Glen Huey Blog

We're editing our photos and video today from our Woodworking in America conference. In the meantime, please visit the excellent slideshow from Narayan Nayar. Narayan is a tremendous photographer – I think he took the best photo of Roy Underhill that I've seen so far.

Warning: There are a few photos here that will either make you drool or your wallet to twitch.

After you visit his Woodworking in America slideshow on flickr, I'd also check out Narayan's slideshow from the Shaker Village at Pleasant Hill.

— Christopher Schwarz

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Above, the Shopbot shed from the Maker Faire in Austin, Texas.

OK, you have a blank sheet of paper and a pencil. Your challenge is to design a house or structure using 4x8 sheets of plywood without driving a nail or screw. Oh, yeah, did I mention no glue either?

A recently closed exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art in New York showed just how to do it, thanks to the efforts of the architecture and engineering colleges at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). You can watch a short video of the New Orleans House being assembled (click on the arrow in the lower right corner of the video player to advance to "Housing for New Orleans"). It took three MIT students just a few days to assemble the 20' x 40' one-story house that's part of the Museum's exhibit "Modern Dwellings: 5 Contemporary Pre-Fab Houses."

How does it work? Instead of stud walls, lengths of plywood strips lock together in an "egg crate" fashion. The exterior plywood edges have "tabs" milled into them so exterior sheets of plywood with corresponding "slots" are applied as a "skin" which, in effect, produces a torsion box. Where plywood sheets butted together, a series of joints not unlike an interlocking puzzle pieces were used.

All this precision cutting of a few hundred sheets of plywood was done using a Shopbot Buddy 48 CNC system. All the parts, according to Ted Hall, president of Shopbot, were then tapped together using a rubber mallet. He added that New York officials insisted all the parts be glued, although that wasn’t necessary to create an extremely rigid structure. In fact, he said, after testing MIT engineers and architects concluded the amount of plywood used could have been reduced by half or more and still provide sufficient strength. The New Orleans House was rated to carry a load of up to 250 people and used more than 500 sheets of plywood.

Why so much plywood? Hall said the MIT plan called for parts to be cut and delivered to the MOMA site in the sequential order of assembly. The material was not cut for optimized yield, which led to more waste, Hall explained.

Another example of the construction method was employed in a shed structure Shopbot produced for Austin, Texas "Maker Faire," where the company was awarded two blue ribbons from the editors of Make magazine – one ribbon for the shed and one for Shopbot Buddy 48 CNC machine. This kind of shed is today a more practical application of the building method because local building officials usually don't require permits for smaller structures and getting them to approve a new construction method is often problematic, Hall explained.

For MIT, the objectives of the design were to use locally available materials to produce a structure that could be erected quickly using parts either made on-site or near-by and require a minimum amount of labor and minimal construction skills. Using good design and engineering "digital cutting techniques put the smarts in the parts,” Hall said. Then, just about anyone could knock together a shed using only a rubber mallet.

Will such building methods catch on? Hall said he hopes to introduce the technique to backyards all over the United States with simple shed designs. And farther into the future? Hall said he dreams one day a customer could walk into a "Kinko's" type business, browse some catalogs, choose a design for not only a shed but kitchen cabinets or coffee tables, then have the parts cut out in the back room on a CNC machine for home assembly.

— Steve Shanesy, Publisher


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We’ve received a number of inquiries asking about the MaxiCut bits that were first seen at the International Woodworking Fair in Atlanta and were included in our coverage of the show. (Click here to read the entry by editor Chris Schwarz.)

Originally, we reported that Colt would have MaxiCut bits available in the States sometime in October. These bits are selected as one of our “Best New Tools for 2008.” (Click here to see the list.) Well, October has come and gone and with the Thanksgiving holiday fast approaching, these bits cannot be found.

The good news for Horst Miebach (maker of MaxiCut) — but bad news for woodworkers in the U.S. — is this new Forstner bit is so hot and demand so strong in Europe that the company is unable to ship Imperial sizes until later this month. This translates into the bits being in stores by mid-December.

If you’re wondering why the demand is strong in Europe and why U.S. woodworkers are patiently awaiting its arrival, see the video of these bits in action.

