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Woodwork 

Winter 2012-2013

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Tom Caspar > Blog
Tom Caspar > Blog

Tom Caspar

  • The Unplugged Woodshop: Tom's Torsion Box Workbench

    by Tom Caspar     Monday, February 23, 2009
    If you love hand tools, you gotta have a good, solid workbench. No two ways about it. But if you have hardly any tools to start with, how are you going to build one? I designed this bench on a dare. Sometime back in the mid 90's, a student said, "I'm...

  • Shed Doors 6: Hinge Mortises

    by Tom Caspar     Sunday, April 26, 2009
    Last summer, I added a small shed to my old garage. I hung some temporary plywood doors, and built the real doors in the shop here at American Woodworker. Here are links to the first five parts of the story: Shed Doors 1 and Shed Doors 2 and Shed Doors...

  • Shed Doors 4: Curved Rails

    by Tom Caspar     Monday, April 13, 2009
    Last summer, I added a small shed to my old garage. I hung some temporary plywood doors, and built the real doors in the shop here at American Woodworker. Here are links to the first three parts of the story: Shed Doors 1 and Shed Doors 2 and Shed Doors...

  • Shed Doors 5: Raised Panels

    by Tom Caspar     Tuesday, April 21, 2009
    Last summer, I added a small shed to my old garage. I hung some temporary plywood doors, and built the real doors in the shop here at American Woodworker. Here are links to the first four parts of the story: Shed Doors 1 and Shed Doors 2 and Shed Doors...

  • The Unplugged Woodshop: Sharpening Essentials

    by Tom Caspar     Monday, February 23, 2009
    In the first session of my class, The Unplugged Woodshop, everybody learns how to sharpen a chisel. The fussy way. When I first taught this class, years ago, I noticed that most folks were trying to take notes. Not easy to do when you're trying to...

  • Selma's Desk 1

    by Tom Caspar     Saturday, February 21, 2009
    When I was a kid, I always looked forward to getting a birthday card from my grandmother, Selma Halvorson. The five dollar bill inside the card could sure buy a lot of candy in those days. This is the desk that Selma sat at when she wrote birthday cards...

  • Selma's Desk 2

    by Tom Caspar     Saturday, March 7, 2009
    This Danish Modern desk (see Selma's Desk 1 ) has a beautifully-constructed top. It's a clever combination of solid teak and teak veneer. The top has 5-1/2" wide breadboard ends, as shown above. The main portion of the top is composed of...

  • Shed Doors 3: Fitting Tenons

    by Tom Caspar     Saturday, April 4, 2009
    Last summer, I added a small shed to my old garage. I hung some temporary plywood doors, and built the real doors in the shop here at American Woodworker. Here are links to the first two parts of the story: Shed Doors 1 and Shed Doors 2 . OK, the last...

  • Unplugged Woodshop: Some Video!

    by Tom Caspar     Monday, March 23, 2009
    If you want a genuine taste of what woodworking was like before power tools, check out this silent film, from 1923, on wooden clog making in Sweden. Amazing! Here's the link: Making Clogs [Many thanks to John W of the local Society of American Period...

  • Restoring A Drop-Leaf Table 1

    by Tom Caspar     Saturday, February 14, 2009
    Here's the beginning of a story that I hope will have a happy ending. It's about a humble drop-leaf kitchen table that I stumbled on at an antique store. Nothing special-but it was all made by hand, as you'll see in the photos below. My goal...

  • No. 81 Scraper 1

    by Tom Caspar     Saturday, February 14, 2009
    Let me just say it straight out–I love hand tools. They're quiet, fun to use, and connect me with woodworkers of long ago. But most importantly, they often get the job done faster and better than power tools. That's right: faster and better...

  • Changing of the Knives

    by Tom Caspar     Monday, March 9, 2009
    How did you spend your weekend? Well, I put in a couple of hours getting ready for a new project here in the American Woodworker shop. I hadn't changed the knives in our jointer for over a year–can you believe it? Our jointer's cutterhead...

  • The Unplugged Woodshop: Welcome!

    by Tom Caspar     Tuesday, February 10, 2009
    For the past 15 years, I've been teaching a course on hand tools that I call The Unplugged Woodshop. It's a blast. I was first introduced to hand tools in the shop I apprenticed in, back in the '70s. It was run by a crusty old Swede, who insisted...

  • No. 81 Scraper 2

    by Tom Caspar     Saturday, February 14, 2009
    Picking up where I left off, the next step in tuning up the No. 81 is to flatten its sole. This particular tool still had its original rosewood sole, which was in very good condition. Flattening it was quite easy, using a full sheet of 120 grit sandpaper...

  • Restoring A Drop-Leaf Table 2

    by Tom Caspar     Sunday, February 15, 2009
    After removing the top from this table, I discovered more signs of the hand of the maker. . The cross-brace under the top is dovetailed into the sides. Again, overcuts reveal the way the joints were made. The corners were reinforced with the customary...
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