If you’re even the slightest bit interested in the history of Japanese furniture, you will love this thorough collection of chests. The attention to detail is astounding, the photographs glorious and the historical insight intriguing. This is exactly what you would expect from a book that covers such a proud history of chest making on the land of the rising sun. Almost 100 pages of colour plates are complemented by information on typical construction materials, finishing techniques and regional characteristics. This book will please the antique collector, interior designer or woodworker equally.

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For an entertaining read (and proof that woodworkers lead interesting lives), treat yourself to Nancy Hiller’s Making Things Work: Tales from a Cabinetmaker’s Life, and George Frank’s Adventures in Wood Finishing. These two biographical books are beautifully written and offer similarly lively accounts of the adventures that come from making a living as a woodworker. As you spend time with Nancy and George, we think you’ll enjoy the stories that come with the sawdust
Tom Fidgen, a regular contributor to our magazine, works only with hand tools, so he has a slightly different way of looking at a project – and an honest respect for good, old-fashioned hard work. He seems to appreciate the small things in woodworking, gaining great satisfaction from a smoothly planed surface or a strong mortise and tenon joint, and it rubs off. Made by Hand takes the reader through the entire process of making six different projects with nothing but hand tools. He talks a lot about the philosophy behind his style of working and how you can bring some of the simple life into your next project. He doesn’t hit you over the head with electricity guilt – he realizes that balance is what most people ought to strive for. Tom’s welcoming, open writing style is also a nice surprise. It’s almost like you’re having a conversation with him right in your living room, discussing what really matters in woodworking.
Texture is the surface quality of a material. Texture has great potential to connect the observer emotionally to the work, inviting the person to touch and explore it. On a chair, for example, the texture of fabric can tempt persons to sit in it or immediately reject it. Smooth surfaces reflect light and can appear shiny making a piece feel light. Heavily textured surfaces absorb light. When considering texture, look at it from all angles and under different light conditions to see the full impact of its surface. To help determine scale with texture, the guidelines under pattern and proportion can also be followed.
These sorts of things are usually glued and screwed, but it's actually the glue that holds them together - the screws just hold everything tight while the glue cures. Screwing into hardboard or 1/4" ply is an exercise in futility, so I just used glue, and used my two 4x4's as long clamps. It would have been a bit easier, if I'd done this before I'd rough-cut the 4x4's, but it worked out.
Dark colours appear heavier and create a feeling of stability, whereas light colours hold less visual weight and can appear unstable. When joining woods of dark and light colour, the visual effect of heavy and light suggest that darker woods work better when used on the bottom. A suggestion from my mentor to help getting proportions right was to spray paint mock-ups with a colour similar to the woods to be used later.
Ok, I’ve had my morning coffee and now it’s about time to get out to the shop to see what I can do to make that bench a little more pleasing to my eye. I like that Craftsman flair idea. That was my intent at the time I built it, too bad I got lazy and rushed the job. It’s not like I was going to make hundreds of benches for someone else and would never see it again. I should have taken the time to make it the way I wanted it to look. This could keep me entertained for awhile. I see major surgery in the forecast! Gotta plan it all out just right.
Proportion is the correlative relationship of all the parts to the whole. Although proportion usually refers to size, it is also a way to compare harmony between colour, quantity, placement and degree. Proportion is achieved when all sizes, shapes, textures, colors and so on complement one another. Remember that the eye appreciates some differences and may find equal parts monotonous and boring. Dividing space into equal parts such as halves, quarters and thirds is predictable and as a result the eye often skips past it.
_{Woodworking Books go hand in hand with the tools and the work. Whether you are a beginner or a master woodworker there is always a new technique or a great tip waiting for you on the pages. We have hundreds of woodworking books to choose from, written by woodworking authors who understand the craft and know the trials and tribulations of the path.}

The Rockler Woodworking and Hardware free catalog features over 140 pages of our best products mailed directly to your door. You should receive your catalog in 1 to 2 weeks, depending on your location. In the meantime, you'll find all of the products in our catalogs here on our website. Just choose one of the department links on your left, or enter a keyword search.

One you have the vise jaws shaped so that the vise moves freely, mark and drill holes in the fixed jaw for the bolts that will hold it to the bench. With these drilled, reassemble the vise and mark the location of the holes with an awl. Disassemble the vise and drill the holes through the stretcher, then reassemble the vise and bolt the inner jaw in place.
While a strict figure for the bench’s weight capacity is not available, a quick browse through their other stand and bench products shows a general weight capacity well above most other brands. As such, while we cannot say for certain that this bench provides the best weight capacity, it is more than likely that it the capacity is similar to the other products in the catalog.