So where will MaxiCut bits be available? In December you’ll find it at The Best Things (thebestthings.com), Infinity Tools (infinitytools.com) and Packard Woodworks (packardwoodworks.com). After the first of the year, MaxiCut bits will be available at Lee Valley Tools (leevalley.com).

I’m in line for a set of these bits, for sure.

—Glen D. Huey

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Tricks of the trade is one of our most popular regular columns. In each issue, we print the best ideas submitted by our readers for making life in the shop easier. Every trick we publish is rewarded with a cash payment of $50-$100, and the reader who submits the best one for each issue receives a $250 gift certificate from Lee Valley. The easiest way to get in on this is to submit your trick by E-mail.

We recently made a major overhaul to our corporate E-mail system, and in the process our "Tricks of the Trade" address was out of commission for a few weeks. It's now up and running, but if you submitted a trick in the last couple weeks, we don't have it and we need you to send it again. If have an idea, now is a great time to send us your trick. In addition to our usual prizes, we have some extra incentives for the best tricks submitted between now and December 15, 2008.

The best trick submitted will earn its author a Ryobi router table and a Ridgid Router.

Second prize will be a Porter Cable Model 390 low profile random-orbit sander and third prize will be a Popular Woodworking 2000-2007 CD containing every issue from those years in PDF format.

To submit your trick, simply send an e-mail to popwoodtricks@fwmedia.com. If you can attach a picture that's a plus. Don't worry about the quality of your writing or the quality of your photo. We have a team of professional writers and artists standing by to fix that stuff, all you need to do is come up with a good idea.

Click here to submit your "Trick of the Trade"

--Bob Lang


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With Thanksgiving just around the bend, the pressure is looming for one of the hardest jobs of the year – holiday shopping. I’m not sure which is more difficult –choosing what to purchase for your loved ones, or convincing them how much you need that new Lie-Nielsen plane. Although I can’t offer much help with the first problem (I can only recommend against pink bunny costumes) here’s hope for the latter.

Starting Thanksgiving Day through November 30th, DIY Network will be airing a “Holiday Blitz” of their show Cool Tools.  For four days host Chris Grundy will show you nothing but the coolest and most innovative tools on the market. This is a great chance to do some heavy hint-dropping to your loved ones – or at least to find out which “presents” you want to gift yourself.

If you can’t wait for the Holiday Blitz, head on over to the show’s web site (diynetwork.com/cooltools) and take a look at the videos. I got a chance to poke around the “Woodworking Tools” category of videos, and although I was expecting to see only power tools featured, I was shocked and impressed to see an awesome video tour of Lie-Nielsen Toolworks. This is definitely a show to watch.

So what are your favorite “cool” tools? DIY Network wants to know and so do we. They’ve given us three brand new Komelon SS Gripper tape measures to give to our readers who submit their votes for coolest tool. So click on the “Comments” link at the bottom and tell us your favorite tool for a chance to win. The winners will be randomly selected and contacted via their provided e-mail addresses – so make sure you fill in that line if you want to win.

–Drew DePenning


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A couple weeks back we were up to our armpits in finishing work. Two projects were in the finishing area awaiting completion for photo shoots this past Wednesday. (I'm happy to report that both projects made the deadline and everything went as planned.)

It just so happened that I had a couple Zip sanding products, a Zip Sander and a Zip Sponge Holder, in need of testing. These two products are part of the Gator Finishing Products brand from Ali Industries in nearby Dayton, Ohio. Both of these products are designed to lessen the stress on your arm, wrist and hand while sanding.

The Zip Sander makes sense. Using your fingers as a backer to sandpaper, unless you sand perpendicular to your finger length, results in small troughs in your finish. So a backer made of high-density foam eliminates the potential for troughs and reduces friction buildup from your hand on the sandpaper. If you reduce friction, you lessen the potential to clog the paper and you extend its usefulness. Also, the hook-and-loop design makes the change between grits easy and efficient. Sander kits (which include a sander and six pieces of sandpaper in various grits) are available for around $7 each; replacement sanding sheets are available for around $5 for a package of six.

The Sponge Holder (available with three sanding sponges and the holder for $9.99) had me puzzled. Holding a sponge while sanding isn’t that much of an issue. I like to use sponges while sanding between coats of finish. My issue with the holder, however, it that its hard plastic surface might nick or ding a surface if I'm less than careful. A regular sanding sponge isn’t prone to leave nick or dings.

