can rotate this project in every direction to see all sides of it in its assembled form. You can pull individual parts off and rotate those around to look at all the joinery by zooming in and out. See how the dados and face frame and shelves meet. See the rabbet in the back of the door panels. Look in detail at the door stay to see how it is wedged and pinned to the face frame.

It's the next best thing to inviting you into our shop for you to examine the completed project. Heck, I think this is actually better. The projects are much easier to turn upside down and disassemble when they're digital.

Right now we're offering the plans for the Enfield Shaker Cabinet and the Silverware Tray that were featured in the Spring 2006 issue. Other drawings are to come, so stay tuned. Both of these files are compressed to transmit them over the internet. If they don't automatically decompress when you download them, try double-clicking on them once they are on your hard drive.

Enfield Shaker Cabinet-2.EASM.zip (823.92 KB)

Dining Room Tray Assembly.EASM.zip (379.35 KB)

After you work with these files, let us know what you think about the drawings.

— Christopher Schwarz

Louis Bois is a lucky guy. Recently he purchased the beautiful carver's vise shown above, which was made by the French firm Forge Royale. He's been looking for background information on the vise and the manufacturer and has come up empty-handed.

But there's hope.

Back in 1981, The Mid-West Tool Collectors Association reprinted a translated version of the catalog (circa 1927-1930) "At the Royal Forge" that will answer most of our questions about this beautiful piece of work. Thanks to St. Louis tool collector (and dealer) Mike "Rat" Urness, a copy of the reprint will be in my hands next week and I'll post some more information about the Forge Royale, and maybe some other tidbits about French tools.

If you know anything additional about Forge Royale, please send me a note or post a comment below.



But until we shake loose that information, Louis has provided some drawings of the vise that you absolutely must check out. It is how I think woodworking magazines should deliver content in the future. Louis is a mechanical draughtsman by trade with 20 years of experience and has produced two documents that I encourage you to download and view.

The first is a pdf of the mechanical drawings for the vise. The drawings include several sheets that detail the individual components and their dimensions. Scaled drawings of the plates are provided, as are additional (color) photos of the vise.

Carver's Chops.pdf (1.21 MB)

The second document is what's called a "live model" – it's a 3D color model of the vise that you can rotate and take apart. You'll be able to see how all the parts relate to one another (and the program will put it back together for you once you take it apart).

The file below has a player enclosed that will work with Windows machines.

Carver's Chops Assembly Without Fastneners.zip (2.65 MB)

Macintosh users can download a free player from SolidWorks called eDrawings that will allow you to view and manipulate the file. Below is a link to a zipped SolidWorks file without the Windows player embedded. 

Carver's Chops Assembly Without Fastneners.EASM.zip (671.59 KB)

We've been playing with these files in the office all day and have had a blast. I think you'll immediately see the utility of this format. Check it out.

— Christopher Schwarz