Managing Editor Megan Fitzpatrick and I used the Zip products while sanding the two projects. Megan commented that the grip felt a bit high and somewhat off balance in her hand as she sanded, but she noticed there was little, if any, fatigue in her hand or wrist after excessive sanding on a rather large project. I found the sander to be very comfortable and useful. (Maybe my larger hand size fit the sanders better?) The design of the sander – it has pointed ends – allows you to get tight into the corners with ease. I’ll use the Zip Sander while sanding the finish on future projects.

The Sponge Holder is fine on large panels. I watched closely as the edge of the tool-held sponge came into contact with the inside edges of the doorframe. The surface on the inner edge of the rails and stiles was below the reaches of the hard plastic of the holder, so sanding went well. However, I think I’ll relegate the Sponge Holder for wide-open flat surfaces only.

While I like these products for finishing work, the grits included are, for the most part, for everyday sanding. Additional purchases will get you a #400-grit product for sanding finish. And if sanding to #400 grit is not a smooth enough surface, you’ll want to look into Ali Industries automotive sanding products – AutoZip – under the Finish 1st name. Sanding grit for automotive products, currently available at Pep Boys stores, are up to #2,000 grit.

— Glen D. Huey

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In the subscriber issues of December 2008 Popular Woodworking, there was an insert glued to page 25, and it seems our printer used a super-strong adhesive that didn't allow easy removal. First, our apologies. We'll do our best to make sure that doesn't happen again. Second, click below for a pdf of the article in its entirety.

— Megan Fitzpatrick, managing editor

Dec08ArtsMysteries.pdf (545.45 KB)

A few weeks ago I was contacted by our video host, Blip.tv, and a few clicks later many of our favorite Popular Woodworking videos were made available on iTunes. In fact, in just the few short days we’ve been live, our feed has made the front-page of iTunes Podcasts.

If you take a look at our video channel, you’ll probably notice that not all of our videos made it to the podcast (many of our older ones were encoded in flash which Apple doesn’t support) but you can be sure to expect many more exciting new videos to be available in the future.

To make it easier, you can even subscribe to our podcast – ensuring that every time we upload a new video it will automatically be added to your iTunes library. And with a simple drag-and-drop you can throw these videos on your iPod and take them along to where you really need them – the shop.

– Drew DePenning

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My favorite top-coat finish is spray lacquer. Sure, I've used just about every finishing product under the sun, but I keep coming back to spray lacquer because it's so fast and so difficult to mess up. In the dead of winter when I can't spray outside, I use a wiping varnish.

As we plan our finishing coverage for 2009, we'd really like your input on a key piece of data: What is your favorite top-coat finish? You might use several different kinds of top-coats in your shop, but which one is your favorite one to use? It can be your favorite because you like the results or because it's easy to use or because it's not toxic. A few notes:

• We didn't cover all the application methods possible for all the finishes. Yes, you can spray varnish, paint and an oil-varnish blend. Simply pick the type of finish that is your favorite: varnish, paint, oil/varnish blend.

• We didn't list "Tung Oil" because it can be a wiping varnish or an oil/varnish blend. Does your tung oil cure soft on the lid of the finish? It's an oil/varnish blend. Does your tung oil finish hard? It's a wiping varnish. 

Take our quick survey below. And then check back to view the results. I know that we'll all be following this one closely.

— Christopher Schwarz, editor

Online Surveys & Market Research

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Before any great event you begin to hear a buzz, and here in our offices we have a literal one (out in the shop as we prepare material) and a figurative one (online) and both are about the upcoming Woodworking in America conference. The conference sold out soon after we announced it, and the waiting list is approaching 275 names. We're working on plans for next year, and if you sign up for the newsletter, you'll be the first to know the where, when and who. Of particular interest are the "Hands On Clinics" that will let attendees see and receive instruction from people like Roy Underhill, Frank Klausz, Michael Dunbar, Mike Wenzloff and others teaching classes in a small setting.

Here are some details for the lucky few who landed spots in these clinics.

• The classes will be held in the Student Industries Building, a few blocks away from the other conference events. Its a 5-10 minute walk, and it will be easier to park near the hands-on classes than at the other site. Parking in this area will also let you lock your tools in your car.
• An e-mail is being prepared as this is being written that will be sent to each "Hands On" attendee with a detailed list of the classes on your schedule, what to expect and what to bring. It should arrive in your inbox tomorrow or Friday
• If you want to know now, I've put a chart of the clinics on a PDF file that you can download here. The chart lists the days, times and instructors for the clinics, as well as a brief version of the tool list.

Looking forward to seeing you in Berea. Click here to download the PDF file:
handson.pdf (15.67 KB)

Bob Lang


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Senior Editor Glen D. Huey and I were chatting yesterday morning about air tools. He really likes air-powered sanders. And we know that some of our contributors like air-powered tools so much that they tote compressors to the jobsite to run their drills, sanders and routers.

But before we began exploring air-powered tools, we were curious about what equipment our readers have. Do you have a compressor? What size is it?

If you could take our quick poll below, that will help us figure out several possible stories we're considering for future issues.

Thanks in advance!

— Christopher Schwarz

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Our thanks to the many of you who sent in entries for our "Out of the Woodwork" Contest. Out of the almost 100 submissions, we selected nine that we plan to print in future issues of Popular Woodworking. The grand-prize winner is Micaela Evans, from Erie, Pa. We've posted her story and picture below.
— Megan Fitzpatrick, managing editor

Industrial Technology
Industrial Technology. That was the name of the course I took in the autumn of 1993. Beats me as to why it was entitled thus, since anyone with two brain cells to rub together could easily see that it was really woodshop, but I’m guessing that was an offering to the gods of political correctness. The two capital letters and the extra six syllables weren’t long enough to hide the power tools, the piles of lumber, or remove the scent of freshly cut wood from the air. This was woodshop, no doubt about it.

When I first entered the shop, I was a scrawny little kid, on the verge of turning 13. I hadn’t worked with tools before, because my dad was not a mechanically inclined kind of guy; and even if he was, as one of a multitude of girls, I wouldn’t have been expected to help him. Also, thanks to the vigilant efforts of the teacher, Mr. Ferguson, who had spent several class periods beforehand instilling in us what he called "a respect for the machines," I was scared stiff. Tales of hair being ripped from scalps, fingers crushed or clipped, blades flying free and slicing through bodies like a hot knife through butter haunted me for several hours after the bell had rung.

It didn’t help matters that he had ever-so-thoughtfully gored his own thumb with the drill press earlier that semester. This was supposed to be the guy who was to teach us kids to properly use the tools, and here he’d gone and given his thumbnail a skylight. To my preteen mind, that was a sound basis for a healthy amount of hesitance.

So it was with that frame of mind I walked into the woodshop for the first time, bearing a 6" x 6" piece of plywood. If I’d gripped that square any harder, I’m pretty sure that I would’ve gone down in history as the first person to have successfully juiced lumber. At least I wasn’t dealing with the aforementioned drill press at that time; my assignment was to make a jigsaw puzzle, which meant dealing with the band saw.

Fifteen years later, I still see that as some sort of bait-and-switch. Here I’d been thinking that jigsaw puzzles were made with a jigsaw, but what can you do?

In any event, you can imagine the trepidation with which I approached my task. As I lined up the wood with the blade, images of maimed hands flew unbidden across my mind. One slip-up, and I’d be regulated to a lifetime of counting to only 9-1/2. Or less.

Considering how on-edge I was, it shouldn’t be any surprise that I was gripping the wood a bit tightly. Fear has that effect; the irrational need to hold fast to something, even if it’s not likely to be of any great help, and sometimes giving in to that need results in more damage being done than not. In this particular case, it would certainly explain why I jerked the wood violently off to the side in response to Mr. Ferguson dropping a stack of wood tiles, making a loud, clattering noise. I didn’t lose a finger, but I did cut a massive swath through the plywood. In retrospect, I’m lucky it didn’t break the blade. However, I did manage to cut through several of the markings I had made, effectively fouling up the puzzle beyond all recognition.

When your nerves are already dialed up to 11, there are two ways you can go: you can either delve into a level-five freak-out, or your anxiety can be transferred to something else. I went for the latter. I had to turn something in at the end of the class, and I had several of my peers in line behind me, waiting for their turn at the band saw. My puzzle was shot. What to do?

Looking at the wreckage, I figured that I had at least done myself a favor by plotting the puzzle pieces so large, in that they provided me with some sizeable chunks to work with. The spare pieces of wood were big enough that I could fashion some little figurines. Quickly, I began to guide the wood through the blade, and managed to churn out some crudely-shaped objects in silhouette, with no lines to guide my way. Any worries about losing any part of my hands were now gone; my goal was to turn something in, even if it meant that some of it was stained with a generous portion of my DNA.

In the end, I had four figurines: a bird, a cat, an apple, something that had started out as a daisy but ended up resembling an asterisk on steroids, and all 10 of my fingers. As projects go, that looked like a success to me. Mr. Ferguson must have thought so too, since he gave me credit anyways, and I wound up being one of his best students.

But even so, I still didn’t want him to help with my next project – wiring a soda-pop can lamp. I did that at home instead.
 — Micaela R. Evans

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In the November 2008 issue, the length of the "long shelves" in Kerry Pierce's Colonial-era Plate Rack article are incorrect in the cutlist. The length should be 37-5/8", not 50-1/4".

— Megan Fitzpatrick, managing editor

The day finally came. I needed poplar drawer stock for a project I was building and there was nothing usable on my lumber rack. But sitting peacefully in the corner of my shop was a poplar project I was not too fond of – it was a relic from my early days of woodworking.

How early? When I was in high school (the doweled construction had to give you a clue), I built a small chest for the girl I was dating. She was very happy with the piece, so I decided to build a shelf unit to sit on top. As happens with high school dating, we broke up – before I finished the unit. The incomplete bookshelf stood in my parents' basement for many years before moving to my shop.

Once it was in my garage shop, I used the unit to store things. Over time, cobwebs collected at the base and there were numerous spills, scratches and whatnot on each shelf, so the idea of actually finishing the unit was not in the cards. The outer surface was working back toward the dirty brown color of yet-to-be-milled poplar.

Since rearranging my shop, I discovered there was no practical use for the unit – no place to hang the unit and certainly not enough coveted floor space to sacrifice. And, I had long ago gotten past the idea that the girl and I would some day hook up again.

And because the pieces were a full 7/8" in thickness (back then I believed that building thicker meant building better), I knew I could salvage 1/2" stock from these 30"-long fatties. So the shelf met its demise.

I have another project from my early days of woodworking taking up space in my basement. There’s no high school connection, but it was my first attempt at cabriole legs and that bad boy may meet this terrible fate next.

After knocking apart the unit, I wondered if I was the only woodworker de-building a project from their past. There must be a few others like me. Fess up. Post a comment. I need to know I’m not alone.

— Glen D. Huey

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Sam Maloof is probably the nicest living legend I've ever met. Several years back we visited his new relocated shop for a tour and were expecting one of his underlings to take us around. Instead, Maloof himself gave up an entire afternoon to show us his shop, wood collection and early pieces of his work.

And when we were done, he insisted that he take us out for lunch at a local taco stand. It was one of my most amazing days on the job.

As a result the entire magazine staff is itching to see a new book that promises to have some gorgeous photography. "Maloof Beyond 90: An American Woodworker" is a 92-page collection of photos taken by California photographer Gene Sasse of Maloof at work and play. It features text by Maloof's customers, co-workers and friends, including President Jimmy Carter.

The entire book is printed on archival cotton rag fine art paper and bound in Moroccan leather. Only 500 will be printed.

At a cost of $1,500, I suspect we're going to have to have a couple bake sales at the magazine to get an office copy. If you'd like to browse some of the contents of the book, you can visit sam-maloof.com. To order the book, call Sasse at 909-941-3993 or e-mail him at gene@genesasse.com.

— Christopher Schwarz

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Start hanging out by your mailbox – the December issue of Popular Woodworking is in the mail (but only to subscribers, of course). Single copies are available through popularwoodworkingshop.com, and the issue will be on newsstands Nov. 11. Here’s a peek inside:

• Best New Tools of 2008 To help you make your Christmas list, we reveal our picks for the Best New Tools of 2008 (you can see one of them in action here).

• 12" Sliding Compound Miter Saws We test six top-selling 12” miter saws and choose the winners for “Editor’s Choice” and “Best Value” (you can watch a video of some of the testing here).

• Stickley Mantle Clock Senior Editor Glen D. Huey takes you step by step through building this Gustav Stickley design (an original was recently appraised at $4,000!) with a leaded-glass window and 12-sided clock-face opening. Click here to read online extras for this article, including how to fume a finish using ammonia and how the leaded glass window was made.

• Build a Wooden Jack Plane Mario Rodriguez shows you how to build this workhorse plane – by the time you’re done, you’ll understand how and why a plane works (and what to do if it doesn’t).

• Shaker Nesting Trays John Wilson shares his plans for building a set up oval trays based on the form of the iconic Shaker Box top. (And they make a great gift!)

• Drawknives & Spokeshaves Michael Dunbar shows you how to use these time-honored tools – and why they deserve a place in the modern shop.

• Plus, Adam Cherubini takes the next steps in building his 18th-century Philadelphia chair, Bob Flexner shows you how to expertly brush a finish, Glen Huey builds a handsome coffee table for the “I Can Do That” project, letters and tricks from readers, and more!

— Megan Fitzpatrick, managing editor

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After watching Frank Klausz cut a set of dovetails in three minutes using a special bowsaw blade (see the video here in our video section), Rob Cosman decided to show that it can be done by cutting the tails first. (Frank cuts his pins first.)

For those who don't know Cosman, he has produced a series of great videos on hand joinery and has a new companion book on dovetailing that we highly recommend. It's spiral bound for the shop and is the best book I've ever read on cutting this traditional joint. You can read more about his videos, book and tools at RobCosman.com.

— Christopher Schwarz

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My last blog post was about the wonders of technology, and in a newsletter item about it I used the phrase "Technology is wonderful". I should know better that to make blanket statements like that. Today I'm updating the website for the December issue, and was smacked upside the head by a case of technology added to a tool without adding any value to it. We've seen this before, and wrote about it in our November 2005 issue.


What we have here is a "prototype" saw equipped with a video camera (the small round object behind the blade in the picture above) and a small display screen (the little square thing above the handle). We had it in our shop as part of a test of 12" sliding compound miter saws. You can read the review of this saw by clicking here.

In the last few years we've seen cordless motors added to tools that work just fine manually, lasers where they don't belong, and a combination of the two. This one, a laser guided handsaw is my all-time favorite. The troublesome thing is that people are buying these things, we even purchased a battery-operated clamp for the boss last Christmas.

So what is your favorite inappropriate use of technology? Leave a comment and let us know.

--Bob Lang

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The Stickley Mantle Clock in the December issue (#173) of Popular Woodworking magazine is a great project to build. I think you’ll see a large number of these clocks given as gifts during the holidays. For inspiration, click here and visit the Antiques Roadshow website to see an appraisal on an original Stickley Mantle Clock that was appraised near $4,000.

Fumed Finish
Once the clock is built, it would be a good thing to know how the piece was finished and where to find the art-glass insert used in the door.

To discuss the fumed finish, I’ve added an article to the Popular Woodworking web site. Here's a link to the article.

I found this fuming process to be so easy. I think you will as well. If you’ve done this finishing technique before and have any additional tips, please leave a comment below to let us know.

Clock Dial Cutout

The 12-side opening in the door adds a lot to the charm of this clock. To make it easy, we are providing a free pattern that you can print. The pattern is in Adobe PDF format, and you will need to have Acrobat Reader installed on your computer to open the file. Chances are you already have this software, but if you don't you can download it for free by clicking here. When you print, be sure to set your printer to "full size" or "no scaling". Line up the lines on the pattern with the top corners of your door and adhere it with spray adhesive. Make the cuts as detailed in the article.

CLICK HERE to download the full size pattern of the face cutout.

Art-glass Insert
The small art-glass window was a project I wanted to tackle. Stained glass and work such as this has always interested me. But, in order to meet my “Just-in-time” deadline, I passed on the project and went to a local shop for help.

Rick Stein at Artisans Custom Art Glass was gracious enough to build the piece for me as I shot photos to explain the steps. (My cost for the insert piece, and your cost should you wish to have Stein build your piece, is $25. Contact information is listed below.)

Stein began the insert by copying the exact opening from my door. Then he divided the area into six sections to determine the size of the glass pieces. Once the size was determined, he snipped the pieces from the glass I had selected (with his direction), making sure there was additional space for the lead that surrounds the glass. Of course, these glass pieces are so small I doubt any deformities or discolorations will be noticed.

Next, a perfect right angle was set with the use of a wooden square. The insert is built against that square. Stein cut small lengths of U-shaped lead that divide the glass pieces as well as wrap the outer frame of the insert. As the pieces were assembled, they were held in position with nails (the nails remind me of those used by blacksmiths when shoeing a horse).

With all the parts cut, fit and tacked in place, the next step was to add flux to each of the lead intersections. Flux cleans the joints and allows solder to flow over the joint. Stein then melted solder on the joints with a quick touch of a soldering iron.

Last step was to file away enough lead from the outside of the insert to guarantee a snug fit. That took him about a minute to do. To hold the insert in the door, I used a clear silicon sealant. Push the insert into the opening, then apply a thin bead of silicon straight from the tube. One bead around the outside and one bead around the inside will hold it secure.

For additional information contact:

Artisans Custom Art Glass
7218 Montgomery Road
Cincinnati, OH 45236
(513) 791-8684

About the Clock Face
When deciding on a face for this clock, I looked at a few ideas. The Stickley mantle clock featured a brass dial with the numbers and other characters incised into the brass and filled with black wax.

I looked into etching the brass then filling the characters with black wax as in the original, but found that to be bit more involved than I wanted. I asked a local trophy store for ideas, but was waylaid by the estimated costs.

At that point I turned to a trusted Popular Woodworking friend – Gay White at Clock Prints (clockprints.com). White had a sample back to me before I had sent all the information. After one session of tweaks, the face was ready to go. It turned out great. We were all very pleased with the results, as I know you will be too.

Click here to visit clockprints.com for the Stickley Mantle Clock - Model number: AC9 PWW ($14.99)

And if you haven’t found Popular Woodworking’s Google 3D Warehouse page, click here. It’s worth a visit. There you can find many projects from Popular Woodworking, including the Stickley Mantle Clock (click here for a direct link). If you would like a primer on how to use this page or are interested to find out exactly what is there and how to get your hands on it, click here for Robert W. Lang’s entry discussing the site and its benefits.

— Glen D. Huey

Every woodworking magazine features drawings of projects as part of their printed editions. I'm excited to announce that Popular Woodworking, and our sister publication, Woodworking Magazine, are offering projects from our pages in a new, interactive three-dimensional format. I've spent the last few days uploading SketchUp models to the Google 3D Warehouse. If you're not familiar with SketchUp, read on.

The image above is the Holzappfel Workbench built by Christopher Schwarz for issue 8 of Woodworking Magazine. But it's a lot more than an image. If you click on it, you will be taken to the 3D Warehouse where you can download the model. If you have SketchUp installed on your computer, you will be able to look at this from any angle, take it apart, measure parts and see how it all fits together. If you want to start with this design and modify it, you can do that too.

This image also links to a SketchUp model. This is the "I Can Do That" project from our June 2008 issue. SketchUp is a 3D modeling program that runs on both PCs and Macs, and it is available for free. To download it from Google, click here. When you have the program installed, you will find it intuitive to use and there is plenty of help available within the program and online. If you need more help, there is an excellent "SketchUp for Dummies" book and the author's blog is one more excellent resource.

Planning projects in SketchUp is very similar to building a project for real. This is one of the reasons it is easy to learn, and also one of the reasons that it is popular among woodworkers. The other half of this equation is the 3D Warehouse. 3D Warehouse is a web site where SketchUp users can share their projects with the world. This is where we are sharing our projects and you can also find an amazing number of models that are already constructed, everything from tools to hardware to kitchen cabinets are online, and ready to be used in your own models.

We like the program so much, that we have switched to using it for many of the illustrations you see in the pages of the magazine. If you haven't tried SketchUp yet, I encourage you to give it a try. Even if you never make your own plans, it's an excellent way to review a project from the magazine before you build. In the coming months, we'll be regularly adding to the models already in the collection, and I will be teaching some classes on using SketchUp next summer. In addition, my new book Drafting & Design for Woodworkers has an extensive SketchUp tutorial, written from a woodworker's perspective. The book won't be available for a few weeks, but you can reserve a signed copy from my web site by clicking here.

To visit the Popular Woodworking and Woodworking Magazine collection on Google's 3D Warehouse, click here

To download the free version of the 3D modeling program Google SketchUp, click here.

— Robert W. Lang